Trenton May Lose Minor League B-Ball

For the second time in six weeks, a professional sports team is on the verge of leaving Sovereign Bank Arena.

Trenton Shooting Stars owner Herb Greenberg said the he will announce the team`s plans on July 13.

He said three other cities are wooing the International Basketball League team. He wouldn`t name the cities.

"On a business level, it`s a no-brainer," he told The Trentonian for Saturday`s editions. "We`re gone."

To stay, he said Friday, he needs to come up with a $500,000 investment and a $150,000 line of credit by then.

The team did well on the court – advancing last season to the league semifinals – but it rarely attracted more than 500 fans to home games.

The team says the low attendance is due in part to struggles for the league. Because of ultimately unsuccessful talks of merging with the American Basketball Association before last season began, the schedule was not released or promoted until a few weeks before the season tipped off.

Greenberg said in two years, investors have lost $3 million – including more than $2 million of his money.

He said he wants to stay in the arena if it`s possible. "I didn`t buy a team to be anywhere else," he told The Times of Trenton for Saturday`s editions.

The team has played in the arena, which opened in 1999, for two seasons.

Officials who run the arena said the venue wouldn`t suffer much financially if the team left town.

General Manager Mike Scanlon said the Mercer County Improvement Authority, which owns the 10,500-seat arena, roughly broke even last year.

But a departure would mean the number of pro teams who call the arena home would have quickly shrunk from three to one. The Trenton Lightning indoor football team folded on May 28 before it reached the midpoint of its season.

A move by the Stars would leave only the East Coast Hockey League`s Titans in the building.

With concerts, conventions and other events to supplement the sports, the arena is in use roughly every other day.

When it opened, it came with the promise of helping to revive this capital city. Basketball was part of the plan.

"It`s unfortunate," Mayor Doug Palmer told The Trentonian. "I know that Herb Greenberg put his heart and soul in bringing professional basketball here."

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: 6 ABC - Action News