Continental Basketball Association (1989-1997)
Tombstone
Born: May 18, 1989 – The Rochester Flyers relocate to Omaha, NE1WIRE SERVICES. “CBA Flyers will leave Rochester”. The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN). May 19, 1989
Folded: June 11, 19972Whitney, Stu. “Omaha won’t have team next season”. The Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, SD). June 12, 1997
First Game: November 16, 1989 (W 135-120 vs. Tulsa Fast Breakers)
Last Game: April 11, 1997 (L 109-108 vs. Oklahoma City Cavalry)
CBA Champions: 1993
Arena
Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum (5,151)31990-91 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide
Opened: 1929
Demolished: 2004
Marketing
Team Colors: Rhodamine Red, Blue & Yellow41990-91 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide
Radio:
- 1990-91: KOIL (1290 AM)
Dance Team: The Silks
Mascot: Rodie (the Racehorse)
Ownership
Owners:
- 1989: Craig Caldwell, et al. (Pre-season only)
- 1989-1990: Terren Peizer
- 1990-1997: Steve Idelman & Sheri Idelman
Sale (April 1990): $625,0005ASSOCIATED PRESS. “Racers owner says team may leave Omaha”. The Tribune (Fremont, NE). March 24, 1993
OUR FAVORITE STUFF
Continental Basketball Association
Logo T-Shirt
This Old School Shirts release is strictly for the hardcore hoop heads.
Before the NBA had the G-League, it had the CBA with teams stretched from Puerto Rico to Honolulu. During the CBA’s 1980’s and 90’s heyday, the league provided a launching pad for future NBA All-Stars such as John Starks and Michael Adams as well as coaching legends Phil Jackson and George Karl.
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Background
The Omaha Racers were a minor league basketball promotion that enjoyed a near decade-long run in Nebraska’s largest city during the 1990’s. The Racers competed in the Continental Basketball Association, a coast-to-coast outfit that served as the development league of the NBA at the time.
The Racers won a CBA title in the spring of 1993, defeating the Grand Rapids Hoops in six games. The team returned to the finals the next season with a chance to repeat, but lost the 1994 CBA Championship Series to the Quad City Thunder.
The Racers’ great success story was shooting guard Tim Legler. An undrafted shooting guard out of La Salle University, Legler moved with the CBA’s Rochester Flyers franchise to Omaha in 1989. He would play intermittently with the Racers for the next five seasons, bouncing back and forth between the CBA, Europe and the NBA. In 1993, at age 27, he latched on for a full season with the Dallas Mavericks. In 1995, Legler left behind the minor leagues once and for all and signed with the Washington Bullets. He led the NBA in three-point shooting in 1995-96 and was the runner-up in the league’s Sixth Man of the Year balloting. After his career Legler became a long-time ESPN basketball analyst.
The End
The Racers closed their doors in 1997. In a 2014 interview with the Omaha World-Herald, local businessman Steve Idelman implied that he and his wife lost around $4.5 million owning the team for seven seasons.
Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum was demolished in 2004.
In 2013, Steve Idelman organized a 20th anniversary reunion of the 1993 CBA championship team, which included an Old-Timers Game and 3-point contest at the city’s new Ralston Arena.
Omaha Racers Shop
Links
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