New basketball league could come to Des Moines and Sioux City

An Iowa native says Des Moines and Sioux City may be part of a new pro basketball league. Mikal Duilio is commissioner of the International Basketball League which will begin play in April of 2005. He says he grew up in Des Moines and went to Iowa State and has a lot of associates in Des Moines.The IBL will consist of teams mainly in the pacific northwest and in the midwest. League officials are looking for local ownership and venues. He says the league will run a team or two, but says it will take local connections. While most of the teams are expect to play in small to medium sized facilities Duilio says the Wells Fargo Arena under construction in Des Moines is a possibility. He says the new arena might be too expensive, but he says the people who run the arena might be the potential owner of the team, as that’s sort of a trend in the industry. Mikal says the IBL is designed to be played at a faster pace. Teams will get fewer timeouts and the league will use a 22-second shot clock. He predicts teams scoring more than 120-points per game will not be unusual and that with the rule adjustments a 48-minute game will be completed in about an hour and a half. League officials will be in Des Moines next week.