 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
ef="/basketball/basketball.html" target="_self" onMouseOut="MM_nbGroup('out');" onMouseOver="MM_displayStatusMsg('News of minor league basketball.');MM_nbGroup('over','hbar2000_r4_c3','/graphics/nav/hbar/hbar2000_r4_c3_f2.gif','/graphics/nav/hbar/hbar2000_r4_c3_f4.gif',1);return document.MM_returnValue" onClick="MM_nbGroup('down','navbar1','hbar2000_r4_c3','/graphics/nav/hbar/hbar2000_r4_c3_f3.gif',1)" > |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||
Business
Burciaga Wants Minority
Ownership of IBL Slam
Local Majority
Owners Being Sought Out
Albuquerque - 2/15/01 - After a lot of controversy which has swirled around the arena, the front office, and most recently, the local media, everyone is wondering when the New Mexico Slam of the International Basketball League are being sold or closed. On the local sports radio program "The Afternoon Show" with host Bob Clark, predictions from local fans ran to the dire side.
In recent weeks Burciaga has been critiqued for being an "absentee owner" and "out of touch" with the team and the city.
In an exclusive interview with MLN, the Slam's owner, Gil Burciaga, says that he is seeking minority ownership in the team, and local majority ownership.
'People keep telling me 'Gil, you're an outsider'," says Burciaga. "I know that's a problem. That's why I'm trying to find local ownership. I don't want to get rid of the Slam. I just would like someone to take a majority interest who has roots in the community."
Head Coach John Whisenant, also a successful businessman in the community, has been approached by both Burciaga and the IBL to put together a local ownership group.
"If you put a lot of things together in the next few months, a television deal, some definite relationship with the NBA, then you have something," Whisenant told MLN. "Otherwise it's risky business."
Does the Slam have a future? Both Burciaga and the International Basketball League believe it does. IBL CEO Ralph Rossi has been quoted publicly as supporting an IBL franchise in Albuquerque, regardless of who owns it.
In spite of the negative press from the print media in the last few days, Burciaga, who acknowledges that the Slam is losing money, is still optimistic.
"You don't think that all of these people who just took back those CBA teams are doing that on pure optimism, do you?" Burciaga asked. "The IBL is positioning itself to be a force in minor league basketball... What a franchise is worth today is not what it will be worth in three years."
Will the Slam be able to find a local ownership group to work with Burciaga? While the area is one of the top-ten cities for corporate relocation, according to a recent survey, there may not be enough large investors with the means necessary to take on such an investment.
They will face a franchise that has been rattled by a merger-delayed league start, downtown relocation jitters and lowered attendance, a pro-college print media that is hostile to professional basketball, and a demoralized operations staff.
On the plus side, the word of mouth about Slam basketball from those who venture downtown to see it has been excellent. The team, while not experiencing the high winning record of its first season, has developed from a good show into a team of some very gifted athletes who, arguably, play the best basketball in the State of New Mexico.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||
 |
|
|||||
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
|
|||||
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
|
|||||
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
|
|||||
