Much has happened since my initial post last week about the rumours of the Indiana Pacers potentially moving to Vancouver. The story's spread everywhere from CTV to Newsday to the Indianapolis Business Journal, with many sites claiming there's nothing behind it. Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini, the rumoured potential buyer of the team from current owners Herb and Mel Simon, gave a very interesting statement to CTV, though, saying he has "no immediate interest in purchasing an NBA basketball team."
That's a pretty weak denial, especially considering the "immediate" part. Prospective owners of sports franchises rarely make their interest known publicly well in advance, particularly when relocation is involved. Moreover, the initial report stated that any deal was at a very early stage, so Aquilini could be telling the complete truth here and still purchase an NBA franchise a month down the road (if he had immediate interest then). As I wrote the first time around as well, the Pacers are far from the only troubled NBA franchise as well, so even if this particular move comes to naught, Aquilini's comments suggest that he may look at the possibility of a new Vancouver team down the road.
In any case, I figured it was worth trying to get some more information on the Indiana circumstances, so I contacted Kevin Nesgoda, who wrote the original piece on the matter for Bleacher Report. In addition to his work at Bleacher Report, Kevin runs Biased Sports. He's also a big basketball fan and passionately supported the Seattle Sonics before they were abducted by one Clayton Bennett. He runs ihateclay.com as well, a site devoted to criticizing Bennett and trying to bring basketball back to Seattle. My interview with Kevin on the Pacers, Vancouver and Seattle is below. Thanks to Kevin for taking the time to answer my questions!
Andrew Bucholtz: Can you provide any details on how and when you first heard about Aquilini's supposed interest in the Pacers (i.e. a Pacers source, someone on Aquilini's end, someone with the NBA or a politically-connected type?)? Obviously, I don't expect you to reveal your source but it would just be helpful to have an idea of which side this is coming from.
Kevin Nesgoda: I have a few people in the know about the situation and first heard about it from a friend who works for one of the Los Angeles teams. He’s always been right about everything he’s ever told me and an extremely credible source. He told me about Clay Bennett buying the Sonics two weeks before it even hit newspapers or news stations in Seattle or OKC.
A.B.: What made you decide to write about it?
K.N.: In hopes that Pacer fans can unite and do what they can to protect their team and keep it in Indy. It’s horrible when a team has to move. Especially if a team has been there for 30 plus years. It’s not fair to the fans.
A.B.: How serious do you think these rumours are? Is it just a negotiating ploy for leverage, or is there a chance the team will move?
K.N.: I think it’s very credible. From what I get the talks between Simon and Aquilini have been very quiet. If Simon can’t get a new deal worked out with the city of Indianapolis he will sell the team. Aquilini then will file the paper work for relocation and start the ball rolling on getting the team to VBC.
A.B.: How does this compare to the Sonics' situation, in your mind?
K.N.: It’s extremely similar: an out of town owner with a ready arena and deep pockets looking to buy a struggling franchise. Though I think Aquilini will be more upfront about what is going to happen. He won’t make false promises about keeping the team in Indy. He’ll buy it and get the team to Vancouver ASAP. It won’t hang in the air like it did for two years in Seattle.
A.B.: In your opinion, if the NBA had a completely free choice about what city to relocate a struggling team to, would they pick Vancouver, Seattle, or somewhere else? Why?
K.N.: I think Vancouver is definitely a bit more attractive than Seattle or Kansas City. It’s bigger than both cities, has a huge Asian market and could envelope the Seattle market on top of everything. Stern said he regretted what happened in [the NBA's] previous run in BC and following closely on how Stern works, I’m convinced he would like to make up for it. Giving Vancouver another team would make a lot of sense, since Vancouver’s economy is extremely strong right now.
A.B.: Have you heard anything more on the situation since your initial Bleacher Report post?
K.N.: Nothing substantial, but if Simon can’t get something worked out, look for him to move fast on the sale.
A.B.: On the Sonics, obviously, losing the team meant a lot to you from your Biased Sports post. Do you think the majority of Seattle residents feel similarly, or have they forgotten and moved on to other sports?
K.N.: There is a small contingent, mostly the diehard fans that are extremely broken up about it and are doing everything in our power to get a team back to Seattle. There are a lot of pissed off people around the area; most have said the NBA is dead to them until Stern is out as commissioner. A lot of people now focus on the Sounders. Sadly, Seattle is a huge bandwagon town and they’ll jump on whoever is winning at the time.
A.B.: Is there enough political will in Washington to get the necessary KeyArena renovations done without a firm promise of a franchise?
K.N.: No. We had a bill up in the Senate that didn’t create any new taxes and the money was mostly raised by people from out of town, but we couldn’t get it to a vote, which I don’t get because the money is raised in Seattle and spent in Seattle. It should never have to go to a state vote. Just expand the tax: then the money for the arena is raised by money spent at the arena and the city makes a profit after three years.
A.B.: Has the economic situation affected this at all? How so?
K.N.: It has a bit, but with the construction jobs created and having an arena that would create over 300 jobs and then stimulate the businesses around the arena it would have been a lot more beneficial to the city. But the idiots in charge in the city and state don’t see it that way.
A.B.: Are you optimistic that Seattle will ever get another NBA team? If so, how long do you think it will take?
K.N.: We’ll get one eventually. I am thinking it won’t be until the NBA lockout happens. There could be six teams that have to fold or relocate and since most new arenas actually lose money, KeyArena, even not renovated, will look like a palace.
A.B.: How would a team in Vancouver affect the chances of Seattle getting a team? Would it help Seattle's chances due to the rivalry between the cities or hurt them because of Vancouver's proximity?
K.N.: I think it would create a true northwest division. Seattle, Vancouver and Portland would be a great series of rivalries. It would be the I-5/Canadian 1 rivalry. If Vancouver actually got a team, I think Seattle would get it in gear on getting a team. I guess a free $30M from Clay Bennett this year or a free $225M from the city of Seattle and Steve Ballmer wasn’t enough.
Thanks again to Kevin for taking the time to answer my questions. Check out his Bleacher Report work here and his Biased Sports site here.
Showing posts with label Francesco Aquilini. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Francesco Aquilini. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Aquilini to bring Indiana Pacers to Vancouver?
The Canucks may be out of the playoffs, but it may be a busy offseason for owner Francesco Aquilini. Kevin Nesgoda of Bleacher Report writes that rumours are swirling in Indiana regarding Aquilini's potential interest in purchasing the NBA's Pacers and relocating them to Vancouver. Nesgoda's initial report has been cited by some politically connected sites in the area, including Capitol Watchblog and Howey Politics, and the B.C. media are starting to look into it as well; Don Taylor mentioned the idea on Sportsnet Connected's Pacific edition a few minutes ago.
At first, this seems like a somewhat implausible rumour, but upon further reflection, it makes a lot of sense. First off, the NBA was not entirely a failure in Vancouver the first time around. Attendance was bad, but much of that was due to poor on-court performance by the team and ineptitude on the part of the management. The team also wasn't really given much time; they were only in Vancouver for six years, and it's tough to build support from scratch for a new professional sport in that amount of time, especially when you're starting with a horrible expansion team. Look at how things looked for the Raptors back around 2001 compared to their outlook today.
Moreover, since the Grizzlies left in 2001, basketball's become much more prominent in the Lower Mainland. Part of that's due to demographic changes and increased grassroots support. A lot of it's due to Steve Nash becoming a two-time MVP and one of the game's top stars; Nash, now a co-owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, frequently makes return visits to his home province to play charity games with other NBA stars (which are often packed), host training camps and clinics and build his Steve Nash Youth Basketball program, which has quickly become the most prominent program for young players throughout their school years and is endorsed by Basketball BC and Canada Basketball. Nash has got a lot of people out west interested in hoops, particularly those from younger demographics, and he's built a strong infrastructure of youth clubs that a professional team could reach out to. That's proven key in selling big-time soccer in the province, and it could be significant for selling pro basketball.
This also makes sense on a geographic level. Ever since the Seattle Supersonics left last summer, the NBA has been very unexposed in the Pacific Northwest. Their lone franchise in the area is Portland, which is helpful, but is significantly smaller than either Vancouver or Seattle and too far (a six-hour drive) to make for easy travel from Vancouver. Plenty of Canadian hoops fans used to head down to Seattle (a two-and-a-half to three-hour drive) for Sonics games and then drive back in the same night; you can't do that with Portland. Metro Vancouver has 2.1 million people and Metropolitan Seattle has 3.2 million people; that's a sizable population base to write off entirely, so you have to think that the NBA is considering returning to at least one city and possibly both.
Now, consider both cities. I would dearly love to see another team in Seattle, but it's looking very grim at the moment [Brian Robinson, Sonics Central - in a related note, I spoke with Steven Pyeatt last summer, who co-founded Save Our Sonics with Robinson]. The NBA is very unhappy with KeyArena, as I found out during my time covering the team's relocation trial last summer. They're not going back to Seattle without extensive renovations to that building or a new building. The latter has never seemed too likely. Renovations seemed possible, particularly under the Steve Ballmer group, but Robinson reports that the state legislature appears as unwilling as ever to consider funding part of the project even during this era of stimulus projects. As he writes, no one even appears interested in working with the Ballmer group:
"Nobody should accuse Ballmer of not doing his part. That ownership group made an absolute flurry of personal appeals throughout the state. Guess what? Nobody cares. I have never seen such a callous disregard for business leaders than we have in this state."
Throw in the general distaste about the way the team left Seattle, and that situation certainly doesn't appear particularly promising. Miracles can happen, but one might be needed to get a NBA franchise to return to Seattle in the near future.
Vancouver is a much more promising situation. For one, NBA commissioner David Stern told ESPN's Bill Simmons [via Henry Abbott of TrueHoop] that having the Grizzlies leave Vancouver was his biggest regret from his tenure so far [Noah Love, The National Post]. "I wish we hadn't had the Vancouver experience," he said. "Great city, and we disappointed them and we disappointed ourselves." Now, of course, Stern followed up by saying "I don't think we can go back," but take that with a grain of salt; I have a hard time believing that Stern would ever completely rule out returning to a city if the circumstances are right. In any case, that's certainly more positive than his recent comments about Seattle. As Neate Sager pointed out in the aftermath of the Simmons interview, there's every reason to believe Vancouver could have worked for the NBA, which explains perhaps why Stern was waxing nostalgic for the Grizzlies:
"The Grizzlies caught every bad break possible during their six-year run -- you know the whole litany with Bryant Reeves, Stevie Franchise Killer and a 63-cent Canadian dollar. However, looking at the fact the Raptors were recently valued at more than $400 million US by Forbes magazine, you can only wonder what could have been in Vancouver."
Another huge point in Vancouver's favour is the ownership. Aquilini is a very wealthy man and has done well with the Canucks so far. About the only tarnish on his reputation is the court fight [Ian Mulgrew, The Vancouver Sun] with Tom Gaglardi over how the Canucks deal went down, but he came out on top and with his good name largely intact. Aquilini isn't a Jim Balsillie-esque renegade or a blogging/feuding/tweeting maverick like Mark Cuban; he's a respected businessman who tends to play by the rules. I can't see Stern having a big problem with him wanting to join the club.
Something else that helps this idea is the facilities. Yes, General Motors Place isn't the newest facility in the world, but it's been extensively renovated since its 1995 construction and makes tons of money for the Canucks. It's owned and operated by the Canucks and Aquilini, so no burdensome lease would be required, and it's already chock-full of premium suites and has more on the way, including a swanky all-inclusive club [Nucks Misconduct]. Moreover, NHL teams and NBA teams tend to be very good fits together; the seasons are roughly the same length and take place over the same period, and the leagues have worked out scheduling to accommodate each other quite nicely. GM Place might need some minor alterations to host NBA basketball, but I doubt they'd be too severe. From that perspective, Vancouver's probably right up there with Kansas City in terms of ready-to-go facilities for a prospective NBA team.
Finally, consider the economic factors involved. The NBA has been hit hard by the downturn so far and cut 80 league jobs last year [Jon Saraceno, USA Today]. Plenty of franchises are suffering, including the Detroit Pistons, who merited a bad-news finance story on the league's own website, and the New Orleans Hornets, who traded Tyson Chandler for a few bags of money, hurting their own playoff chances in the process [Mark Fightmaster, bloggingstocks.com]. It looks like Simmons' apocalyptic predictions of the No Benjamins Association may be coming home to roost.
Specifically, the Pacers appear to be in trouble. Pat Early, the team board's vice president, said the franchise could lose $30 million this year [AP via ESPN]. They're trying to renegotiate their lease and at the moment say they have no intention of leaving, so the Vancouver rumour could all be a clever leak for leverage or even less than that. However, keep in mind that we've heard that song before from a certain owner while he was in the middle of planning to hijack a team to a new city. This is only a vague and far-off rumour at the moment, but it does make a lot of sense. Expect Vancouver to get some consideration as a NBA market in the future. That may or may not be for a relocation of the Pacers, but there are plenty of other troubled franchises that could come knocking. The Grizzlies may roar again.
At first, this seems like a somewhat implausible rumour, but upon further reflection, it makes a lot of sense. First off, the NBA was not entirely a failure in Vancouver the first time around. Attendance was bad, but much of that was due to poor on-court performance by the team and ineptitude on the part of the management. The team also wasn't really given much time; they were only in Vancouver for six years, and it's tough to build support from scratch for a new professional sport in that amount of time, especially when you're starting with a horrible expansion team. Look at how things looked for the Raptors back around 2001 compared to their outlook today.
Moreover, since the Grizzlies left in 2001, basketball's become much more prominent in the Lower Mainland. Part of that's due to demographic changes and increased grassroots support. A lot of it's due to Steve Nash becoming a two-time MVP and one of the game's top stars; Nash, now a co-owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, frequently makes return visits to his home province to play charity games with other NBA stars (which are often packed), host training camps and clinics and build his Steve Nash Youth Basketball program, which has quickly become the most prominent program for young players throughout their school years and is endorsed by Basketball BC and Canada Basketball. Nash has got a lot of people out west interested in hoops, particularly those from younger demographics, and he's built a strong infrastructure of youth clubs that a professional team could reach out to. That's proven key in selling big-time soccer in the province, and it could be significant for selling pro basketball.
This also makes sense on a geographic level. Ever since the Seattle Supersonics left last summer, the NBA has been very unexposed in the Pacific Northwest. Their lone franchise in the area is Portland, which is helpful, but is significantly smaller than either Vancouver or Seattle and too far (a six-hour drive) to make for easy travel from Vancouver. Plenty of Canadian hoops fans used to head down to Seattle (a two-and-a-half to three-hour drive) for Sonics games and then drive back in the same night; you can't do that with Portland. Metro Vancouver has 2.1 million people and Metropolitan Seattle has 3.2 million people; that's a sizable population base to write off entirely, so you have to think that the NBA is considering returning to at least one city and possibly both.
Now, consider both cities. I would dearly love to see another team in Seattle, but it's looking very grim at the moment [Brian Robinson, Sonics Central - in a related note, I spoke with Steven Pyeatt last summer, who co-founded Save Our Sonics with Robinson]. The NBA is very unhappy with KeyArena, as I found out during my time covering the team's relocation trial last summer. They're not going back to Seattle without extensive renovations to that building or a new building. The latter has never seemed too likely. Renovations seemed possible, particularly under the Steve Ballmer group, but Robinson reports that the state legislature appears as unwilling as ever to consider funding part of the project even during this era of stimulus projects. As he writes, no one even appears interested in working with the Ballmer group:
"Nobody should accuse Ballmer of not doing his part. That ownership group made an absolute flurry of personal appeals throughout the state. Guess what? Nobody cares. I have never seen such a callous disregard for business leaders than we have in this state."
Throw in the general distaste about the way the team left Seattle, and that situation certainly doesn't appear particularly promising. Miracles can happen, but one might be needed to get a NBA franchise to return to Seattle in the near future.
Vancouver is a much more promising situation. For one, NBA commissioner David Stern told ESPN's Bill Simmons [via Henry Abbott of TrueHoop] that having the Grizzlies leave Vancouver was his biggest regret from his tenure so far [Noah Love, The National Post]. "I wish we hadn't had the Vancouver experience," he said. "Great city, and we disappointed them and we disappointed ourselves." Now, of course, Stern followed up by saying "I don't think we can go back," but take that with a grain of salt; I have a hard time believing that Stern would ever completely rule out returning to a city if the circumstances are right. In any case, that's certainly more positive than his recent comments about Seattle. As Neate Sager pointed out in the aftermath of the Simmons interview, there's every reason to believe Vancouver could have worked for the NBA, which explains perhaps why Stern was waxing nostalgic for the Grizzlies:
"The Grizzlies caught every bad break possible during their six-year run -- you know the whole litany with Bryant Reeves, Stevie Franchise Killer and a 63-cent Canadian dollar. However, looking at the fact the Raptors were recently valued at more than $400 million US by Forbes magazine, you can only wonder what could have been in Vancouver."
Another huge point in Vancouver's favour is the ownership. Aquilini is a very wealthy man and has done well with the Canucks so far. About the only tarnish on his reputation is the court fight [Ian Mulgrew, The Vancouver Sun] with Tom Gaglardi over how the Canucks deal went down, but he came out on top and with his good name largely intact. Aquilini isn't a Jim Balsillie-esque renegade or a blogging/feuding/tweeting maverick like Mark Cuban; he's a respected businessman who tends to play by the rules. I can't see Stern having a big problem with him wanting to join the club.
Something else that helps this idea is the facilities. Yes, General Motors Place isn't the newest facility in the world, but it's been extensively renovated since its 1995 construction and makes tons of money for the Canucks. It's owned and operated by the Canucks and Aquilini, so no burdensome lease would be required, and it's already chock-full of premium suites and has more on the way, including a swanky all-inclusive club [Nucks Misconduct]. Moreover, NHL teams and NBA teams tend to be very good fits together; the seasons are roughly the same length and take place over the same period, and the leagues have worked out scheduling to accommodate each other quite nicely. GM Place might need some minor alterations to host NBA basketball, but I doubt they'd be too severe. From that perspective, Vancouver's probably right up there with Kansas City in terms of ready-to-go facilities for a prospective NBA team.
Finally, consider the economic factors involved. The NBA has been hit hard by the downturn so far and cut 80 league jobs last year [Jon Saraceno, USA Today]. Plenty of franchises are suffering, including the Detroit Pistons, who merited a bad-news finance story on the league's own website, and the New Orleans Hornets, who traded Tyson Chandler for a few bags of money, hurting their own playoff chances in the process [Mark Fightmaster, bloggingstocks.com]. It looks like Simmons' apocalyptic predictions of the No Benjamins Association may be coming home to roost.
Specifically, the Pacers appear to be in trouble. Pat Early, the team board's vice president, said the franchise could lose $30 million this year [AP via ESPN]. They're trying to renegotiate their lease and at the moment say they have no intention of leaving, so the Vancouver rumour could all be a clever leak for leverage or even less than that. However, keep in mind that we've heard that song before from a certain owner while he was in the middle of planning to hijack a team to a new city. This is only a vague and far-off rumour at the moment, but it does make a lot of sense. Expect Vancouver to get some consideration as a NBA market in the future. That may or may not be for a relocation of the Pacers, but there are plenty of other troubled franchises that could come knocking. The Grizzlies may roar again.
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