Terrence Dickens (Head of IBL Operations) Interested in Ownership
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………
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