Birmingham Squadron

What Birmingham Squadron does

The Birmingham Squadron is an NBA G League professional basketball franchise that operated in Birmingham, Alabama from 2021 and is relocating to Kenner, Louisiana for the 2026-27 season under the new name Laketown Squadron. The team is a developmental affiliate of the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans, giving it a structural pipeline for player development, two-way contracts, and organizational support that independent minor league teams lack. The franchise is preparing to play at the newly renovated Pontchartrain Center located in Kenner's Laketown Park.

The team's core product is the professional basketball team itself, supported by a multi-tier ticketing offering that includes full-season ticket packages, premium seating (courtside and club access), and group ticket experiences. News and media content is distributed through the team website and across social channels including Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, with a fan newsletter and yard-sign grassroots initiatives rounding out fan engagement. There is no proprietary technology platform beyond the NBA's standard G League digital infrastructure.

The business model is event-driven and ticket-centric. The primary revenue stream is ticket sales through the team's online portal and the venue box office at the Pontchartrain Center. Pricing tiers (season tickets, premium seating, group experiences) are offered but specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. The customer base is a horizontal segment of local sports fans, families, and entertainment-seeking consumers in the Kenner and Greater New Orleans market. The franchise is led by first head coach Brandon Demas (14 seasons within the Pelicans organization) and first General Manager Thomas Scott, both appointed in 2026 ahead of the inaugural season.

Name

Birmingham Squadron

Website

https://birminghamsquadron.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Laketown Squadron is an NBA G League basketball team and New Orleans Pelicans affiliate relocating from Birmingham to Kenner, Louisiana, where it will play its inaugural 2026-27 season at the Pontchartrain Center, generating revenue primarily through ticket sales to local fans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Sports / Minor League Basketball Entertainment

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAKABAJ

Franchise Ownership Groups & Multi-Club Organizations (Multi-team owners, holding companies)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Professional Sports Teams & Clubs

Keywords

• Professional basketball team
• G League basketball games
• Live sports entertainment
• Sports ticketing services
• Minor league athletics

Headquarters

HQ city

Kenner

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from selling tickets to basketball games including individual game tickets, season ticket packages, premium seating options, and group experiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Birmingham Squadron (rebranding as Laketown Squadron) is a professional G League basketball team and the NBA G League affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans. The franchise sells live basketball entertainment, season ticket packages, premium seating, and group ticket experiences at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana, supporting player development for the parent NBA franchise while serving as a local sports entertainment property for the Kenner and Greater New Orleans community.

Product overview

The Laketown Squadron is a professional G League basketball team and the affiliate of the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans. The organization operates as a single-product sports franchise with multiple ticketing and content offerings. The core product is the basketball team competing in the G League, supported by season ticket packages, premium seating upgrades, and group ticket experiences. The team also provides news and media content through its website. The organization is preparing for its inaugural 2026-27 season at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Laketown Squadron Basketball Team (G League Games) The Laketown Squadron is a professional G League basketball team and the NBA G League affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans, providing live professional basketball games for fans in the Kenner and Greater New Orleans area.
• 2026-27 Season Ticket Packages Full-season ticket packages for the 2026-27 inaugural season of the Laketown Squadron, available for purchase on the team's website.
• Premium Seating Luxury seating options including courtside and premium club access for home games, available to fans seeking an elevated game-day experience.
• Group Tickets and Group Experiences Group ticket packages for fans attending games together, including group experiences at home games, designed for families, businesses, and organizations.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• New Orleans PelicanscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNBA parent team affiliation. The New Orleans Pelicans relocated their G League affiliate from Birmingham to Kenner and rebranded it as the Laketown Squadron. This provides the Pelicans with a developmental league team for player development and tryouts.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Memphis Hustle: G League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies and the most geographically proximate direct peer to the Laketown Squadron, operating a similar ticket-driven business model in a mid-sized southern market.
• Rio Grande Valley Vipers: G League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, operating with a similar mid-market, ticket-led model and the same multi-tier season/premium/group ticket structure as the Laketown Squadron.
• Greensboro Swarm: G League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, comparable as a smaller-market, ticket-led operation with similar revenue structure and parent-NBA affiliation model.
• Austin Spurs: G League affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs, comparable in market size, southern U.S. regional positioning, and reliance on parent-NBA brand and ticketed attendance for revenue.
• Delaware Blue Coats: G League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers; a directly comparable developmental basketball team relying on parent-NBA branding, ticketed attendance, and group/premium seating revenue streams.
• Sioux Falls Skyforce: G League affiliate of the Miami Heat, comparable as a smaller-market developmental franchise with the same revenue structure and parent-NBA affiliation characteristics as the Laketown Squadron.
• Birmingham Squadron (prior entity): The previous incarnation of the same franchise, now defunct/relocated; provides the most direct historical reference for unit economics, attendance patterns, and sponsorship dynamics under the Pelicans umbrella.
• Long Island Nets: G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets, operating the same NBA developmental model and ticketing architecture as the Laketown Squadron, with comparable group-ticket and premium-seating product offerings.

Broad incumbents

• New Orleans Pelicans: Parent NBA franchise; the dominant sports property in the same regional market and the operating counterparty that controls the Squadron's roster, brand, and developmental pipeline.

Regional players

• Mexico City Capitanes: NBA G League franchise operating in a different geography (Mexico) but running the same parent-NBA developmental model, ticketing product set, and team-operations playbook as the Laketown Squadron.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GleagueSquadron
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@laketownsquadron
• Facebookfacebook.com/LaketownSquadron
• Instagraminstagram.com/laketownsquadron
• TikToktiktok.com/@gleaguesquadron
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/birminghamsquadron

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Birmingham Squadron