The Atlanta Hawks announced today they’ve purchased a D-League franchise, becoming the 16th team to do so up to this point. The team will be located in College Park.
Atlanta had been eyeing a D-League franchise for quite some time, valuing the help it would bring towards building a competitive roster year after year.
“Securing a D-League team for the Atlanta Hawks was among our top priorities when our ownership group took over the team,” Hawks Principal Owner and Chairman Tony Ressler said. “Coach Bud and Wes Wilcox would agree that having a local D-League franchise will play a significant role in building a championship-caliber team by helping us develop players, like the six now on our roster who have D-League experience. We would like to thank the City of College Park for becoming the host city of what will be another exciting part of our community and the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club.”
The new arena will be built at the Gateway Center, and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2019. Atlanta’s D-League team is scheduled to be active at the start of the 2019-’20 season.
The D-League, a rapidly advancing program over the last decade, will grow to 23 teams with this addition.
