Pittsburgh has a new professional basketball team and the team is hoping to generate some buzz around this city. 2014 will mark the inaugural season for the Steel City Yellow Jackets as they are set to play in the American Basketball Association.
The ABA is in its second incarnation after the first version played eight seasons before merging with the NBA. Pittsburgh has had an ABA presence before as the Pittsburgh Pipers were the first champions of the original league. The league reemerged in 2000 and several Pittsburgh teams including the Pittsburgh Phantoms, Pennsylvania Pit Bulls, and Pittsburgh XPlosion have been a part of the ABA.
Led by coach Averill “Ace” Pippens, the team features plenty of local basketball players who earned a spot on the team via local tryouts. Many are hungry for the chance to make a name for themselves and try to move up to bigger leagues.
Owner Antjuan Washington, also known in the hip-hop industry as Tjuan Benefactor, promises to give the fans plenty of entertainment value including game promotions, a professional dance team called the Steel City Honeybees, as well as the exciting basketball on the court. Home games will be at CCAC Allegheny Campus located at 808 Ridge Avenue in Pittsburgh. The Yellow Jackets first game will be at home on November 8th against their division rival Baltimore Hawks.
The team is selling Fast Break club cards ($30) which offer fans discounts on merchandise and the chance to participate in promotions, as well as invites to private team events and practices. The team is also selling courtside season tickets to all 17 home games in pairs for $700 and that price also gets you all the benefits of the Fast Break Club. Fans interested in these deals can email steelcityyellowjackets@gmail.com and tell them “The Voice” told you about them.
Fans have a chance to meet and greet the team coming up on Saturday September 27th at Flip Flop’s Bar in West View. Time of the event is 5 PM.
For more information about the team follow them on Twitter @SCYellowJackets, look them up on Facebook, or email the team using the address listed above. For more information on the ABA itself, you can check out the new league website at http://www.abaprobasketball.com.
Photo courtesy of Steel City Yellow Jackets Facebook page.
