Santa Cruz Team Throws 'Taste of the Warriors' Party Before Playoffs

For once, no one out of uniform was getting thrown off the court.

The Santa Cruz Warriors opened Kaiser Permanente's basketball court Sunday to kids who wanted to shoot hoops and mingle with players while their parents sampled local wines and food.

It was another successful marketing effort by the D-League team in its first year in Santa Cruz, something many were skeptical of when the proposal got rolling last May.

By many accounts, the team has delivered on its promises, and more. It built an arena in 12 weeks and early estimates are somewhere between $150,000 and $300,000 in revenues from hotel rooms, restaurants and tourist business, according to this report on KION.The city has taken in

A walk down Front Street or Pacific Avenue gives a visual confirmation. There are people in blue jerseys eating and drinking.

Parking has not been the problem many feared. Not only have fans showed they are willing to walk across town to park in the last free garage on Front Street, but the bicycle parking lot has been packed with about 100 bikes for every game, rain or shine.

On the negative side: the noise is as bad or worse than predicted. The buzzer and announcer can be heard loud and clear as far away as Santa Cruz High School. City councilmembers have heard plenty of complaints.

The team has been smart and community-minded, bringing players to schools and charity events and giving the local hunger- fighting charity Grind Out Hunger the biggest promotional sign in the arena. Last week it also hired the charity's director, Danny Keith, to a marketing job bringing in new corporate sponsors.

It held several memorials for two murdered Santa Cruz Police officers and showed its ability to read the community with nights promoting ecological charities and one in which the players and fans wore tie-dyed shirts.

Mayor Hilary Bryant said she was among the skeptical when team president Jim Weyermann told the city council that the 3,000-seat arena would be a community center.

"I thought that could have been a sales pitch," said Bryant. "But they really delivered. It is a community center. You see so many people from the community at the games."

The team is in the playoffs for the first time. They will travel to Fort Wayne for the first game of the series on Wednesday, April 10. The Warriors will then host the Mad Ants on Saturday, April 13 at the Kaiser Permanente Arena at 7:00 p.m. for game two and, if necessary, on Sunday, April 14 at 6:00 p.m. for game three.
 
The NBA D-League playoffs consist of three best-of-three game series. The Santa Cruz Warriors (32-18) finished the season as the third seed, and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (27-23) are the fifth seed. Both teams are making their first appearances in the postseason.
 
The remaining NBA D-League playoff matchups are the Bakersfield Jam vs. Austin Toros, Rio Grande Valley Vipers vs. Maine Red Claws and Canton Charge vs. Tulsa 66ers.