Bloomington Flex unveil team logo to the public

Jan 19, 2013 (The Pantagraph - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Former Drive exec Henderson to launch Flex as new team BLOOMINGTON -- A group led by former Central Illinois Drive Executive Vice President Scott Henderson will own a professional basketball team ca... Read more BLOOMINGTON -- The picture of what professional basketball will look like during its second season in Bloomington-Normal became clearer on Friday when the Bloomington Flex revealed their blue and gold logo and uniform design.

"This has been quite a journey ... but it's one that we wanted to take," said Scott Henderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bloomington Flex Basketball, at his new team's first press conference at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Flex will have the same coach, A.J. Guyton, and expect to have many of the same players that were with the Central Illinois Drive last season.

The Flex open their season at Sterling on March 15 against the Sauk Valley Predators. The home opener at U.S. Cellular Coliseum is March 29.

The Flex will play a 16-game regular-season schedule with 10 home games. The complete schedule is expected to be announced by Monday. As the Drive last season, the team won the Premier Basketball League title with a 22-1 record.

The PBL has merged with the Independent Basketball Association to form a new league called the IBA-PBL.

The league, which has 20 teams with more to come, includes six in Illinois: the Flex, the Rockford RiverDawgs, Lake County (Deerfield) Stars, Springfield Xpress, Kankakee County Soldiers and Sauk Valley Predators.

Teams will compete within two divisions based on geography. Henderson feels modest travel expenses for teams and their fans is "a real appealing business model." The Flex have yet to solidify their roster, but former Drive players Todd Peterson and Josh Edmunds attended Friday's news conference where Henderson mentioned Daniel Ruffin as another ex-Drive player he expects to return.

Henderson said many veterans of the Drive and about 25 newcomers attended a Dec. 16 tryout at Shirk Center. Another 200 players have expressed interest since then.

Another tryout is planned for mid-February. A roster will be announced prior to training camp opening in early March.

Henderson said his co-owners -- "about 10 people" -- have chosen to remain anonymous.

The Flex also announced season ticket sales have begun. The ticket hotline is 309-242-8026. Individual game tickets go on sale Feb. 25. General admission is $10 per game. The team website is www.flexbasketball.com.

Reserved seat season tickets are $99, which covers 10 games. A $99 FLEX Pass is available so fans can buy 10 general admission tickets to be used in any combination at any games. VIP floor season tickets that cover unlimited food and beverages are available for $380.

Henderson believes the Flex can be financially viable if they match last season's average of over 1,600 fans per game.

"Based on the initial response to season tickets," he said, "we will sell many, many more season tickets than we did last year." ___ (c)2013 The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.) Visit The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.) at www.pantagraph.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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