Worcester tries to lure Maine's pro basketball team from Portland
Photo / Peter Van Allen
The city of Worcester, Mass., wants to be the home of the Maine Red Claws, here in action at the Portland Expo.
At the request of a Worcester, Mass., city councilor, officials there plan to reach out to representatives of the Maine Red Claws, the Boston Celtics’ minor-league basketball affiliate, in an attempt to bring another sports team to Worcester.
Councilor Sean Rose’s motion compelling City Manager Edward Augustus to contact the Boston Celtics to bring the Portland team to Worcester was passed Tuesday.
“I just want to extend that olive branch if there’s ever any potential down the road,” Rose said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, calling Worcester one of the best sports cities in New England.
Before the meeting, Rose said the recent move of semi-professional basketball team Worcester 78’s to Salem opens the door for another basketball team to take its place.
Neither the Red Claws nor the Celtics could be immediately reached for comment Tuesday morning.
The city is building a $101 million ballpark for the new home of the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, convincing the Red Sox affiliate to move from Rhode Island. Worcester also boasts a professional hockey team, Worcester Railers; a collegiate baseball team, the Worcester Bravehearts, and an arena football team, the Massachusetts Pirates.
Any potential move may have to wait a few years, as the Red Claws are locked into a lease with the Portland Expo Arena until at least June 30, 2024. The team has an option to extend that lease to the end of the 2029 basketball season.
A relocation would give each team a much shorter commute than the current two hours from Boston to Portland and it would follow a trend of NBA teams relocating their G-League affiliate after acquiring that team, which the Celtics plan to do shortly after announcing a deal to buy the team in July.
The Utah Jazz in 2015 purchased affiliate Idaho Stampede and relocated the team from Boise, Idaho, to Salt Lake City a year later. The Phoenix Suns in 2016 moved affiliate Bakersfield Jam from Bakersfield, Calif., to Prescott Valley, Arizona after a similar purchase.
Not including the Celtics, at least 16 NBA teams own their G-League affiliate.
The Red Claws debuted in the 2009-10 development league season as an affiliate of both the Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats (now the Charlotte Hornets). That relationship with the Celtics became exclusive in 2012.
Portland has had mixed success as a minor-league basketball venue.
In their first two seasons, the Red Claws attracted sellout crowds and over 70 corporate sponsors to their home court at the 3,000-seat Portland Expo. But attendance has steadily declined since then. The team finished last season with a 19-31 record, the fourth-worst in the G League.
Editor's Note: The Worcester Business Journal, a publication of New England Business Media, is an affiliate of Mainebiz.
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