Taking the Plunge(r)
When Rico was introduced last Saturday, someone behind me yelled “one more year.” I found out later it was a former neighbor of mine, and he was referencing former Illinois State University Redbird player Rico Hill, now of the Chicago Muscle of the Premier Basketball League.
It was the first PBL game I’d been to (the Central Illinois Drive team is new to town), and the game featured two former Redbirds with Hill and Tony Lewis of the local team.
For $10, you get a general admission ticket courtside in any of three sections. The venue is the US Cellular Coliseum in downtown Bloomington, where the floor is moved to one end and a large part of the venue is “curtained off” to make viewing a more intimate experience. I’m not sure what the capacity of this configuration is, but with an announced attendance figure of 1,558 on this day, there was still plenty of room.
Not a bad seat in the house, to steal a well-used cliché.
Even better, for $38 you can sit courtside in cushioned, folding chairs and enjoy unlimited concession access delivered directly to you by one of the available servers. Draft beer is included on this menu – I noted several former players of one of the local college teams taking advantage of this ticket option.
For me, Rico Hill was the most noticeable name on either roster, having been a former NBA draft pick some years ago. But there were other players I’ve seen in the past – former Division III players from Illinois Wesleyan University and North Central College, the two Illinois State alums, and even the seven foot plus son of former NBA player Paul Mokeski.
I’ve done a little reading on the league, and it’s a little difficult to understand the financial model, or determine how team owners can make much money. With only 10 home dates (and 20 games total), travel does seem to be reasonable in that the opponents are generally within driving distance, and I haven’t seen anything that would suggest big salaries are being offered. If anything, it seems the league owner is an honorable guy with regular philanthropic interests, and funding this league could be one of them.
I plan to see more games, especially the February 11th game against the St. Louis Phoenix, sponsored by D&R Plumbing, Heating & Air, Inc.
The first 1,000 fans in attendance get a free plunger.
Gotta love minor league sports.