Fairly big news in Bulls-land today, reported by Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald:
A Chicago Bulls-affiliated NBA Development League team may be making Hoffman Estates' Sears Centre Arena its home court for its inaugural season about a year from now.
Hoffman Estates village board members will be discussing such a deal at a special finance committee meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2.
"The Chicago Bulls are seeking to establish an expansion NBA Development League (NBADL) franchise that would begin play at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates for the 2016-17 season," the statement reads. "The concept of operating a NBADL franchise in the Chicago area is very exciting and represents an investment by the Bulls in the growth of the game of basketball and our brand."
Great!
The Bulls are one of 11NBA teams currently without a dedicated D-League franchise, and thus any players they wished to designate could be picked up by any team. The lack of a dedicated franchise to this point was seen here as a missed opportunity (and a relatively cheap one) to further develop players.
The arena in Hoffman Estates is about 35 miles northwest of the United Center. It's a fairly modern (opened in 2006) mid-sized arena and fairly underutilized.