A professional basketball league team from New Hampshire will soon be dribbling into Saint John, says the league president.

For several weeks the Manchester Millrats of the Premier Basketball League had been negotiating a one-year lease agreement with officials at Harbour Station.

Members of the basketball franchise also spent time in Saint John last weekend to see if there was enough demand to support another sports team.

Andre Levingston, league president, said Wednesday that the feedback was positive and the move will happen this year.

"We heard very good things about it. We have a lot of friends in Halifax that have some business happening in the city of Saint John, and we thought it was a great opportunity," Levingston said. "From the looks of things, there's a lot of excitement and a lot of buzz around it. So, we are extremely excited about this."

The team's formal announcement is scheduled for later this month.

Levingston said Saint Johners will soon see players from all over North Amercia compete in the city because most of the players in the professional league come from U.S. Division One schools or other professional leagues.

"The majority of our players have played a high level of Division One basketball. We have players with NBA experience, so the level of basketball is extremely high," he said.

Exhibition games in the city could get underway as early as December.

There are currently nine teams in the league, including the Halifax Rainmen, Quebec Kebs, Puerto Rico Capitanes, Vermont Frost Heaves, Lawton-Fort Sill Calvary and Buffalo Stampede.

Harbour Station, a 6,600-seat arena, would be among the largest in the league, in which teams play 20 regular season games.