I stumbled upon the fact that there used to be a semi-pro basketball
team by the name of the Jersey Shorecats of the USBL who played
their home games at Convention Hall. It seems they disbanded around
2001 and part of the reason a new owner didn't step up was because
of the state of the Convention Hall facility (no locker rooms for
one thing). Does anyone have any info on this team? Does anyone
think it would be fun to try to get a new team to play here? I am
attaching the article here...
The Asbury Park-based New Jersey ShoreCats professional basketball
franchise has suspended operations and will not field a team this
season, president and part-owner Spiro Michals said yesterday.
Michals and his father, George, majority owners of the team, said
they want to get out of the day-to-day basketball business to
concentrate on other family ventures and have been trying to sell
the team for several months.
Spiro Michals said several groups expressed interest in buying the 3-
year-old United States Basketball League franchise, but a deal
couldn't be worked out before the USBL season begins in late April.
"We do have someone interested in buying the franchise. The problem
that was hanging us up was convincing them to stay in Asbury," he
said. "They're still interested in buying the franchise and I think
they're interested in bringing it back here, but I'm not sure."
Spiro Michals said his family would be willing to remain as part-
owners if they were not required to run the team. The ShoreCats
played approximately 15 games a year at Asbury Park Convention Hall.
Several prospective buyers were disappointed that Convention Hall
has no locker rooms or shower facilities. Since the team's
inception, the city and ShoreCats had discussed sharing the cost of
upgrading the facility by adding showers and locker rooms, but never
reached an agreement.
The ShoreCats were considered one of the most stable and successful
franchises in the 16-year-old USBL, which plays from late April to
early July. Attendance has been steadily shrinking, however, since
the team averaged about 2,000 fans per game in its debut season in
1998, with NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry as coach. When Barry left to
coach another USBL team last season, the ShoreCats averaged fewer
than 1,000 fans despite posting a franchise-best 20-12 record.
According to Spiro Michals, the team hovered around profitability
despite the reduced attendance.
Jersey ShoreCats basketball franchise to disband Former Shorecats
coach NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry
But when he compared the small return on investment with the amount
of time and effort required to keep the team at or near
profitability, Michals said, he couldn't justify keeping the
ShoreCats when similar efforts in the family's other businesses --
which include publishing, online and other ventures -- bring much
better returns.
"I loved hanging around with the players and the coaches and all the
hype with Rick Barry was great," Michals said. 'It's just
unfortunate that to have those two months of great times, you work
your tail off for 10 months just to get to a small measure of
profitability. I'm not sorry we tried. The team still has a strong
sponsor base even today. I got a ton of calls this year from
people looking for tickets and group things.
"Unfortunately, we just don't have the time and energy to put into
running the team."
Mike Sweet, general manager of the USBL's Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs
and the former ShoreCats director of scouting, said the league hopes
the ShoreCats will be back next year.
"It's disappointing to the league, because we did feel it was a very
good franchise -- from Day 1, when it opened, up to last year," he
said. "I know the league is disappointed. We really liked the area
and the group."
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