The Orlando Magic on Tuesday announced the relocation of their NBA G League affiliate from Lakeland to Kissimmee, a move first reported by the Orlando Sentinel on Monday.
The Magic’s G League team was rebranded as the Osceola Magic and will start playing at Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park in November.
Kissimmee’s Silver Spurs Arena was one of two finalists, along with Lakeland, for the Magic’s G League affiliate base ahead of the 2017-18 season.
“Proximity matters greater,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said. “This is going to be a game-changer for us.”
Magic CEO Alex Martins told the Sentinel that the Magic’s leasing agreement with Osceola is for 12 years. The G League team will continue to practice at the training facility inside Amway Center.
“We certainly like the fact we’re locked into a long-term agreement so we don’t have to approach a situation like this in another five years or have to go through this process again,” Martins said. “It’s definitely a win-win relationship. It’s an agreement and partnership that works well for Osceola County, the Osceola Magic and the Magic organization.”
The Magic’s G League affiliate was previously based out of Erie, Pa., and known as the Erie BayHawks. The Magic established a three-year partnership with Erie starting with the 2014-15 season before purchasing the franchise in December 2016 and relocating it to Lakeland in 2017.
“The relationship was definitely changing with Lakeland,” Martins said. “As we had initial discussions about extending our relationship there, the business terms changed significantly. At the same time, knowing we had an opportunity to have a discussion with them, Osceola County was very aggressive about reaching out to us and attempting to put a relationship on the table that worked for us as well.
“In the end, it was perfect timing for us and Osceola County for a move. We’ve created a partnership that is going to be very beneficial for both parties.”
When asked what he meant by the business terms with Lakeland changing significantly, Martins responded: “Specifically, a significant increase in rent.”
A league source told the Sentinel that Lakeland was looking to “double” the Magic’s leasing rent for RP Funding Center.
“They removed a lot of the opportunities they provided to us in the past, specifically relating to selling rights in the building,” Martins said. “Those were all deal points that Osceola knew from our previous discussions five years ago that was important to us that they were willing to afford to us as well.”
Martins said discussions about relocating the team started a few months ago as the organization’s agreement with Lakeland expired, adding that their discussions were “solely focused on Osceola County.”
“Osceola County is really part of the real base of our Orlando Magic fanbase,” he said. “We have many [people] here in Osceola County who come to the Amway Center on a regular basis to watch the Orlando Magic play. It’s exciting for us to bring the product closer to the residents of Osceola County in the form of our G League team.”
The G League — which features 30 teams, including 28 with one-to-one affiliations with NBA franchises — is the NBA’s developmental league, preparing players, coaches, officials, trainers and front-office staff members for careers at the next level.
This past season, 49 G League players earned call-ups to the NBA.
NBA players also will play in the G League as part of injury-rehab assignments or to get the consistent playing time they don’t get with their organization’s NBA team.
Seven Orlando Magic players spent time in the G League this past season: R.J. Hampton, Kevon Harris, Caleb Houstan, Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke, Admiral Schofield and Jay Scrubb.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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