Huskies1947 wrote:Memphis Grizzlies are not going anywhere!
Even if they have a terrible fan base the lease they are locked in is ridiculous. To buy out the lease it's 105 million dollars starting in the fall of 08/09. The team is probably going for 300 million dollars, and then you gotta come up with a new arena? That could be like 650 million dollars for the Memphis Grizzlies. Who is going to pay that? That's close to reaching NFL franchise money.
I can see this team moving after their lease runs up. Trust me, the team would be sold by now ... they have been on the market for more than a year. Heisley is an idiot and now his team rots.
IMO it could be the Wolves if they keep rotting the franchise.
Well let's see here. Clay Bennett Hi-jacked the Sonics for around 485mil.
350mil for the purchase
75mil for the buyout
60mil in loses
Currently Steve Balmer Micros Soft CEO wants to purchase an NBA franchise.
The city of Seattle and his ownership group had previously worked out a deal for a 300mil renovation to Key Arena which the NBA has given its good graces to during the buy out but before then the renovation simply wouldn't suffice for Clay Bennett and the NBA.
Balmer would be putting in 150mil of his own money for the renovation.
So say he buys the team for 300mil, 105mil for the buy out to Memphis lease and 150mil for the renovation he'd be paying 555mil for it when it is all said and done. Of course OKC is on the hook for renovation the Ford center for 100mil. But add that to Bennett’s 485 and that seems to be the going rate.
Of course Balmer is something like the 8th riches man on the planet so I don't think he is really sweating it.
But honestly as a life long fan for the Sonics who can barely remember the 1979 title because it was on tape delay (plus I was seven at the time). I will not support the NBA ever again.
I can see a team leaving if there simply isn't any fan support but that wasn't the case. There is a ton of blame to go around. Shultz, Bennett, mayor Nickels, the Governor. The list goes on and on. But the fans are no where on that list.
But when the owners vote for a franchise to move after it has been part of the community for 41 years simply because a rich c@ck who bought the team wants to move it closer to his trailer park, those are owners I can no longer support.
41 years of fan support should matter.
This has been a horrible precedent. Many communities help subsidize these enormous stadiums expecting their franchise to play in them for the next 15 to 20 years.
Nothing is a given now. Some rich guy can simply buy the team and move it to North Dakota because he wants to. What's the point of a freakin' lease?
You can have Memphis and your expansion team and cram it. I can find plenty of other avenues to spend my dollar on.