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When I first heard the Sacremento Kings are considering a move to Virginia Beach I thought it was ridiculous. The NBA's had success in small markets, but come on.


Then I looked it up. The Virginia Beach / Norfolk / Newport News MSA isn't that small. It's bigger than Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, New Orleans, or Memphis all of which have NBA teams and it's just very slightly smaller than Indianapolis. And unlike the Bucks, Hornets, or Pacers, a Virginia Beach Kings squad wouldn't need to compete with any other pro sports teams. And in a lot of ways, avoiding competition seems to be a big factor in NBA franchise success. Obviously the ideal location is to be in a giant city, but barring the availability of New York or Los Angeles or Chicago the "find a smallish city with no MLB, NFL, or NHL competition" strategy seems to be a pretty sound route to a consistent fanbase.


Long story short, the Virginia Beach metro area's name doesn't exactly ring out nationally but more people live there than you'd think

DieHardKingsFan wrote:Updates posted on Sactownroyalty.com:

UPDATE (10:46 AM):

CBSSacramento has got hold of the Maloofs for comment:

However, Kings part-owner Joe Maloof rejected the claim. "We haven't talked to Virginia beach," he said.

The statement was echoed by team spokesman Eric Rose: "George said it best, we have been approached by several cities over several years about moving the Kings and we will not comment other than that."

UPDATE (11:25 AM):

Via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today

NBA spokesman Mike Bass on Kings: "We have no information from the Kings on this matter and there has been no application for relocation."

UPDATE (11:59 AM):

From KJ:

I spoke with the NBA, neither they nor my office has been contacted by the Kings. At this point there is nothing new to report.

closg00 wrote:

When I first heard the Sacremento Kings are considering a move to Virginia Beach I thought it was ridiculous. The NBA's had success in small markets, but come on.


Then I looked it up. The Virginia Beach / Norfolk / Newport News MSA isn't that small. It's bigger than Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, New Orleans, or Memphis all of which have NBA teams and it's just very slightly smaller than Indianapolis. And unlike the Bucks, Hornets, or Pacers, a Virginia Beach Kings squad wouldn't need to compete with any other pro sports teams. And in a lot of ways, avoiding competition seems to be a big factor in NBA franchise success. Obviously the ideal location is to be in a giant city, but barring the availability of New York or Los Angeles or Chicago the "find a smallish city with no MLB, NFL, or NHL competition" strategy seems to be a pretty sound route to a consistent fanbase.


Long story short, the Virginia Beach metro area's name doesn't exactly ring out nationally but more people live there than you'd think

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/201 ... xs_wp_0001

Hmm, VA Beach the new OKC. That would suck for die-hard Kings fans, but it could happen in the future.

Ruzious wrote:I haven't been to VA Beach in 20 years, so maybe things have changed since then, but if it hasn't changed dramatically - there's no way that anyone would seriously consider moving an NBA team there.

pancakes3 wrote:With all due respect to anyone living in the 757, i do NOT see that place being anywhere dense enough to support a team. Yeah, sure there's a ton of people living there but most of them are Navy, and the metro area spans a 20 mile radius. Plus there just isn't enough disposable income in that area to support a team. At least Charlotte has a downtown, albeit only 5 sq blocks worth.

Isn't Las Vegas the triple-obvious choice for a Sac Kings relocation?

pancakes3 wrote:With all due respect to anyone living in the 757, i do NOT see that place being anywhere dense enough to support a team. Yeah, sure there's a ton of people living there but most of them are Navy, and the metro area spans a 20 mile radius. Plus there just isn't enough disposable income in that area to support a team. At least Charlotte has a downtown, albeit only 5 sq blocks worth.

Isn't Las Vegas the triple-obvious choice for a Sac Kings relocation?

montestewart wrote:

closg00 wrote:

When I first heard the Sacremento Kings are considering a move to Virginia Beach I thought it was ridiculous. The NBA's had success in small markets, but come on.


Then I looked it up. The Virginia Beach / Norfolk / Newport News MSA isn't that small. It's bigger than Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, New Orleans, or Memphis all of which have NBA teams and it's just very slightly smaller than Indianapolis. And unlike the Bucks, Hornets, or Pacers, a Virginia Beach Kings squad wouldn't need to compete with any other pro sports teams. And in a lot of ways, avoiding competition seems to be a big factor in NBA franchise success. Obviously the ideal location is to be in a giant city, but barring the availability of New York or Los Angeles or Chicago the "find a smallish city with no MLB, NFL, or NHL competition" strategy seems to be a pretty sound route to a consistent fanbase.


Long story short, the Virginia Beach metro area's name doesn't exactly ring out nationally but more people live there than you'd think

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/201 ... xs_wp_0001

Hmm, VA Beach the new OKC. That would suck for die-hard Kings fans, but it could happen in the future.

I'm sure it sucked for their fans in Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Rochester too. They're like the Liz Taylor or Mickey Rooney of NBA franchises

jmrosenth wrote:This can't really have a chance of happening, can it? And VA Beach the 39th biggest city in the U.S.? Had no idea.

Severn Hoos wrote:Forgot about how many cities they've been in, I keep mixing them up with the Buffalo Braves / SD / LA Clippers.

montestewart wrote:

jmrosenth wrote:This can't really have a chance of happening, can it? And VA Beach the 39th biggest city in the U.S.? Had no idea.

That metro area has like 1.5 million people (maybe more), little competition with other franchises, and a sense of regional community unlike other areas I know. Could be, but they're probably just a prop in some negotiating drama.

Severn Hoos wrote:Forgot about how many cities they've been in, I keep mixing them up with the Buffalo Braves / SD / LA Clippers.

There was a time when both Syracuse and Rochester had NBA franchises, and when they departed, the upstate New York thirst for pro basketball was so strong that Buffalo got one too. I wonder what's going on with that interest these days?

montestewart wrote:

jmrosenth wrote:This can't really have a chance of happening, can it? And VA Beach the 39th biggest city in the U.S.? Had no idea.

That metro area has like 1.5 million people (maybe more), little competition with other franchises, and a sense of regional community unlike other areas I know. Could be, but they're probably just a prop in some negotiating drama.

Severn Hoos wrote:Forgot about how many cities they've been in, I keep mixing them up with the Buffalo Braves / SD / LA Clippers.

There was a time when both Syracuse and Rochester had NBA franchises, and when they departed, the upstate New York thirst for pro basketball was so strong that Buffalo got one too. I wonder what's going on with that interest these days?