PORTLAND (AP) - An investment group headed by former TD Banknorth president Bill Ryan and his son has launched an effort to bring an NBA Development League team to Portland.

Ryan and his son, Bill Ryan Jr., who owns the Oxford Plains Speedway, are working with former Boston Celtics assistant coach and team executive Jon Jennings. They also have signed on former Celtics player and coach K.C. Jones as an adviser.

The NBA Development League is a feeder league to the NBA, essentially the equivalent of AAA leagues in professional baseball.

The team hopefully would be affiliated with the Boston Celtics and begin play in the 2008-09 season, Jennings said. League officials planned a visit to Portland next week.

Jennings approached the Ryans after visiting other potential expansion cities in New England, including Worcester, Springfield and Lowell, Mass., Hartford, Conn., Providence, R.I. and Manchester, N.H.

"I immediately knew Portland was the place to be," Jennings said.

Portland was home to a United States Basketball League team in the mid-1990s that folded after one season.

Bill Ryan Jr. said he doesn't see that happening if the city gets an NBA Development League team. The team would play from fall through spring, not in the summer like the USBL team did, and would draw more fans if it were affiliated with the Boston Celtics, he said.

"The resurgence of the Celtics has spurred on more interest in the NBA in northern New England," Ryan said.

Portland has proven it has the fan base to support professional sports with the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team and the Portland Pirates hockey team, Ryan said.

The group is looking at both the Portland Expo and the Cumberland County Civic Center for a place to play.

The NBA Development League now has 14 teams, but most of those are in the Midwest and West. The league is looking to add expansion franchises in the East, Jennings said. The Celtics, along with the Utah Jazz, are now affiliated with the league's Utah Flash.

"We're interested in expanding to other regions, with the Northeast among them," league President Dan Reed said.

When looking at possible expansion sites, the league looks particularly close at the ownership group, the market and the arena where the team would play, Reed said.

Team franchises sell for more than $1 million, but Reed wouldn't give the precise figure.

The Celtics are aware of the group's efforts to land a team in Portland, but haven't entered into any formal talks, said Jeff Twiss, vice president of media services.

"It would be a positive for New England, especially northern New England," he said.

AP-ES-01-23-08 1347EST