PUBLIC CELEBRATION PLANNED FOR MONDAY

Event Planned in Monument Square to Celebrate Major Announcement

Members of the Maine Red Claws Dance Team pose with kids from the Boys & Girls Club who turned out to help the Red Claws celebrate their new NBA affiliations
 
Maine Red Claws Chairman Bill Ryan, Jr. unveils the Boston Celtics as the Red Claws' NBA parent team. Team President/GM Jon Jennings revealed the Charlotte Bobcats.
PORTLAND, MAINE (June 26, 2009) – Basketball fans are invited to join the Maine Red Claws, presented by Quirk Chevrolet, in Portland’s Monument Square on Monday, June 29 from Noon – 1 PM to celebrate a major announcement. Members of the Maine Red Claws Dance Team, joined by 30 kids from area Boys and Girls Clubs, will be on hand to supply the lunchtime crowd with balloons, and onlookers will be given the opportunity to win merchandise, as well as try their hand at the team’s basketball hoop for prizes.

“This will be a big day for Maine Red Claws basketball,” Maine Red Claws President and General Manager Jon Jennings said. “When we brought this team to Maine, we made a commitment to bring the best of what the NBA D-League had to offer. Monday’s announcement brings us one step closer to fulfilling that promise.”

Expected guests at Monday’s rally include Portland Mayor Jill Duson and Red Claws Chairman Bill Ryan, Jr. Red Claws fans are invited to join in the festivities, which will take place rain or shine at Monument Square from Noon – 1 PM. Monument Square is located on Congress Street in downtown Portland, directly across from the Portland Public Library

MAINE RED CLAWS: 2009-10 will mark the inaugural season for the Maine Red Claws. The NBA D-League team will begin play in November at the Expo. The franchise is owned and operated by Maine Basketball, LLC, which is principally owned by Bill Ryan Sr., the chairman of TD Banknorth Group, and Bill Ryan Jr., owner and operator of Oxford Plains Speedway. Jon Jennings, a partner in Maine Basketball, LLC and former Boston Celtics assistant coach, serves as the team’s president and general manager.

NBA Development League: The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA’s official minor league and featured 16 teams with direct affiliations to NBA teams during the 2008-09 season. This fall, two new NBA D-League teams will begin play in Portland, ME and Springfield, MA – the birthplace of basketball. Eighty-four former NBA Development League players were on 2008-09 NBA end-of-season rosters, amounting to almost 20 percent of NBA players, and the league continues to develop coaches, referees, and front office staff for the NBA and its teams. In fostering the league’s connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and wellness, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA D-League Cares programs. The NBA D-League also advances the game of basketball as the research and development arm of the NBA. Throughout the season fans can watch all NBA D-League games on NBA Futurecast, the free live Web-streaming initiative found at nba.com/futurecast.