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No Respect, I Tell Ya. No Respect
In the professional sports world though, the NBDL garners about as much respect from the fan base as an uncle with bad breath at a family reunion.
Fan support in many markets has been weak at best. Two of the original eight cities, Mobile (Ala.), and Greenville (S.C.), lasted only two seasons.
The struggling Charleston (S.C.) Lowgators were purchased by investors and moved to an arena twenty minutes South of Fort Myers (Fla.) before the start of the 2004-05 season.
You have a better chance of finding an endangered Florida panther in the nearby woods than finding promotions for the Florida Flame within just a few miles of their home arena (See STORY).
When NBDL games have been televised on ESPN2, they have moved fans around or reduced lighting in the upper decks to make the arena appear more occupied.
FANS WANTED
While many teams in affiliated minor league baseball have gone decades with piddling attendance in the name of developing talent, basketball players are used to a little more interest.
"You're playing great? You're a pro right? But you're playing sometimes to crowds that are smaller than the ones we got in high school," said one NBDL player, on condition of anonymity, who said that crowds were smaller than 500 on some nights.
It Takes a Village to Create a Farm
Creating a farm system that is similar to Major League Baseball’s will be undeniably easier said than done, even for a man with Stern’s considerable clout.
When the NBDL started, the operation was a national, top-down affair, run by the league and SFX Entertainment.
Two of the original eight cities, Mobile (Ala.), and Greenville (S.C.), lasted only two seasons. The founding franchises, the Asheville (N.C.) Altitude, Columbus (Ga.) Riverdragons, Fayetteville (N.C.) Patriots, Huntsville (Ala.) Flight and Roanoke (Va.) Dazzle, remain in the league.
The struggling Charleston (S.C.) Lowgators were purchased by investors located in Fort Myers (Fla.), and the team was moved there before the start of the 2004-05 season.
Of the eight current teams, only the Florida Flame has an independent ownership group.
One early mistake was making the team jerseys generic: The NBDL logo in different colors for each team. The branding around an NBA-like logo backfired. It may seem corny, but local fans like their Kernals, Generals, Wolves, Scorpions, and the gear that comes with them.
The NBA still struggles to achieve a better understanding of small market operations.
