Dalreg
Apr 7, 2007, 12:31 AM
Well Saskatoon it looks like investors are willing to give it a go in Saskatoon yet again. This time with an IBL team (basketball). Not to mention a soccer league and maybe baseball. Anyone willing to bet on the long term viability?
This from the Star Phoenix today.
Basketball league franchise to open in Saskatoon next March
Kevin Mitchell, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, April 05, 2007
Troy Burns plans on taking professional basketball into a city still sporting scorch marks from past suitors.
The Edmonton-based businessman said Thursday that an International Basketball League franchise will tip off at Saskatoon’s Credit Union Centre next March. He reached a lease agreement with the arena Thursday, though nothing has been signed yet.
“We want the team to be there for a long, long time,” said Burns, who fronts Sports Management Group Ltd. “Looking at the league, talking to the commissioner, we knew it would work in Saskatoon.” His next task is to convince Saskatoon businesspeople and fans, both victimized repeatedly by failed sports ventures, that he’s in for the long-haul.
That won’t be easy.
Saskatoon’s last pro sports disaster was in 2003, when the Canadian Baseball League crashed in mid-season and left piles of creditors who never received their money.
Three different pro basketball teams have played in four different leagues since 1990. Two of those leagues folded in mid-season, and the last team - the Saskatchewan Hawks - died in 2002 after two dysfunctional years.
Burns, whose group also owns an IBL expansion franchise in Edmonton, plans to move into Saskatoon and take a hands-on approach.
He’s currently employed by the Northern League’s Edmonton Cracker Cats as director of corporate sponsorship and new-business development. He also recently landed franchise-ownership rights in the controversy-plagued World Hockey Association, a western junior league unsanctioned by Hockey Canada.
The IBL is entering its third season and has 26 teams, all south of the border. The low-budget league works itself around geographic clusters and guarantees that no team will have more than one air-travel trip per season.
The league hopes to have at least three Canadian franchises next season; Burns’ teams in Saskatoon and Edmonton, and another in Calgary. They’re trying to finalize a deal with that owner.
IBL commissioner Mikal Duilio was traveling Thursday and couldn’t be reached for comment.
“Looking at Saskatoon, we saw what happened in the past,” Burns said. “I want to meet with the business community and potential sponsors, show them what we’re going to do. We’re hoping we’ll be able to talk to them, and tell them how we’re different from past owners who have been there.
“Anywhere you go, you’re going to have a little bit of resistance. They’re going to be skeptical. But sports marketing is my background, and hopefully we’ll be able to win them over.” Burns enters Saskatoon’s sports marketplace at an interesting time. The Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League plans to play here starting in September, and the Northern League is looking for somebody interested in owning a local baseball franchise.
IBL teams run budgets in the $100,000 range, and Burns said players in smaller-market areas might earn salaries starting at $100 to $300 per game.
He said he hopes to sign five or six Canadian players onto his teams, including those who played university hoops in Canada.
His targeted attendance is 3,000 to 4,000 per game during 12 home contests.
The league’s average attendance through two seasons is listed at 700.
“I’m dead serious about this,” Burns said. “I want to make it work. I feel fans there have been cheated by the past leagues they’ve been in. It all comes down to the business plan.”
kmitchell@sp.canwest.com
This from the Star Phoenix today.
Basketball league franchise to open in Saskatoon next March
Kevin Mitchell, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, April 05, 2007
Troy Burns plans on taking professional basketball into a city still sporting scorch marks from past suitors.
The Edmonton-based businessman said Thursday that an International Basketball League franchise will tip off at Saskatoon’s Credit Union Centre next March. He reached a lease agreement with the arena Thursday, though nothing has been signed yet.
“We want the team to be there for a long, long time,” said Burns, who fronts Sports Management Group Ltd. “Looking at the league, talking to the commissioner, we knew it would work in Saskatoon.” His next task is to convince Saskatoon businesspeople and fans, both victimized repeatedly by failed sports ventures, that he’s in for the long-haul.
That won’t be easy.
Saskatoon’s last pro sports disaster was in 2003, when the Canadian Baseball League crashed in mid-season and left piles of creditors who never received their money.
Three different pro basketball teams have played in four different leagues since 1990. Two of those leagues folded in mid-season, and the last team - the Saskatchewan Hawks - died in 2002 after two dysfunctional years.
Burns, whose group also owns an IBL expansion franchise in Edmonton, plans to move into Saskatoon and take a hands-on approach.
He’s currently employed by the Northern League’s Edmonton Cracker Cats as director of corporate sponsorship and new-business development. He also recently landed franchise-ownership rights in the controversy-plagued World Hockey Association, a western junior league unsanctioned by Hockey Canada.
The IBL is entering its third season and has 26 teams, all south of the border. The low-budget league works itself around geographic clusters and guarantees that no team will have more than one air-travel trip per season.
The league hopes to have at least three Canadian franchises next season; Burns’ teams in Saskatoon and Edmonton, and another in Calgary. They’re trying to finalize a deal with that owner.
IBL commissioner Mikal Duilio was traveling Thursday and couldn’t be reached for comment.
“Looking at Saskatoon, we saw what happened in the past,” Burns said. “I want to meet with the business community and potential sponsors, show them what we’re going to do. We’re hoping we’ll be able to talk to them, and tell them how we’re different from past owners who have been there.
“Anywhere you go, you’re going to have a little bit of resistance. They’re going to be skeptical. But sports marketing is my background, and hopefully we’ll be able to win them over.” Burns enters Saskatoon’s sports marketplace at an interesting time. The Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League plans to play here starting in September, and the Northern League is looking for somebody interested in owning a local baseball franchise.
IBL teams run budgets in the $100,000 range, and Burns said players in smaller-market areas might earn salaries starting at $100 to $300 per game.
He said he hopes to sign five or six Canadian players onto his teams, including those who played university hoops in Canada.
His targeted attendance is 3,000 to 4,000 per game during 12 home contests.
The league’s average attendance through two seasons is listed at 700.
“I’m dead serious about this,” Burns said. “I want to make it work. I feel fans there have been cheated by the past leagues they’ve been in. It all comes down to the business plan.”
kmitchell@sp.canwest.com