BASKETBALL Youngstown to operate new IBL team in 2005

A press conference will be held Oct. 11 to announce the franchise.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A press conference is scheduled for Oct. 11 to introduce local ownership and the announcement of a new franchise that will begin play in a new International Basketball League in April 2005.
The ceremony will be held at Struthers Fieldhouse at 10 a.m., according to a Kevin Liles, director of media and public relations for the IBL.
According to a press release distributed by the IBL, 14 cities have committed to begin play in the new league in 2005, including Akron and Dayton, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Flint, Mich.
The head of the IBL, Mikal Duilio, said the league will be operated in "clusters" or franchises that are close geographically.
"Other minor league basketball teams struggle because most leagues are spread out, meaning away games are typically by flight, [which] does not work out financially for the owner," said Duilio.
"The IBL business model locates teams in geographical clusters that are within a drive of each other."
The league promises a fast-paced game, allowing for only one timeout per team per quarter and what Duilio calls an "immediate inbound rule".
"Fans will see nearly twice the scoring in one hour and a half than they will see in other games that last nearly three hours," he said.
Second team here
This will be the second minor league franchise in Youngstown in the last five years. One-time Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien brought a franchise to the former South Fieldhouse in 1999, but it lasted less than one season.
The Youngstown Hawks were also members of a group called the International Basketball League, but Duilio said the current IBL has no ties to that one; his only association to the old IBL is that he bought the rights to the name.