In 1946, a group of owners and operators of some of the larger arenas in America held a meeting in New York, to establish the Basketball Association of America (now the NBA). The majority of the would-be basketball owners were involved with the National Hockey League and wanted to fill empty dates. The only Canadian delegation invited was from Maple Leaf Gardens: Frank Selke Sr., who was in charge of the Gardens while Conn Smythe was overseas, got in touch with Ben Newman (who had coached two Canadian national championship teams and had staged a game in the Gardens previously.) The franchise cost approximately $150,000 which was funded mostly from Bay Street backers in Toronto. The major partners in the ownership group were Eric Cradock (co-owner of the Montreal Alouettes football team), Harold Shannon and Newman.