Pacers Sports & Entertainment yesterday announced that it has purchased the NBA D-League Ft. Wayne Mad Ants, making the Pacers the 10th NBA organization to "exclusively own and control a minor-league team," according to Candace Buckner of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. The Mad Ants, who formerly were owned by the Ft. Wayne Basketball Group, joined the D-League in '07 and won the championship in '14, "operated as a busy terminal for many NBA hopefuls." The Pacers were among 13 NBA teams who "shared an affiliation with the Mad Ants" last season. The Pacers’ desires "did not always align with the team as it attempted to stay competitive" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 9/10). In Ft. Wayne, Justin Cohn reports the team "will continue to play at Memorial Coliseum -- the lease between the Mad Ants and the venue is entering its final season -- and Jeff Potter, who had run the day-to-day operations as team president, will remain as president of business operations." The Mad Ants’ new GM "will be 31-year-old Brian Levy, who spent the last three years as assistant general manager with the D-League’s Bakersfield Jam." The Pacers "will play a preseason game at the Coliseum" against the Hornets Oct. 22 (Ft. Wayne JOURNAL-GAZETTE, 9/10). Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird said, "Our owners sealed the deal. We had been looking at hybrids for a long time (partnerships where the NBA team runs the basketball operations of a D-League franchise). Our owners stepped in and said ‘Let’s get this done.'" Pacers coach Frank Vogel expects that the Mad Ants coach will "be a full part of the Pacers training camp and become an extension of what the Pacers are developing" (Ft. Wayne NEWS-SENTINEL, 9/10).
SIMON SAYS: In Sacramento, Bill Paterson reports the USL in ’17 will add a Reno-based franchise, whose “official announcement will be made Sept. 16.” The Reno team will “be owned” by Pacers Owner Herb Simon and “share the 9,000-seat Aces Ballpark with the Pacific Coast League team.” The current 24-team USL already has announced expansion franchises for Cincinnati, Lehigh Valley of Bethlehem, Pa., and Rio Grande Valley of Edinburg, Texas, for next season (SACRAMENTO BEE, 9/10).
