OwnMyTeam Blog

IBL appears headed for Corvallis

By Tony Shick

The Portland Tribune

After being involved with International Basketball League franchises in both Vancouver and Portland, Terrence Dickens has turned his attention to Corvallis.

Dickens, coach of the IBL Portland Chinooks and head of league operations, wants to own a franchise.

Dickens visited Corvallis on Thursday, attempting to contact the mayor as well as several businesses and media outlets. He went to share his intentions and gauge how a professional team might fare in the shadow of Oregon State University.

“I haven’t spoken with the mayor yet, and I’m waiting on some contacts at Oregon State, but I should have a decision by the end of the month,” he says. “I was pleased with what I saw.”

Both Dickens and IBL Commissioner Mikal Duilio believe Corvallis is a good option for the league.

“Our studies have shown that teams do very well in smaller towns; they can generate a lot of revenue,” Duilio says. “In Portland, the people who knew them loved them, but there were very few people. It’s hard to reach that size of population. The team gets lost in the shuffle of hundreds of other things to do.”

The 2008 regular-season ending recently. The league had teams in smaller cities such as Salem, Bend, Everett, Bellingham, Tacoma and Lewis County, Wash.

“The league product is getting better every year,” Duilio says. “The next step is for teams to find the right market, and that’s a real winner.”

Dickens seems sold already on the Corvallis market.

“Based on what I saw yesterday, I’d say there’s a 100 percent chance there’ll be a team in Corvallis next year,” he says. “I just want to wait to hear from the people first.”

Dickens says he enjoyed his time with the Chinooks and wishes the franchise the best of luck, but most likely he will not be returning to them next year.

“This was something I needed to do for myself,” he says. “I have the experience of a few teams, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, and I wanted to challenge myself.”

And though the future of the Chinooks is uncertain, a venture into Corvallis would have no bearing on it.

“These are going to be separate franchises. Moving the Chinooks was not at all what we were thinking about,” Duilio says.

The future of the Chinooks depends on whether owner Terry Emmert chooses to keep the team. After owning………

Link

The IBL League Commissioner and another League official traveled to several potiental IBL cities to gauge the interest of the community. One city they looked at was Corvallis, Oregon a city with around 50,000 residents. Media coverage of an IBL team is very important, and the Corvallis Gazette Times actually covered the scouting trip by the IBL (which is great news). The IBL was looking for an interested community, businesspeople ready to invest in sponsorships, and they are focusing on finding the right venue.

The IBL’s basic response was that it will take some title sponsors to turn Corvallis from a pipe dream to reality. I have to agree with their assessment. Their official label for this is title sponsors which will run a company $10,000. Compared to the ABA (which has sponsorship packages of $100,000) this is a bargain for businesses. I think it is smart to pick three locations and then evaluate them the same way the IBL does.

1. Does the location have title sponsors?

2. Is the venue the right size for our franchise?

3. Is the community interested in the IBL? (this includes the media)

The best way to figure this out is to talk with the various colleges and convention centers in the area. Figure out if the venue is the right size and affordable. On top of that work with the Chamber of Commerce to locate a few title sponsors. Also check in with the local media to gauge their response.

Beyond looking for title sponsors (at the $10,000 level) I suggest going after a primary sponsor. A primary sponsor could have a large presence on our website as well as their logo on our warmups and even our jerseys. They could also be on the cover of our game programs and have a large banner up in our venue acknowledging them as the team’s primary sponsor. With title sponsorship at the $10,000 level I will let your imagination run as to just how much a primary sponsorship could be.

Costco Wholesale Corporation is a discounter business based out of the Northwest. They are known for having low prices and paying their employees a fair wage. Costco would make sense for OMT as a primary sponsor because they show a high level of ethics and responsibility in their business decisions. I would highly suggest contacting this company to develop a multiyear primary sponsorship contract.

Primary sponsorship is very popular in Europe, but it has never been done here in the USA. It is not allowed in the NBA, but you see it taken to a whole new level in Nascar. I’m not suggesting turning our jerseys into a Nascar jersey, but I am suggesting puting a company’s logo on them. To my knowledge this has not been done in minor league basketball before, however there isn’t a rule I’ve heard of in the IBL that prevents this. We should consult the IBL before we actually sign a primary sponsor.

Below is an excerpt from the Corvallis Gazette Times. Click here to read the entire article.

Minor League Basketball Checks Out Corvallis

By Brooks Hatch

International Basketball League considers putting a franchise in the area

An official of the International Basketball League was in Corvallis on Thursday, investigating the city as a possible site for an expansion franchise for the 2009 season.

Terrence Dickens, the coach of the IBL’s Portland Chinooks, met with officials from the mayor’s office, local businesses, and other concerns to gauge possible interest in a team in the four-year-old league, which last season had three teams in Oregon, nine in the Northwest, and 18 overall, according to the IBL founder/commissioner Mikal Duilio of Portland.

“Terrence’s idea was to get the word out and to hear what people’s responses were, if they had the right demeanor and attitude about new things” such as the IBL, Duilio said Friday. “Some (cities) are ‘hater’ communities where people just aren’t interested in anything new.

“Terrence was putting his ear to the ground and listening. Everywhere he went people were positive and energetic.”

Duilio and Dickens worked together in founding and operating the IBL’s Vancouver, Wash., franchise. Dickens has also coached the Portland Chinooks.

Duilio said the league will begin searching for title sponsors, in the $10,000 range, within the next several weeks. If one or more are located, that “moves the team from a pipe dream” to reality.

“We’ll know before November for sure” if the venture is a go, he said. “The big X factor is (can Dickens) find at least one solid, title sponsor. We know we can get small sponsors, sell tickets, and get the walkup sale but the X-factor is, ‘Are there at least one or two businesses in town that would really like to get behind this?’

“Historically (IBL) teams do better in the smaller towns, 25,000 to 80,000, that’s where teams like this belong. They get lost in a major metro area because there are hundreds of other things to do. Our product is refined; we just need to be smarter where we place it.”

The team needs a 94- or 87-foot court and adequate spectator seating for its home venue. The Salem club played in the Salem Armory; the Bend team plays at Mountain View High School and the Eugene team, which took this past season off, played at Northwest Christian College.

Dickens did not meet with Oregon State or Linn-Benton Community College officials about possibly renting their gyms. The courts at Corvallis High and Crescent Valley easily hold more than 1,000 spectators, but are only 84 feet in length.

“If it came down to an 87-foot court it could be done but it wouldn’t be ideal,” Duilio said. “The ideal situation over time is to sell sponsorships, court-side seating and play at Gill, but there are quite a few things that make that difficult, beside the rental price.”

Duilio said team budgets run between $45,000 and $250,000. Most of the West Coast franchises are in the lower end of that range, he said. Players receive up to $400 per game, but most earn far less and some earn nothing beyond the $20-30 per diem.

“Corvallis would be a very efficient budget model, but a low-budget team would not affect the quality of play at all,” Duilio said. “The entire city doesn’t have to be on fire (with interest) for the financial model to work. “We just need a moderate amount, maybe as few as 10 sponsors and 200 or 300 fans.”

Tickets are generally $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Teams……..

Earlier I discussed some of the possible songs we could use to introduce our players in the starting lineups to the community. Of course popular chants link DEFENSE! are important, but I suggest we be a little different. There are plenty of situations where the visiting team’s head coach or player will get a technical foul, and of course they will always be complaining to the officials about calls. On top of that we likely will have blowouts on our home court, because we are going to have an awesome team. Understanding that this is entertainment I have a song suggestion for these situations.

Tell me you can keep a straight face watching the visiting team’s head coach hear this song after he just got a tech. I know I couldn’t. Maybe our cheerleaders could come up with a dance to go along with it. They could rub their eyes or something. This is like a modern day Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Good-Bye. Actually, maybe it is more like a Nah Na Nah Nah, Boo Boo (yes, its a Justin Timberlake cover).

Both the Kings and the Wolves released photos of exactly what their new jerseys will look like. Out with the old and in with the new. With Ron Artest supposedly gone the Kings finally released their new jersey. Anyone surprised by the timing? I sure wouldn’t want “The Franchise Killer” ( copyright OMT…just joking) modeling my new uniform. I’m sure the Maloofs must feel the same. The T-Wolves have improved their jerseys, but they still look bad. The club still has that black and green trim around the neck, but at least they removed it from the sleeve.

The Kings have a much improved jersey, but its still purple. Only the Lakers can sport purple jerseys without being called Queens. These “Princes of the Universe” might consider going back to their old blue ones.

Click here for the BDL Blog with jersey pictures.

OMT definiately needs a theme song. Each basketball organization kinda does their own thing for pregame basketball introductions. I can remember the running of the bulls introduction in Chicago way back when I was younger. Here at OMT we need a strong theme song to introduce our IBL franchise. I’m sure Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN would agree. These past few days they have been auditioning theme songs for Brett Favre assuming he comes to the New York Jets. I wonder if Chad Pennington gets to keep his theme song Mike Greeny assigned him?

After searching Youtube and my vast collection of CDs (hey I could have said 8-tracks) I’ve come up with something unusual, but I think it works. Check out The Urge.

Picture this music and the following introduction. At 6′8, 260 your starting power forward from Iowa State and the Chicago Bulls- MARCUS FIZER!!!

Maybe it’s just me, but hearing It’s My Turn to Fly on a fast break seems rather apporiate.

If that doesn’t peak your interest, then check out Fuel’s Won’t Back Down from the Daredevil Soundtrack.

A lot has happened in the forums over the past several days. Several new members have joined thanks to recent press coverage from Ball Don’t Lie (Yahoo Sports). Obviously, this is very early on in the process, but it is great to see such passionate new owners in the forum. These last few days are just a small preview of what is to come. Can you imagine thousands of fans like recent owners sbampfield and cpressentin (OMT user names)? The possibilities are endless for OMT with thousands of members like these two. OMT has an excellent opportunity to create a wave of changes in professional sports. It’s high time basketball fans took control of a franchise. 

Recently J.E. Skeets from Ball Don’t Lie plugged OMT. Click here to visit that blog. Also we have youtube video up that gives potiental OMT members an inside look at what running an IBL franchise is all about. Click here to visit those youtube videos. Also, a forum has been structured so we can begin the discussion on potiental IBL locations. Leaning on the IBL Commissioner’s advice would be wise as we are a new organization. Click here to learn more about Coeur d’Alene as a potiental IBL franchise.

Coeur d’Alene is the largest city in the North Idaho Panhandle. The Panhandle has over 600,000 in total population in which 131,000 belong to the Coeur d’Alene Metropolitan area. Post Falls is a suburb of Coeur d’Alene which is just minutes away from Spokane Valley (a suburb of Spokane, Washington). Spokane has a total metropolitan population of 460,000. In total the area has 1,060,000 residents with no professional basketball team. In fact, Coeur d’Alene has only a junior college and NAIA basketball program. North Idaho College sits right on Coeur d’Alene Lake, so after an afternoon in the sun basketball fans can jet on over to the game.  The total population in the area is as large as some NBA franchise cities, so sellouts at the North Idaho College appear to be a serious possibility.

Join OMT Today to discuss Coeur d’Alene and many more potiental IBL cities.

Spokane, Washington

Coeur d’Alene is a beautiful lakeside city in Northern Idaho. The city has a population of around 42,000 and a total of 132,000 residents in the greater metropolitan area. The city has three colleges including North Idaho College, Lewis-Clark State College, and the University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene campus. North Idaho college has a very suitable facility for an IBL franchise. Click this link to watch an indepth video of the North Idaho College facilities and sports team. Ideal facilities should likely have a capacity of 2,500 to 5,000 and Coeur d’Alene has them. North Idaho has arena seats wrapped around the gym, shot clocks installed, and a fancy 4 sided scoreboard hanging from over center court.

Coeur d’Alene appears to have the population and community to support a IBL franchise. Also the fact that they don’t have a bunch of competing pro teams in the area is another bonus. The one downside to locating in Nampa is the NBDL team that plays before the IBL season in Boise. OMT wouldn’t have this issue if they located in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Another positive is how close Coeur d’Alene is to several IBL teams. Below are pictures of the gym at North Idaho College and the local community.

Click here for pictures of the North Idaho Arena.

I’ve got some inside video from the Explosion tryouts (yes, this includes the cheer team). Also, I have some new youtube footage of the Explosion’s season opener which you can find posted below. The Snohomish County Explosion finished with a record of 14 and 10. Jermaine Blackburn played 6 games for the club. In 3 games Justin Murray averaged 29.3 points per game and 13.3 rebounds. Donald Watts (6′4 guard) had a productive season in his 19 games averaging 17.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. The front office has managed to land over 40 corporate sponsors for the team as well. These are all listed right on the team IBL website (they landed Wal-Mart and Target).

The West Division is by far the toughest. The Explosion had a winning season, but finished 4th out of 5th. The Bellingham Slam had a regular season record of 19-4 to lead the West and won the IBL title. As you can see the IBL is a highly competitive league. Enjoy the videos below, and be sure to sign up for OMT if you haven’t already.

The vast majority of the content on this website is only available to members. Here is a sneak preview of the current discussion topics in the forums.

-Rules/ Budgets of Basketball Franchises in South and Central America

-Scouting Reports

-Team Name Discussion

-Primary Sponsor (company logo on jersey) discussion

-Basketball in Europe

-Possible IBL locations

Quit complaining about your favorite team’s front office and show them how it’s done. Join OMT today!

Credit the Denver Nugget’s front office for doing something right this off season. They went out and got Balkman for a bag of chips. Balkman came Denver’s way for a scrub backup point guard, barely used Bobby Jones, and a 2010 second round draft pick. It is baffling that the Knicks would trade him after the Suns were so interested in him which led to former Knick GM Thomas drafting him in the first round to prevent the Suns from taking him.

Balkman fills a need for the Nuggets who play very little defense. The downside that Knick experts report is that Balkman would at times look a little confused. The great news for Balkman is George Karl really doesn’t run an offense. All Balkman has to do is run and gun and stay out of the way of the two superstars (well one superstar and Allen Iverson). Balkman is likely a legit 6′6 or 6′7 and not the 6′8 the Knicks stretched him out to be. Ideally Balkman is best suited to play the small forward, but he definiately can defend wings on the perimeter. This trade along with the Camby trade might mean the Nuggets plan to play Melo at the power forward position next season. That would clear playing time for Balkman, Kleiza, and JR Smith (if he returns). Balkman has not proven he has a deep jumpshot, so he will need to continue to work on this with the Nuggets.

Now the Nuggets just need to find a trading partner for AI.

Let me be the first to welcome all new and potiental members to OMT. As many of you have noticed we brought on RealGM as a sponsor and our latest national coverage was from Ball Don’t Lie (Yahoo Sports). Skeets was dead on about what we are going to do here. We are starting an IBL team, and our members are going to run it. For those wondering if this really can work, I challenge you to think about it. Do democracies work? Sure angry fans do call into sports shows with very hot and cold responses. One week a fan might call in wanting to fire a coach, and the next week the same caller will call in saying what a great job the coach is doing. This isn’t the same as actually having your hand on the trigger. When you fire a coach your organization has to eat his or her contract. Plus, the majority of owners have to vote for it in order to make it happen. Trust me, when your finger is on the trigger it is much different. I don’t believe anyone will make rash decisions. The fan run soccer team in the UK has kept the same manager since their operations began.

Winning an IBL Title is the first step of many sweeping changes you can make to change the face of sports. What is so great about our country? About democracy? If you don’t like something, then you have a voice to do something about it. Personally, I don’t like how many of our sports teams are run today. There is a major disconnect between the organization’s front office and the community. Shouldn’t the community’s fans have a stake in the team? Seriously, I bet Knick fans understand.

The IBL is really just the first step in the process here. We aren’t signing the biggest name free agents, but we are looking for the next Jamario Moon. Plus, in the future we can add franchises to our organization. One thing I have been blogging about is the Iceland Express League. It sounds weird until you Google it, then it just sounds cool. The Greater Reykjavik Area has a population of around 200,000 residents. On top of that the top team in Iceland participates in EuroCup, so we could own a franchise that competes with the top teams in Europe. Technically the EuroLeague is a possibility if we grew a franchise to that level. Seriously, with your help we could eventually get a team in Europe and get into the EuroCup. Eventually this could lead to EuroLeague play.

The truth is this opportunity is only going to go as far as YOU take it. New members should click here to invite all your friends to join OMT. Also, please get involved with your blog or forum membership. Let the basketball community know exactly what we are doing. Together we can create change in professional basketball. The IBL is the perfect league to start out. The IBL is a spring league with a 22 second shot clock. The league begins when the NBDL, CBA, PBL, ABA, and many European teams are calling it quits. That means the best talent outside the NBA is available when the IBL season begins. Could we build the best team outside of the NBA? I think so.