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Orlando Magic’s Florida-based D-League team down to four locations

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Mar 19, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Eastern Washington Eagles guard Tyler Harvey (1) shoots the basketball against Georgetown Hoyas guard Jabril Trawick (55) during the first half in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Eastern Washington Eagles guard Tyler Harvey (1) shoots the basketball against Georgetown Hoyas guard Jabril Trawick (55) during the first half in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Orlando Magic have narrowed the location for their new D-League team in Florida to four cities, including two in Central Florida.

The Orlando Magic have narrowed down the possible locations for their Florida-based D-League franchise to four cities, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Magic CEO Alex Martins told Robbins the team has received and is considering bids from Jacksonville, Lakeland, Kissimmee and Disney for its new D-League affiliate.

The Magic have had a direct, one-to-one affiliation with the Erie Bayhawks for the last two years. While Erie is independently owned, the Magic run their basketball operations.

They have used it to send some young players and house players they are interested in bringing to the main roster or to training camp the following year. The Bayhawks have run the same offensive and defensive system as the Magic with Bayhawks coaches working with the Magic during training camp. There was a team filled almost entirely with players who played in Erie or were prospects for the D-League on a Summer League team in Orlando this year.

It is the growing trend in the NBA to have this kind of relationship. But it is not perfect.

The Magic have made it pretty well known they wanted a team a little closer geographically to them and made some concrete steps to bring a D-League team to Florida. The team had previously sent requests for proposals to several sites around the state for this new team that the Magic would wholly own and operate.

And with the Charlotte Hornets bringing a team to Greensboro, N.C., the Magic appear set to have this team tip off for the 2018 season.

The four candidates are interesting in their own right. There are two located in the Central Florida area. And two that are in non-traditional basketball markets.

The bid from Disney and the ESPN Wide World of Sports facility at the HP Field House is intriguing for potential marketing capabilities. The facility has hosted some pro teams before — the Orlando Rays played there unsuccessfully in the early 2000s and Orlando City played a season there while the Orlando Citrus Bowl was under construction. There is a mixed bag of attendance success despite the proximity and marketing potential of Disney.

Kissimmee’s Silver Spurs Arena is also intriguing. The only pro team that has played there was the now-defunct Florida Seals hockey team. There were some other logistical issues and ownership issues with that team.

Both Central Florida locations are intriguing to reach a new area within the Central Florida area that may not always trek to Downtown Orlando, but also come with some risk. Neither have supported their minor league teams particularly well.

Lakeland’s Lakeland Center has hosted the state championship in basketball for several years now. Lakeland is a much smaller potential market than any of the others, but has the advantage of being somewhat between Orlando and Tampa to draw from those two markets. That might be a stretch.

It feels like Jacksonville is truly the best option at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

Jacksonville has the Jaguars but also has a strong minor league group of teams in the Arena Football League’s Jacksonville Sharks, the Southern League’s Jacksonville Suns and the NASL’s expansion team the Jacksonville Armada. All three have experienced plenty of success.

Jacksonville has hosted Magic games in the past so there is familiarity with the team and the stadium is a decent sized one — 14,091 for basketball. It has hosted the NCAA Tournament to some success and Florida Gators basketball games to great success. If the basketball is good, there is definitely the chance to draw from a large market and population.

Whether or not a D-League team could survive in a crowded sports environment is surely something the Magic will consider when making a final decision of where to place the team.

But Jacksonville is not too far away and it would be easy for the Magic to try to plant their flag in Jacksonville more officially and see if it would be possible to draw people down I-95 to Central Florida.

It is far enough away to bring in a new market and audience, but close enough to access easily.

The Magic will be making their decision and reviewing proposals into the summer, Martins told Robbins. Orlando though is moving closer to finalizing its new D-League team.