NBA's D-League Anaheim Arsenal Relocating To Springfield, Mass

Reed Announces Arsenal Will Relocate To Springfield Ahead Of '09-10 Season

NBA D-League President Dan Reed yesterday formally announced that the Anaheim Arsenal will be relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts, ahead of the '09-10 season. The team will be owned and operated by former IMG Senior VP Michael Savit, who heads the HWS Basketball group of investors. HWS retains the rights to current Arsenal players and will announce the team's new name and colors later this spring (NBA). WSHM-CBS' Lesley Tanner noted the franchise is "expected to have two major league affiliate teams, and despite rumors that the Boston Celtics will become partners with the new Portland, Maine team, officials say those decisions won't be made until the off season." Savit said that he will be "happy with whatever teams he gets." The Springfield franchise "will play all home games at the MassMutual Center starting in November." Savit: "You want a market just like this where the team is going to be a really big deal. It's not going to be in competition with major league teams" (CBS3SPRINGFIELD.com, 3/31). A Springfield REPUBLICAN editorial states the "presence of an NBA farm team should boost" the Basketball HOF's "profile -- and the downtown economy -- in a year in which Michael Jordan, the game's biggest star, is slated for induction" (Springfield REPUBLICAN, 4/1).