summer pro league

It's Not FILA, But The Pros Will
Still Be At The Pyramid In July--(June 29, 2000)

We've received a couple of e-mails over the last week or two, and most recently (this morning) someone posted an inquiry on the Men's Message Forum, wanting to find out if we had any information about about the FILA Summer Pro League. Yes, we do. . . .

First, it is no longer sponsored by FILA. In fact, the league is unsponsored this year. Now it's just called the "SPL" or "Summer Pro League."

Second, the league now has its very own Summer Pro League website, so you'll be able to get schedules, player rosters and results on a much more timely basis than ever before (that is if they fix the site. . . there are several broken links which need tending to).

Third, the league is set to run from July 8th through July 30th at Cal State Long Beach, at the Pyramid. Admission will cost you, and from what we can tell from the website, they are offering several different ticket packages, most of which seem pretty reasonable:

You can get a "Reserved Season Seat" (which is one reserved seat and parking pass for each of the 23 game days during the league, including all playoffs, championships and special events) which will run you $215 per seat. Then there's the "VIP Season Seat" which will set you back $295, but which features, in addition to the reserved seat, parking pass and admission to all of the game, a nightly admission to the SPL's VIP Hospitality Room and complimentary food and beverages (if you've been to the Pyramid Hospitality Suite, then you know this is well worth the additional $80 if you're planning on being there throughout the season. And if you really want to splurge, you can get "VIP Courtside Season Seat" which includes all the other stuff (hospitality room included) for another $80 (i.e., $375.00). And if all of that seems to be just too extravagant or too pricey for summer games (even if these are the pros), you can get a "Mini Season Pass" which allows you access to 6 scheduled LA Lakers games during the League Season or you can pick your own favorite NBA team participating and attend all 6 of their scheduled games, all for just $80. And while the site doesn't mention the price of a single-game admission, we know from past experience that it's very reasonable and probably one of the best deals in town. If you are interested in purchasing advance tickets, there's still time remaining, and you can mail your order to Summer Pro League, 11150 Olympic Blvd., Ste 1120, Los Angeles, CA 90064-1562, or you can Fax an order to (310) 445-4665, or place an order by voice by calling (562) 985-4949 (which is the number for the Long Beach State ticket office).

Fourth: Who will be there? We really don't know for certain, but the SPL folks are advertising that the league will have guys like:

Magic Johnson
Bonzi Wells
Paul Pierce
Jerry Stackhouse
Kobe Bryant
Ray Allen

Tracy McGrady
Tim Duncan
Maurice Taylor
Reggie Miller
Brent Barry
Dominique Wilkins

Bryon Russell
Nick Van Exel
Damon Stoudamire
Antawn Jamison
Baron Davis
Keith Closs

Cedric Ceballos
Dale Ellis
Clyde Drexler
Charles Outlaw
Dirk Nowitzki
Ron Mercer

Based on prior year's experience, we'd expect to see league with players from many different NBA and other pro-level teams (CBA, European, etc), including several of the guys who were and weren't drafted in yesterday's NBA draft, including especially guys like Jerome Moiso, DeShawn Stevenson, Mark Madsen, and perhaps even a few of those who will be free agents who didn't get drafted, but who participated and played well at some of the pre-draft camps (like Jaron Rush or Schea Cotton). We know for certain that teams who will be represented with players in the SPL will be the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle Supersonics, Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Portland Trailblazers, Golden State Warriors, and many others. Magic Johnson is also rumored to be entering a team of Swedish All-Stars, but we haven't been able to get confirmation on that yet. Likewise, the schedules for the league aren't available yet (at least the link on the site isn't working), so we really don't have that info yet.

Fifth: Lots of people ask " How is a player selected to participate in the league?" The answer is that there are only a couple of ways to get into the SPL:

This should be a fun summer at the SPL, and hopefully they'll get their website up and running completely in the next few days before the league gets started.