Let me try that again...

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

Still red-faced about posting to the wrong list ... But here, as I mentioned a
few days ago, is a story I just wrote that I thought would be of interest.
(This should give you an idea of what I do for a living, when I'm not on the
Celtics list.)



@BYLINE:By Peter Delevett Business Journal staff writer
@BODY TEXT:	Afros. Short shorts. A red, white and blue ball.
	Those were the trademarks of the American Basketball Association, the
free-wheeling pro hoops league of the 1970s.
	Now a group in Indianapolis hopes to bring the ABA back, starting with an
eight-team league. 
	"We looked at cities that had major league sports franchises, but not
basketball," said Joe Newman, one of four co-founders of ABA 2000. 
	The fledgling league kicked off with an Oct. 28 press conference and plans to
begin its 60-game season in November 2000.
	The league's backers say it will fill a niche between the National Basketball
Association and minor leagues such as the Continental Basketball Association. 
	Mr. Newman, who owns an Indianapolis radio broadcasting company, and his
cohorts are confident their new venture will fly. The biggest reason: a
national television syndication contract signed with Mizlou Television Network
of Tampa.
	"Once you have TV revenues in place, most of the other things, like
sponsorship, fall in behind it," said Gary Elbogen, a Phoenix attorney who,
along with three partners in Arizona, has bought rights from ABA 2000 to
operate four franchises.
	The chance to play on national TV, for higher salaries and "in major league
cities" also will be a drawing card for players choosing between the new
league and competing operations such as the CBA, Mr. Elbogen said.
	ABA 2000 has plans for teams in Tampa, San Jose, Kansas City, Chicago, Long
Island, Anaheim, Jacksonville and Las Vegas, with at least half a dozen other
cities also under consideration.
	Though Mr. Newman says he's not seeking to challenge the NBA, Mizlou demanded
Chicago and the New York and Los Angeles areas be included to make the TV deal work.
	The league is hanging its hat on affordable tickets and a more exciting brand
of basketball. Rule changes will result in higher-scoring affairs than the
typical NBA contest, planners say.
	ABA 2000 promises an average ticket around $25, with some seats as low as $6.
According to Team Marketing Report, a trade publication in Chicago, the
average NBA ticket last season cost $42.50.
	The ABA was folded into the NBA in 1976, but Mr. Newman asserts the ABA's
founders never gave away the rights to the name.
	One of those founders, Indianapolis attorney Richard Tinkham, is helping
launch ABA 2000.
	Mr. Newman acknowledged that the NBA isn't welcoming his league with open arms.
	"We're moving into major league cities with fan-friendly pricing, and they
obviously are sensitive about it, but that's life."
	An NBA spokesman said his league has no comment about ABA 2000, and said he
didn't know whether the NBA claims the rights to the old name.
	 "We feel this is the opportunity of a lifetime [to] hitch our wagon to the
history and nostalgia involved with the ABA," Mr. Ebogen said.
	Neither he nor his partners have ever owned a pro sports franchise. He said
his former law firm did "most of the legal work for the San Jose Sharks,"
which a Sharks official confirmed.
	Mr. Elbogen estimates a first year operating budget between $2 million and $3
million per team, two-thirds of which will be devoted to player salaries and
travel costs.
	Average salaries in the new league will range between $150,000 and
$200,000—well below the NBA's $2.6 million average, but double to triple the
salaries of the CBA.
	In addition, each ownership group must provide the league with a $1.5 million
"performance bond" to ensure a team's obligations will be met should it fold.
	"We fully expect to start seeing revenue [from sponsorships and season ticket
sales] in the first quarter of next year," Mr. Elbogen said. He predicts his
teams could break even in the first year.
	Gary Cavalli, co-founder of the defunct American Basketball League, preached caution.
	"When you talk about a minor league, you have to talk with guarded optimism,"
he added, noting that at least three other startup men's pro basketball
leagues are in the works.
	The ABL folded last Christmas in the face of competition from the NBA-backed
Women's National Basketball Association.
	"Is there room for four minor basketball leagues?" Mr. Cavalli asked. "No way
on earth." 

© 1999 The Business Journal, Serving San Jose and Silicon Valley