Owensboro Lands NBA Basketball team

Basketball in Kentucky is huge, and its about to get even huger.

The Curmudgeon has learned through his inside sources that a press conference will be held at 6:00 p.m. today to announce the relocation of a current NBA team to Owensboro.

Details are very sketchy and apparently this deal is moving through very quickly but the Curmudgeon has interviewed a person very close to the situation (that person's identity will not be revealed in order to protect him/her).

As part of the downtown devlopment, a new stadium will be built to house the team and the team will begin play in Owensboro at the start of the 2012 season.

"The team has been struggling financially in the market they are currently in and were looking to relocate," states the source "the team looked at the success the Oklahoma group has had and decided to give a smaller market with less competition a shot".

Kentucky is known for having a very rabid basketball fanbase. The team looked at the bigger cities, Louisville and Lexington, but did not want to compete with the local college teams (the Cardinals and Wildcats).

"Marketing this team in a town such as Owensboro is a completely new way of thinking for the NBA. With the current recession, competition for what little entertainment dollars there are floating around is cut-throat. We believe we are going to tap into an untouched market with strong demand. The current redevelopment of Owensboro's downtown area and plans already in place for a new arena really was perfect timing for this deal."

While Owensboro seems like an extremely small population to support such a major-league team, my source believes the team will draw fans from surrounding cities like Evansville and Bowling Green. "When you look at the actual market size that the team will be drawing their fans from, it is comparable to cities like Sacramento, CA and Oklahoma."

The Curmudgeon pressed to learn which team was involved with the move but that piece of information is being kept tightly controlled. "The current owner, who is moving the team and not selling, wants to be able to personally address staff and players before they hear from other sources."

It looks like Owensboro may be taking its first steps towards the big time and oh yeah. . .APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!