Team:
Orlando Magic
Sport: NBA Basketball
Background: The Orlando Magic
are a National Basketball Association team
based in Orlando, Florida.
Founded: 1989
Owner: Rich DeVos
Home Arena: TD Waterhouse
Centre (Formally Known as The Orlando Arena
or O-Rena for short)
Uniform colors: Blue, White,
Silver, and Black
Logo design: Capital letters
with blue-lettered ORLANDO enshrined on the
home jersey.
Franchise history:
The Orlando Magic joined the NBA for the 1989-90
season. The franchise had only a brief period
of adjustment before establishing itself as
a contender. With the drafting of center Shaquille
O'Neal in 1992, the Magic became instantly
competitive and one of the league's most popular
teams.
Nearly four years before the team sank its
first basket, local developer and banker Jim
Hewitt began promoting the idea of an NBA
franchise in Orlando. He lured then Philadelphia
76ers General Manager Pat Williams to Florida.
Williams went to work selling Orlando Magic
T-shirts, caps, and other merchandise and
persuaded locals to make $100 deposits on
season-ticket reservations.
All of this was done to impress the NBA with
a show of support from central Florida hoops
fans. On July 2, 1986, Hewitt's group was
one of five that each put up $100,000 to be
considered for a potential NBA expansion team.
The payoff came nearly a year later, on April
22, 1987, when the NBA Board of Governors
voted to add four new franchises: Charlotte
and Miami for the 1988-89 season, and Orlando
and Minnesota for 1989-90. The price of admission
was $32.5 million per team.
