A low-level team affiliated with the New York Knicks would play its home games in Westchester if the county OKs a tentative deal with Madison Square Garden Co.
The team would be an NBA D-League expansion or relocation franchise that would play 24 games of its 50-game season at the Westchester County Center between November and April, with the possibility of up to six playoff games in April. The D-League is a development league of 17 teams whose rosters include players trying to move their way up to the big clubs.
The prospective deal is going to the county”™s Board of Acquisition & Contract today, according to County Executive Robert P. Astorino. Once the deal is approved, he said, a formal licensing agreement would be signed between the county and MSG. The plan would then need NBA approval.
“Westchester loves basketball at every level and this agreement would bring professional basketball to the county,” Astorino said.
Astorino said the tentative agreement would be for five years, with the company having an option to renew for five additional years. The agreement would see MSG pay the county a set fee for any games and additional costs associated with preparing the arena for games. Astorino said between ticket sales, parking, food, merchandise and advertising, the county could expect anywhere between $48,000 and $288,000 per season.
