Collingdale ABA team extended a zone defense
Before the proposed ABA Yeadon Kings could ever score a point, they first would have to break a vigorous press.
While an ownership group headed by Darrin “Slim” Akers claimed to have secured an American Basketball Association expansion franchise for Yeadon, league CEO Joe Newman Sunday admitted that a team previously had been approved for a group from Collingdale.
With the financial backing of businessman Kinji Ridley, the Delco Desperados will begin in November at the Collingdale Community Center. Since the Kings are expecting to play at Penn Wood High, Newman acknowledged that two teams playing 3.2 miles apart in one minor professional league problematic.
The ABA was aware of the conflict, was expecting to broker a settlement, and was planning to formally announce the expansion plans later this week. But when the news of the Yeadon plan dropped, Ridley was quick to defend his territory.
“We have a team in Delaware County,” he said. “If you check with the ABA, they will say, ‘They are the only team in Delaware County that can operate until we clear it up with Yeadon.’ Until I say, ‘Yes, no, maybe so, or we can do this,’ we are the only team in Delaware County.”
By Sunday night, after his conversation with Akers, Ridley said an agreement was in place, that some final details would be settled and that the Yeadon team would not interfere with his plan to bring “family friendly entertainment”
would
be to Collingdale.
With 175 teams, the ABA has not been particularly hesitant about locating multiple franchises within one market. Before his franchise could be approved, Ridley said, he had to provide assurances that his business interests would not overlap those of the Philadelphia Cannons, who are based just over six miles away in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia.
In the general Philadelphia region alone, there are franchises approved for Pottstown, West Chester, Norristown and Camden. And a second Philadelphia franchise, the Philly Raiders, has been approved for play in the coming season.
According to Ridley, and in a theme echoed by ABA vice president of new team development Susan Packard, the Akers group would have faced less pressure from the Desperados had they simply relocated to somewhere not so close to Collingdale. According to Ridley, his franchise territory technically was limited to Southeast Delco and would extend only as far as Township Line Road.
Akers, though, was committed to Yeadon.
“It’s Yeadon,” he said early Sunday. “I’m from Yeadon. I am praying that we can get this resolved.”
Ridley, a former player at Bartram High School, is a successful financial planner billed as, “The Wealth Builder.” He said he was not opposed to a financial agreement.
“That’s one of the things my attorney said,” he said. “He said, ‘Talk to them about money. You need some compensation. This could injure your business. And you are a business person.’”
Like the Kings, the Desperados are still in search of players and coaches, with that search process having been blunted by the virus shutdown. Both franchises have a logo. Both ownership groups possess a competitive drive to win games on and off the court.
As for the Kings, they have existing ABA capital, as Akers already owns the Camden Monarchs.
With Newman unsure Sunday even of exactly where the Desperados planned to play, it’s possible that both teams were approved before a thorough league study of Delaware County geography.
“Mistakes were made, mistakes that were out of my control,” Ridley said. “Everybody moved a little too fast.”
While Ridley is committed to Collingdale, he also said he has explored the possibility of operating in some kind of upgraded facility elsewhere in Delaware County. He mentioned Upper Darby, Milbourne and Chester as possibilities to “retro-fit” or build “a small arena.” He did not rule out the possibility of both Delco franchises sharing a facility.
“But you want to play a year or two while you do your due diligence, raise the funds and get everything in place,” he said. “Right now, I am just looking at how this can work. Us all being league owners, we try to have good will and work with each other.”