The official launch of the nascent Premier Basketball League has been pushed back to allow for the addition of new teams and the league's first player combine next month, said former RazorSharks President and current PBL Vice President Steve Rossi.

League officials, including former RazorSharks owner and PBL co-founder Orest Hrywnak, were hoping to launch the league Aug. 1 with a big ceremony. However, with the addition of a Dallas franchise this week and the pending negotiations with up to four more new teams, the launch date has been delayed.

Rossi also noted that the league will hold its first national player combine in D.C. on Aug. 11; officials want to hold off on the launch until the combine is under their belt.

The league now has six committed teams — Rochester, Maryland, Wilmington, Reading, Minnesota and Dallas — and Rossi said two more are in a holding pattern pending legal negotiations. Two more franchises on top of that are being evaluated for their financial stability.

Rossi said he's hoping to have at least 10 teams secured, and hopefully 12, by the time the league starts play in January. The key, he said, is making sure each team and the league itself are finacially secure.

"Our model has been slow growth, but smart growth," he said. "It's quite a process to make sure the finances for each team are set."

League officials are planning on having at least one more player combine — this one in Chicago — before holding the league's first lottery draft, which is targeted for Oct. 1.

 

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