Herb Simon - what next?

[EuroPacer]

There is not a single Pacer that WANTS the team to move, but we have to be realistic here and look at a statistic that matters to the decision makers:

2003-04 16,544
2004-05 16,994
2005-06 16,179
2006-07 15,359
2007-08 12,221
2008-09 14,182
2009-10 14,202
2010-11 13,538
2011-12 14,168
2012-13 15,269
2013-14 16,862

We are rebounding, thank god, but even then this ranks well in the bottom half of the league. Saying we are a better market than other teams is homerism, unless this team really gets bums on seats again and starts to build up appeal outside of Indiana more, the Pacers are under threat, the only thing keeping us in Indiana is Herb Simon, it is that simple.

Merry Christmas

[Boneman2]

As far as max capacity goes there are thirteen teams that have a higher percentage than the Pacers (92.8%) of putting bums in seats. There are 30 markets to be precise, meaning 16 of those markets have more capacity issues than the Pacers. To say Indy is a better market than the majority of the league is not homerism at all, but a statistical fact. I only mentioned a few markets, not 16.

What sticks out to me in the attendance figures posted above is the correlation between poor attendance and the aftermath of the brawl. Were you a fan during the 90's?

[Boneman2]

Here is an excerpt from Simon in the Indianapolis Monthly, about a year ago:

EW: What do you think the future might hold for the organization after your tenure as owner?

HS: You mean after I’m gone? [Chuckles.] At my age, we do plan for that eventuality, and I have a son, Stephen, who’s interested in the team and has been involved with me, and we have a succession plan. And our hope and desire is if we can get things working properly, then we want to stay here for the foreseeable future.

It’s a great place to live here. It’s a great place to work. Our main company, Simon Property Group, has a major presence. My brother and I came here many years ago, and the people have been incredible, the environment has been incredible, and we’ve been able to make a good living and bring up families here. So this is a very special place for us.

link: http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/interviews/Story.aspx?ID=1776054

[Wizop]

good to be reminded that Herb has a son who is more interested than Mel's son. as for attendance, we've had 8 sell outs this year as compared with 9 all last year.

[EuroPacer]

As far as max capacity goes there are thirteen teams that have a higher percentage than the Pacers (92.8%) of putting bums in seats. There are 30 markets to be precise, meaning 16 of those markets have more capacity issues than the Pacers. To say Indy is a better market than the majority of the league is not homerism at all, but a statistical fact. I only mentioned a few markets, not 16.

What sticks out to me in the attendance figures posted above is the correlation between poor attendance and the aftermath of the brawl. Were you a fan during the 90's?

Yes I was, been a fan since I was 14 and I am now 35. Back in the day most guys I played ball with knew Rik Smits (being Dutch and all) and Reggie.

I appreciate attendances are on the up, and I want Indy to stay Indy, but there is no denying that if we had had four more seasons of East-mediocrity we would have struggled for sure to stay put. Even now it will take a lot of dedication from a key-investor to keep Indy in Indy after Herb Simon. I am not from Indiana, I don't know what it is like, but seeing blogs about the ability of cities in the US to sustain certain pro-teams does not fill me with confidence, nor do the attendance figures.

So: Heart, Indy is home of basketball, not having an NBA team in Indianapolis is like not having a football (soccer) team in my current hometown Sheffield (home of the oldest Football team Sheffield FC),

Head says: Damn, things aren't looking good post Herb, let's get it sorted!

[Jake0890]

Honestly, as long as we keep up this level of success, I don't think it should be too hard to find anyone to invest in this team. But if this team suddenly takes a nose dive and the we're not on the upswing anymore, things change. Lets be honest, who wants to buy a small market team with a (relatively) small fan base that is losing? But a winning team is a totally different scenario.

But lets not forget we still have some time left for Herb. He could be around for awhile.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

[Gremz]

For Herb's sake I would rather not discuss this topic.

[Boneman2]

I've seen reports stating that 22 out of 30 NBA teams are losing money, that's over 2/3rds of the league. The sentiment on here is that the Pacers are one of a few teams losing money, which just isn't the case.

The teams that are not losing money are covertly subsidized by large corporations. Take broadcasting rights, where the Pacers make roughly $5 million annually LA makes $200 million from Time Warner.

As far as Herb losing money, he paid $10 million for a club that is worth over $383 million today.

Don't believe the hype. This is the NBA's way of shaking down the local governments of these so-called small-markets, in order to get them to pay for stuff like building state-of-the-art arenas and to cover the operating costs that goes along with it.