Josh Lintereur, and Nate Beck

Sheboygan Press

An effort is underway to bring a professional basketball team to Sheboygan for the first time in more than six decades.

Sources have confirmed Sheboygan is among several Midwestern cities vying to land a new NBA Development League team being launched by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Chad Pelishek, the city’s planning and development director, said the local stakeholders group behind the bid has met with the Sheboygan Common Council and other city officials in closed session to discuss the proposal, though he declined to provide details on those talks.

Bucks officials have said the team hopes to launch a D-League affiliate by fall 2017 and have confirmed that several cities have shown interest, though the team hasn’t disclosed any suitors.

Pelishek would not say if the local effort would involve public money, but added that the council could take action related to the proposal in open session as the Bucks’ late-June proposal deadline nears.

If the bid was successful, the team would become the city’s first professional basketball franchise since the Sheboygan Red Skins, which played in various professional leagues beginning in the 1930s before becoming a charter member of the NBA in 1949. The team disbanded shortly after.

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The Red Skins’ former venue, the Sheboygan Armory, still stands, though the historic, Depression-era building has deteriorated over the years and was to be bulldozed before a recent development deal fell apart.

The Common Council went into closed session during its May 2 meeting to discuss the “long-term strategy” for the Armory, 516 Broughton Drive, though city officials won't say whether the venue would be part of the Bucks proposal, or what other locations could be in play.

City officials also declined to say who exactly will submit the proposal to the Bucks. When reached for comment, Mayor Mike Vandersteen said the city itself was not preparing a proposal.

Dane Checolinski, director of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corp., said his agency has not been involved in the effort but said at least in concept, having a Bucks affiliate here would complement the area’s existing professional sports venues, including Whistling Straits and Road America.

“Certainly it gives the residents of the area another social venue and certainly it helps raise the awareness of Sheboygan,” he said.

So far, Oshkosh is the only other Wisconsin community that’s gone public with its bid to land the team.

Windward Wealth Strategies, an Oshkosh wealth management firm, earlier this week confirmed that it was putting together a bid to bring the team there.

To make that happen, Windward would need to build a 3,500-seat stadium for the team, said Greg Pierce, president of Windward Wealth Strategies.

The project would be funded entirely with private money at a cost of more than $4 million, Pierce said.

Sheboygan or Oshkosh would be among the smallest of 19 D-league sites to host a team, if the Bucks select either city.

Most NBA D-league teams play in markets with more than 200,000 people, though a Phoenix Suns franchise moved this spring from Bakersfield, California to Prescott Valley, Arizona, with a combined population there and in nearby Prescott of about 80,000.

Portland Maine’s D-league franchise, the Maine Red Claws, plays in a city of about 66,000 — roughly the size of Oshkosh — but more than 285,000 live in that county, while nearly 170,000 live in Winnebago County and 114,000 live in Sheboygan County.

Sheboygan and Oshkosh would need to draw fans from across northeast Wisconsin regularly to make a D-league team viable.

The Bucks could go outside the state but likely would seek out a D-League site somewhere in Wisconsin to build a fan base outside Milwaukee and Madison, Pierce said.

In a statement to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, the Bucks said a D-League team would be an important addition, but plans are still in the early stages.

"While there is no immediate timetable for an announcement, we are excited to learn more about the cities throughout the region that have expressed an interest in welcoming the Bucks' D-League affiliate to their community," the statement said.

The push to attract a Bucks' D-League team comes as the franchise is working to keep pace with the growing trend of D-League teams affiliated with or owned by single NBA teams.

The league launched with eight teams in the 2001-02 season.

Three NBA franchises have purchased D-League teams that will begin play during the 2016-17 season, bringing the total of franchises to 22. Joining the league will be the Windy City Bulls (Chicago affiliate), Greensboro Swarm (Charlotte) and Long Island Nets (Brooklyn).

Only eight of 30 NBA teams, including the Bucks, will be without a D-League team.

Last season the Bucks had to go through a newly established process to assign players to other clubs' D-League affiliates.

Rookie Rashad Vaughn was assigned to the Canton Charge, an affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers, while forward Damien Inglis had D-League stints with both Canton and the Westchester Knicks, an affiliate of the New York Knicks.

Reach USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Reporter Josh Lintereur at 920-453-5147, jlintereur@gannett.com or on Twitter @joshlintereur.