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Mill Rats hoops boss encouraged by talks

The Saint John Mill Rats GM and president Ian McCarthy said a meeting with officials in London exceeded expectations.

He was in London along with the Halifax Rainmen's Andre Levingston, that team's owner, president and CEO, for a meeting with a prospective ownership group in London, Ont., Wednesday. They also met with city officials and management from London's main arena, the John Labatt Centre.

It represented the latest development as the Mill Rats, Rainmen and Quebec Kebs look to establish a new place to play after leaving the Premier Basketball League earlier this month.

"The city is very excited about the idea of having a professional basketball team," McCarthy said.

The London ownership group, he said, has a solid foundation.

"They are very solid. We're not able to disclose their identity at this point," McCarthy said.

The trip to London, he said, was the first that went beyond his group just looking at a map and deciding which markets could support a basketball team based on how saturated the market was with other franchises.

"This was actual real people who gave us great feedback."

The Mill Rats, Rainmen and the Quebec Kebs left the PBL last week after concerns over playoff officiating. The three teams formed a united front and are now deciding what league they'll play in next season.

There are four options currently on the table - joining an existing league such as the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League, the International Basketball League or the National Basketball Association's Development League. The fourth option is the creation of a Canadian professional basketball league.

Moncton has also been pegged as a possible home to a franchise.

Three ownerships groups, he said, were actually interested in the London market. The strongest of the three groups will get first crack at the London market and the other two have expressed interest in placing teams in other Ontario cities.

"That hasn't been pegged as far as where, what. It's still very (much) in (its) infancy stage."

McCarthy will fly back to Saint John today, but Levingston will stay in Ontario and investigate markets in Kingston, Windsor and Oshawa.

The future of the three teams and a Canadian league is expected to be announced in the second week of May.