There have been NBA meeting over the past week and certainly the plight of the Sacramento Kings has been news worthy. The commissioner David Stern has extended the deadline for the relocation application to May 2. This move would see the team go from Sacramento to Anaheim. This was originally thought to be the fate of the Kings and this news essentially confirms it. Sorry Vancouver fans. Next?
Read more on the latimes.com.
The news lately has been about Seattle and the possibility of them constructing a new arena. The purpose of the new arena of course is to get the NBA back in town. Although I don’t know the specific details of what is going on such as hoops (no pun intended) they need to jump through just to get arena approval, I wonder how this situation might impact Vancouver and getting the NBA back.
When I think of building a new arena, I’m thinking time. As in that would take a while wouldn’t it? The NBA teams, such as the New Orleans Hornets for example, are almost in crisis mode now. There have been one or two other NBA franchises that a certainly not doing well. So timing wise I think Vancouver is still a top contender. Seattle is simply not in a position to take one of the floundering franchises that need help in a year or two.
Let’s assume there is more than one team that the NBA is considering as a moveable franchise. Vancouver could very well end up with the most immediate franchise and the less critical franchise(s) could wait for Seattle.
I’m sure the NBA knows that the Northwest is missing a big chunk with both Seattle and Vancouver gone. The rivalry between the two cities was almost no contest, but that’s because the Vancouver Grizzlies sucked. With a more level competition, the rivalry could flourish.
On a side note I’m expecting something to happen soon regarding Vancouver and the NBA. Think about it. We’ve been there, done that. We’ve done it with hockey already in the same building. There isn’t a lot of hoops to jump through from Vancouver’s end to make this happen. I’ve listened to our local sports Vancouver station and the hosts still suggest that Vancouver is miffed at the NBA and it would be a tough sell. No, that’s wrong. It’s not going to be a tough sell. The people still crying about it likely aren’t the real audience and therefore wouldn’t be the ones to buy the tickets. The sports journalists in Vancouver are biased because they had to deal with spoiled cranky NBA stars and as a result, they are soured on the NBA. Too bad. I want it and I have company with that sediment.
It’s the summer and we’re not expecting Vancouver NBA news. With that said there was another story about the relocation of the Hornets. Was Vancouver mentioned? Absolutely! It’s not like it’s official from the NBA or official from the Hornets franchise but it seems quite clear that the NBA is leaving New Orleans. Here is a link to the story and we like it because it’s written in July 2011 and when there is discussion about a relocation, it’s certainly worth posting about here! Plus it’s from the BleacherReport.com for what that’s worth.
I think Vancouver and Toronto are like talking apples and oranges. Vancouver is pea sized in comparison to the market of the Toronto Raptors. It would be unfair to compare their ticket sales vs. Vancouver, but we’re going to anyways.
There was a recent story about the Toronto Raptors reducing their ticket prices. The lower bowl tickets were dropping from 5 to 30% and uppers were dropping from 10 to 15%. Is this an indicator that the NBA in Canada is a tough sell? Not really.
Toronto has been pretty darn successful in terms of selling out. The recent drop to 17th in the league has something to do with the teams performance. The reality is that tickets sales slow down when a team isn’t winning. Three years out of the playoffs in a row will hit any NBA franchise at the turnstile. I don’t think that the drop in ticket prices in Toronto is an indication of waning Canadian support of the NBA.
When you’re hopeful about another Vancouver NBA team, you have to read between the lines and take note of various NBA goings on. We think today’s story about the Sacramento Kings is just one of those stories.
To summarize, the Sacramento Kings are looking to relocate. The suitor is Anaheim. If they move, they are going to Anaheim. April 18 is when the fate of the Sacramento Kings will be known.
How does this relate to Vancouver NBA? Well if you remember the Hornets and their recent headlines about possibly moving, you will recall that Anaheim was interested along with Vancouver and one or two others. If Anaheim gets the Kings, it’s going to increase the chances that Vancouver will indeed be getting the next NBA team that’s ready to relocation.
Keep the faith everyone!
I’ve been reading pretty much every story out this week about the probability of the Vancouver Hornets becoming a reality. People in the sports media I consider experts because they spend their entire day involved in thinking about the NBA and Vancouver. With that said, it’s a guessing game and everyone has their own opinion about the NBA coming back to Vancouver. I’ve also listened to Squire Barnes on Sportstalk this week and their discussion regarding a return of Vancouver NBA.
Here are a few points I’ve heard about and read about. I’ll counter with my take, and please add your own comments to this debate!
1. The Grizzlies failed and essentially proved that Vancouver is an NHL city and not an NBA city.
Wow do I disagree with this type of statement. Imagine now the fact that the Grizzlies were here 10 years ago! Yes, ten years. Think about the growth in population here now compared to then. I need figures to show this difference but I’m lazy. I think you would agree there are a LOT more potential ticket buyers now than there were then.
The Vancouver Grizzlies sucked for many years. Pretty hard to maintain loyalty when the team and management and players were pretty much a gong show. All that considered I think the fans proved that they would support even a really crappy team.
Also consider ticket price and ticket availability. The Vancouver Hornets (yes that’s presumptuous but I’m ok with it) could offer a family pack which the Vancouver Canucks could never do. There is nothing wrong with a second option. Sure I love the NHL but I’m not dropping $100 on a ticket more than once a year if that. A Vancouver NBA ticket has the advantage of pricing.
2. NBA players don’t like playing and living in Canada.
It’s hard to dispute this point. I suppose it’s going to still be the case if the NBA does return to Vancouver. I would think drafting smartly would play a role in this. If we need to be a more European based team, so be it. We can’t do anything about spoiled brats who are the talent in the NBA. Even the NHL and Edmonton faces issues with players not wanting to sign with them. Ultimately a winning team with deep pockets should be able to deal with spoiled players who don’t want to be in Vancouver. I’m not that close to the Toronto situation to know their troubles with signing and keeping their talent. Add comments if you know their situation.
3. Seattle will get a team before Vancouver so don’t get your hopes up any time soon.
Obviously Seattle deserves an NBA team. It’s obvious. They lack a building and that’s the reality. If a team comes available before they have their building, guess what? Yes, we get an NBA team before Seattle.
Don’t get the wrong idea. The image above is not official and is simply a mock up we’ve put together to see how Vancouver Hornets might look on a logo design.
One of the thoughts we’re having on this day when talk of the New Orleans Hornets are being mentioned with Vancouver, we are thinking about the “Hornets” part of the potential move. So what if Vancouver acquires the Hornets. Then what? Do we get the luxury of getting a brand spanking newly named team? What’s the policy with the NBA regarding renaming of teams? Is there even a policy?
To answer this question we’ve done a bit of looking around on the internet. Our conclusion? It would seem that changing a NBA teams name when they are relocated is not a practice endorsed by the NBA brass. It would seem that with the NBA teams relocating in around the 1970’s, there were a number of name changes. With that said, those same teams in subsequent relocations have kept the same name. Ah, but always a troubling exception.
In 2008, the Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma and became the City Thunder. This name change flies in the face of how the NBA has dealt with relocating NBA franchises in recent and not-so-recent history. Add to that in 1997 the Bullets became the Washington Wizards. What gives? Does this mean the Vancouver Hornets will not be?
In the case of the Seattle Supersonics, it makes sense. The NBA will be back in Seattle for sure once they have a good building fit for the NBA. The Supersonics have history and they are Seattle’s team for sure.
What about the Bullets becoming the Wizards? Most likely it’s the violence aspect of “Bullets” being reason enough for a name change. That makes sense. In fact the name change is rational: “the team officially became known as the Washinton Wizards, a decision made by owners Irene and Abe Pollin in conjunction with the team’s anti-violence campaign.”
So have we established the fact that if Vancouver gets the Hornets that we will adopt their name also?
Photo: Jennifer Stoddart
Since the hottest rumour out there is about the Hornets moving to Vancouver, we will keep you up to date on who is saying what. Here are a few tidbits about Vancouver Hornets becoming a reality:
More Vancouver Hornets rumours and news coming up!
We are just getting started on the Vancouver Hornets campaign. So “Vancouver Hornets” has a ring to it or not? I mean it’s just a name. Sure we don’t really use the term Hornets, but heck who really cares. How many people in Vancouver see Grizzlies in a lifetime? That’s my point.
Let’s look at the colours. I was never a fan of the Vancouver Grizzlies colours and jerseys to be honest. The blue is a bit more palatable with the Hornets I think. What do you think?
Wow this one caught us off guard. Just last week we mentioned the lack of Vancouver NBA rumours and then this! If you Google “Vancouver NBA” right now you will see some headlines. If you read the Vancouver newspaper you would see some headlines about the New Orleans Hornets. The fact is that Vancouver has shown interest in acquiring the Hornets and bringing them to Rogers Arena. We are just reading the stories so we will be posting a lot more details in the next few days. It would appear that the NBA wants to keep the team in the city they are in, but that’s pretty standard. Look at the NHL Phoenix situation. Having said that, it appears that interest in moving the Hornets to Vancouver, Anaheim or Las Vegas. Vancouver Hornets? What do you think of that?