The Organization of Professional Basketball To Add Teams in Seattle, Raleigh
June 17, 2004; New York, NY- Today, the Organization of Professional Basketball announced plans to once again expand, this time with the addition of franchises in Seattle, Washington and Raleigh, North Carolina. The new teams will begin play at the start of the 2005 season.
Fans celebrate at the foot of the iconic Astro Tower as its revealed that the OPB will add a team in Seattle. The team’s temporary arena is visible behind the Astro Tower
The move was widely-anticipated by fans of the league, which last expanded in 1978 with the addition of twelve teams. “We’re pleased to add franchises in these two remarkable cities,” declared OPB Chairman Marshall Pearson. “Both these cities have fan bases that have longed for OPB franchises, and I could not be happier to offer both cities an opportunity to join the ranks of our other 28 U.S.-based teams.”
Seattle’s fans have asked for the city’s Astro Tower to be featured in the team’s logo. The franchise’s new ownership team recently held a design contest, with two logos featuring the tower selected as the finalists. Still, ownership has remained tight-lipped on whether or not the fans’ wishes will be granted.
In Seattle, a massive crowd gathered at the base of the city’s famed Space Needle to cheer the announcement and celebrate the good news. “This is long overdue. Seattle is a great sports town that has been lacking a basketball team. Everyone in the country knows we deserve a team and now we’ve finally got one,” yelled Seattle native Ben Kirschner as he attempted to be heard over the party that erupted just moments after the announcement by Pearson. The celebrations were mostly innocent, though there were reports of small fires and overturned cars overnight.
The Raleigh Ownership Group unveiled the basis for the team’s logo, which pays tribute to The Acorn, a sculpture in downtown Raleigh. The ROG also assured fans a triangle will feature prominently in the logo.
In Raleigh, businessman Michael Ingram, the leader of the Raleigh Ownership Group that lobbied for the franchise, addressed a crowd at Raleigh’s Acorn Center, which will serve as the temporary home to the city’s OPB team until a dedicated arena is set to open in the fall of 2006. “Raleigh. Durham. Chapel Hill. This is not just a moment for Raleigh, but for basketball fans throughout the Triangle. For decades, we have served as the home to the nations’ top collegiate basketball programs, but now we have a professional team that we expect to achieve the same levels of success that our legendary college teams have.”
Both teams will tip off at the start of the 2005 season. Team names and logos must be revealed by October 1st of this year and an expansion draft will take place at the completion of the OPB’s 2004-05 season.