If Portland is granted an expansion NBA Development League team this spring, the team likely wouldn't debut until the 2009-10 season, league officials said Thursday.

Dan Reed, president of the Development League, offered encouraging words at a small rally on the steps of City Hall after a day-long tour of Portland.

The rally included remarks by Gov. John Baldacci and Portland Mayor Ed Suslovic, along with a contingent of Irish dancers and a bagpipe player.

"We think you have the beginnings of a really great thing here," Reed told the crowd of about a hundred. "We've been really pleased with the day. We see a bright opportunity in Portland ..."

Reed and Shawn Smith, an NBA vice president and chief marketing officer, were brought to town by a group of investors vying for a D-League franchise.

The ownership group is led by Bill Ryan Jr., owner of Oxford Plains Speedway; Bill Ryan Sr., Chairman of the Board of TD Banknorth; and Jon Jennings, a former assistant coach with the Boston Celtics.

The two officials were given tours of the Portland Expo and the Cumberland County Civic Center, but declined to offer which venue stood out as a better home for a potential team.

"They're two very different venues," said Reed. "We have to dig into many more things."

The D-League, which has 14 teams mostly in the western half of the country, plays in venues ranging in capacity from 2,500 to 16,000.

The Expo seats about 3,000, while the Civic Center seats 7,500 for basketball.

"Both facilities were wonderful," said Smith. "You can see the community takes pride in everything they have."

Reed expressed the league's desire to expand cautiously. Right now, its nearest franchise is located in Fort Wayne, Ind. There has been talk of a team beginning play soon in Harlem, N.Y., and other New England cities have also expressed interest in landing a franchise.

"We're looking at a cluster of teams in the Northeast to make travel efficient from a cost perspective," said Reed. "We're in a sustainable growth period right now. The good news is that interest in the D-League is at an all-time high."

Ryan Jr. also said the group is looking for a cluster of four to five teams in the region.

Ian McCarthy, general manager of the Manchester (N.H.) Millrats -- an American Basketball Association team -- said he plans to apply to the D-League this spring as well.

"We're going to see what develops and put our application in," said McCarthy. "As the D-League comes to the East and Northeast there's going to be room for four or five teams ... I don't think we'd be ready to play until 2009-10, and it sounds like Portland might be headed that way too."

McCarthy said his franchise would also be interested in being the NBA affiliate of the Boston Celtics, similar to what the Portland investors said last week about a possible D-League franchise here.

The Celtics are currently affiliated with the D-league's Utah Flames. Celtics president Rich Gotham said last week the team would be interested in having its minor league team closer to Boston, and that the franchise would feel comfortable working with Bill Ryan Sr. but added that those decisions are "down the road a bit."

Jennings and Ryan Jr. said Thursday's tour went very well.

"There's still a lot of discussions to be had," said Jennings. "But we think today went tremendously well."

"We think Portland is ready for professional basketball," said Ryan Sr. "Keep your fingers crossed. Over the next few months we hope this goes well and we'll have a franchise."