ABA team lands in LV

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002 | 10:48 a.m.

In an abrupt move to keep balance throughout ABA 2000, the Las Vegas Slam professional basketball team started play last Saturday night with a seven-point road loss to the Kentucky Cats.

That's right, the Las Vegas Slam. Another minor league basketball team.

The team, originally scheduled to join the league next season, at least according to ABA officials, intends to play its first home game in Las Vegas Monday at a site yet to be determined.

The announcement comes a year after the Las Vegas Bandits of the International Basketball League folded in the middle of last season due to lack of fan support.

Joe Newman, one of ABA 2000's founders and current CEO, said the Slam began operations after the league terminated the Chicago Skyliners franchise last Thursday because it was not able to find a suitable venue for its home games and could not field a competitive team.

The principal owners of the Slam are former Los Angeles Lakers forward A.C. Green and California businessmen Dave Moore and Mike Caroll.

"They decided it could be done in a short period of time so that the league will have three West Coast teams in the Slam, Southern California and Phoenix," Newman said.

Green met with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman last weekend to discuss the team's presence in Las Vegas. Goodman said he planned to introduce Green to Idaho businessman Larry Leasure, the point man for a proposed arena in downtown Las Vegas.

ABA 2000 will now consist of the Detroit Dogs, Indiana Legends, Kentucky Pro Cats, Kansas City Knights, Phoenix Eclipse, Southern California Surf and Las Vegas Slam.