Mega Force. Hurricanes. Rim Rockers. Pegasus.
The sizable graveyard of local professional sports franchises has a wing devoted specifically to ill-conceived, failed start-ups of the American Basketball Association. The dates on the headstones are etched in days, not years, and the number of actual games played among them before their untimely demises can be counted on one hand.
Resurrecting pro ball in Hawaii — the last such effort was made in 2009 — comes with a litany of challenges in finances, logistics and reputation. But that hasn’t daunted the latest minor league team to court the local market, the Hawaii Hammerheads, which began operations in April.
“Hawaii’s definitely a prime destination for a team,” team president Kevin Williams said in a recent phone interview. “Without having any professional sports there, we’re thinking we can carve our own niche on the island.”
Williams, a 34-year-old native Texan, promises things will be different when the Hammerheads open the 2017 ABA season in Honolulu on Jan. 7 against the defending champion Jacksonville Giants. He said the plan is to play the bulk of a 20-game schedule at either the Hawaii Convention Center — which would require having a court and stands brought in — or at Radford High School as a contingency.
They’ve signed a handful of local players, most notably former University of Hawaii guard Geremy Robinson, and filled out the roster with some mainland prospects for November training camp. A coach has not yet been selected.
“So far things have been pretty smooth,” said Williams, a former player at NAIA Huston-Tillotson University with ABA assistant coaching experience. “Of course when we first purchased the team, a lot of people said they’ve tried to have a professional basketball team there before (and) it didn’t work out in their favor. Just that initial hurdle that we are here to stay. … We have great local players from the area. So just getting over the initial (skepticism). We’re looking forward to having it work this time.”
A group of local investors called NES Sports LLC is bankrolling the franchise. Williams declined to name those individuals, but said the team’s funds are sufficient as to avoid the player payment issues that grounded the past ABA teams before a single flight.
No matter the pro sport, it always comes back to travel costs for this remote island chain. Williams said the team has partnered with the agency Sports Travel Hawaii to bring eight teams here for the coming season (for two games each) at a discount. Those teams are responsible for getting to Las Vegas, and the Hammerheads are on the hook for the rest.
“The rest” is still substantial, and an obstacle past local ABA owners, Orrys Williams (Mega Force, 2005) and Andrew Moss (Hurricanes, 2007) never surmounted. They were effectively banished from the league.
The ABA, which has no affiliation with the NBA, has grown to comprise more than 100 teams since returning as the red-white-and-blue-ball alternative in 2000. It’s a transient league by reputation; Hawaii’s failed franchises are but a few of the dozens upon dozens that have folded, changed leagues or relocated nationally.
“We have never doubted that Hawaii (Honolulu) would be a great ABA city,” ABA co-founder Joe Newman said in an email. “We have never doubted that there would be great support from sponsors, fans and the community. The previous problems related only to TRAVEL — the ability of our mainland teams to get to Honolulu and for the Hawaii team to get to the U.S. Previous owner(s) assured us of having an airline travel deal. They didn’t. The new owners do.”
Kevin Williams said that deals for ground travel (Hertz) and hotels (Outrigger) are also secured.
But are there safeguards in place now to protect players and fans from shady business practices? Newman replied: “While we are comfortable that the 108 owners in the ABA are strong, you never can tell. We do have both ABA Standards and Requirements and an ABA Code of Conduct which are very strong and are very clear as to what we expect. And when these are not met, teams are asked to leave.”
Basketball doesn’t have a monopoly on aborted local pro sports. Baseball and football had their share. There was even a previous “Hawaii Hammerheads,” a one-year team (1999) in the Indoor Professional Football League that played at the Blaisdell.
Robinson, 37, last played pro ball in 2011 in the Philippines but is still a regular in the College Summer League in Manoa. He helped steer Williams toward other local players like Pii Minns, Aukai Wong and Brandon Matano.
“The thing about a successful pro team in Hawaii … (is) if they get the support of the marketing rights, and the right things are done, because there’s nothing like that,” Robinson said. “So we gotta have some exciting ball. But I’ll try my best to take care of that part on the court and have fun.”
Robinson understands and expects healthy public skepticism.
“I think they’ll come out, but things have to be done right,” he said. “I told Kevin this. Things really have to be done the right way.”
Sixteen of the Hammerheads games are set to be at home, on Saturdays and Sundays, with 12 taking place on Oahu and two each on Hawaii island (Hilo Civic Auditorium, Jan. 14-15) and Maui (Lahaina Civic Center, Feb. 11-12). They are to play some preseason road games in late November.
The Hammerheads will be eligible for the playoffs immediately, though Williams cautioned he elected to play a tough schedule. He hopes for crowds of 3,000 at the convention center; Radford seats about 1,400.
“The only concern that I have the first season is making sure we remain competitive,” Williams said. “If you’re going to pay your $7 to come to our games, we want you to see the best.”
He said community outreach is important, and plans camps and other events. He added radio arrangements have been worked out with KHKA 1500-AM and KKEA 1420-AM, and he’s talking to Oceanic for a TV partnership.
HAWAII HAMMERHEADS
>> Website: www.hawaiihammerheads.com
>> Twitter: @HiHammerheads
PAST HAWAII ABA FRANCHISES
>> Hawaii Mega Force, 2005, 2 games (0-2)
>> Hawaii Hurricanes/Pacific Rim Rockers, 2007, 0 games
>> Honolulu Pegasus, 2009, 2 games (1-1)
