The Orlando Magic on Tuesday introduced the relocation of their NBA G League affiliate from Lakeland to Kissimmee, a transfer first reported by the Orlando Sentinel on Monday.
The Magic’s G League workforce was rebranded because the Osceola Magic and can begin taking part in at Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park in November.
Kissimmee’s Silver Spurs Arena was considered one of two finalists, together with Lakeland, for the place the Magic have been seeking to base their G League affiliate forward of the 2017-18 season.
“Proximity matters greater,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman mentioned. “This is going to be a game-changer for us.”
Magic CEO Alex Martins instructed the Sentinel that the Magic’s leasing settlement with Osceola is for 12 years. The G League workforce will proceed to follow on the coaching facility inside Amway Center.
“We certainly like the fact we’re locked into a long-term agreement so we don’t have to approach a situation like this in another five years or have to go through this process again,” Martins mentioned. “It’s definitely a win-win relationship. It’s an agreement and partnership that works well for Osceola County, the Osceola Magic and the Magic organization.”
The Magic’s G League affiliate was beforehand primarily based out of Erie, Pa., and often called the Erie BayHawks. The Magic established a three-year partnership with Erie beginning with the 2014-15 season earlier than buying the franchise in December 2016 and relocating it to Lakeland in 2017.
“The relationship was definitely changing with Lakeland,” Martins mentioned. “As we had preliminary discussions about extending our relationship there, the enterprise phrases modified considerably. At the identical time, realizing we had a chance to have a dialogue with them, Osceola County was very aggressive about reaching out to us and making an attempt to place a relationship on the desk that labored for us as nicely.
“In the end, it was perfect timing for us and Osceola County for a move. We’ve created a partnership that is going to be very beneficial for both parties.”
When requested what he meant by the enterprise phrases with Lakeland altering considerably with Lakeland, Martins responded: “Specifically, a significant increase in rent.”
A league supply instructed the Sentinel that Lakeland was seeking to “double” the Magic’s leasing hire for RP Funding Center — the place the G League affiliate performed since 2017.
“They removed a lot of the opportunities they provided to us in the past, specifically relating to selling rights in the building,” Martins mentioned. “Those were all deal points that Osceola knew from our previous discussions five years ago that was important to us that they were willing to afford to us as well.”
Martins mentioned discussions about relocating the workforce began a number of months in the past because the group’s settlement with Lakeland expired, including that their discussions have been “solely focused on Osceola County.”
“Osceola County is really part of the real base of our Orlando Magic fanbase,” he mentioned. “We have many [people] here in Osceola County who come to the Amway Center on a regular basis to watch the Orlando Magic play. It’s exciting for us to bring the product closer to the residents of Osceola County in the form of our G League team.”
The G League — which options 30 groups, together with 28 with one-to-one affiliations with NBA franchises — is the NBA’s developmental league, making ready gamers, coaches, officers, trainers and front-office workers members for careers on the subsequent degree.
This previous season, 49 G League gamers earned call-ups to the NBA.
NBA gamers may even play within the G League as a part of injury-rehab assignments or to get the constant taking part in time they don’t get with their group’s NBA workforce.
Seven Orlando Magic gamers hung out within the G League this previous season: R.J. Hampton, Kevon Harris, Caleb Houstan, Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke, Admiral Schofield and Jay Scrubb.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or observe him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com