Westchester Knicks lay the foundation in first season
On the court, the Westchester Knicks”™ first season was an air ball.
Off the court, the Westchester Knicks”™ first season was a slam dunk.
The team, which plays its home games at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, recently wrapped up its first season as the New York Knicks”™ Development League affiliate.
- The Westchester Knicks have a five-year deal to play their home games at the Westchester County Center. Photo by Evan Fallor
From a basketball standpoint, the year was a struggle as the Knicks finished last in the 18-team D-League with a 10-40 record. As an expansion team, immediate success on the court was unlikely. That, coupled with a New York Knicks team that dipped into its D-League team”™s roster for players, made cohesion a challenge.
The team fired head coach Kevin Whitted in March and named assistant coach Craig Hodges as interim head coach.
Yet the team reported drawing an average crowd of 1,906 fans per home game, or roughly 90 percent of the County Center’s capacity of 2,119. More than 2,500 fans attended the team”™s school day game on Dec. 3, for which additional seats were added.
General Manager Allan Houston, who spent nine seasons as a player for the New York Knicks, said he was pleased with his first year at the helm of Westchester County”™s only professional sporting team.
“Our first season in Westchester was a tremendous experience,” Houston said. “The support from the local community exceeded our expectations and gave us a great foundation to build on going forward.”
“So many kids and families in Westchester got to see high-level basketball at a price and location they could not see previously,” Houston added. “If this year was any indication of what”™s to come, I”™m very excited for what the future holds for our team.”
The team has a five-year license agreement with the county with a five-year renewal option. Westchester County Deputy Commissioner of Parks and Recreation Peter Tartaglia estimated the county”™s revenue from the Knicks’ first season will be more than $200,000.
The Knicks agreed to pay $6,500 per game for the first season in exchange for the county staffing the home games with 45 employees. The team also pays an energy and utility usage fee of $475 per game.
The county receives from 17 to 20 percent of gross concession fees from game vendors. The Knicks agreed to pay the county 12 percent of all gross revenues from merchandise sales.
The county may charge a facility fee of $2.50 per ticket for seats priced over $15 and $1.50 for tickets priced at $15 or less. Tickets in the inaugural season ranged from $10 for an upper-level seat to $35 for a sideline seat.
For each of the five years, an entity of MSG Holdings LP receives the first $100,000 of net revenues from the sale of any signage, sponsorships or advertising. For any amounts totaling more than $100,000, 70 percent will be payable to the MSG company and 30 percent will be payable to the county.
County officials initially estimated the county will reap $922,110 in revenue over the five-year term of the license.
Before the season began, improvements were made to the locker rooms, bathrooms, lighting and other areas of the center to accommodate taller players and larger crowds. The Chase logo of JPMorgan Chase was emblazoned on midcourt, on the apron of the court and throughout the County Center. The logo also appeared on the team”™s road jerseys.
Tartaglia said that over the next few years, the center will see improvements to its sound system as well as further improvements to locker rooms. “The building will continue to get better and better not just for Knicks, but for any vendor that comes in,” he said.
The Westchester Knicks, whose regular season runs from November to April, played 24 home games at the County Center this past season. They replaced the Knicks’ former D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks.
The first-year team has received nearly all positive reviews from spectators on Ticketmaster, the team’s official ticket seller. Some said they were pleasantly surprised by the quality of play in the D-League, while others cited easy parking and the center”™s seats”™ close proximity to the court as reasons they enjoyed their experience.
“We”™re so happy to have the Knicks in Westchester,” said County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “Not only are the games a fun night out with friends and family, but it”™s really great basketball played by many who”™ll eventually get the call up to the NBA.”
Guard Langston Galloway became the franchise’s first call-up when the New York Knicks signed him to a 10-day contract in January.
Astorino, who began his career in sports radio, said he would be watching the team closely in the coming years.
“In just our first year, we saw Langston Galloway go from starring for the Westchester Knicks to averaging nearly 12 points per game for the New York Knicks. You just never know who the next NBA star from Westchester is going to be.”