Salem’s New Professional Basketball Team, The Salem Capitals
March 4th is the official kickoff game for Salem’s 1st professional basketball team, the Salem Capitals. Yes, Salem now has a professional basketball team, and it has looked forward to the beginning of its season for the past 7 months. The Salem Capitals owner, Jason Conrad, and his marketing team have been working diligently within the community to get involved with local non-profits within Salem. The Salem Capitals are one of the newest teams apart of The Basketball League, or the TBL, which is a professional league with 45 teams across the country.
What positive impact will a professional basketball team have on our community?
The Basketball League (TBL) is dedicated to delivering a World Class Professional Basketball experience to our community, our fans, and business partners:
– Provide communities with a professional basketball team that gives an affordable/quality family entertainment experience.
– Provide players with educational opportunities to learn from nationally acclaimed life skills classes for financial literacy, health and wellness, nutrition, preventative medicine, and sports biomechanics.
– Offer support and encouragement to local communities through engagement in school and group appearances, youth camps, clinics, and non-profit organizations.
– Afford basketball players the opportunity to make a living playing the game they love in America.
– Procure local individuals or groups an opportunity to own a professional sports business. A relatively low-cost barrier to entry, a proven game plan to success, with a return on their investment while positively impacting their region.
Basketball is a game built around teamwork, and every team needs a leader. For the Salem Capitals Basketball team, Jason Conrad is the leader whose vision will guide his squad to success. Yet every story of success is not without its struggles. Conrad, like many others, was diagnosed with a mental illness that disrupted his initial trajectory.
Who is the owner, Jason Conrad?
Jason was born and raised just outside the Bay area in Northern California. He lived in Gilroy and Morgan Hill before finding his way to Portland via a full basketball scholarship in 2008. His parents and older sister were all D1 athletes (dad playing baseball and my mom and sister playing volleyball), so it is safe to say that athletics was ingrained in his DNA. Being the first basketball player in the family, it was a learning experience for the whole family. And after growing from 5’8″ to 7’00” between 8th grade and freshman year of college, basketball turned out to be a great choice.
Following a successful collegiate experience – having played four years for Chico State – Jason had the opportunity to play professionally overseas. He played worldwide in a total of nine countries from 2013 through 2019.
Basketball is just one of many passions for Jason. When he is not playing or coaching, you can find him teaching youth art classes as well as adult wine and paint classes in the community. You can also find him on the front lines advocating for mental health awareness.
Some of his personal interests include being on the river, cooking, and BBQing, hanging with his cats Hazy and Hoppy, exploring local tap houses, running, weekend drives with loud music, and spending time with friends and family.
Jason is excited to be part of a program that will help young men grow and develop on and off the basketball court. He is incredibly excited to contribute to the Salem community.
Amongst all this, Conrad is bringing professional basketball to Salem, Oregon for the first time.
Michael Jordan once said, “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” Jason Conrad is undoubtedly making his dream happen.
First game and more team information
The Capital’s first game will be on Friday, March 4th, at 7:30 pm. You can find your tickets and more information about the team at Salemcapitalsbasketball.com.