BallaBalla wrote:
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Ric Bucher, ESPN: Vancouver could be favourite for NBA relocation
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I live in Vancouver, and actually worked for the Grizzlies for three years. The reason for the team "failing" in Vancouver has less to do with support from the community that with other issues. First the Canadian dollar was extremely week during the six years the Grizz were in town – in fact almost at 25 year lows during that stretch. From a business standpoint this made it very difficult to compete - revenue was in Canadian dollars, while most expenses were in US dollars. It is very difficult to attract new fans when ticket prices are high (to cover business operation expenses), and also difficult to attract and pay free agents.
Second, the lockout in 1998 basically destroyed any of the fan base that were on-the-fence fans. Attendance was 17,000 in the first year and dropped into the 13,000s after the lockout.
Third, Stu Jackson did an absolutely brutal job in running the team... the biggest mistake being the drafting of Steve Francis who had publicly stated (before the draft) that he did not want to play in Vancouver. I won't mention the $64 million dollars he gave to Big Country. During their six years in Vancouver the Grizzlies had the worst record in the NBA going 101 and 359.
Since the Grizzlies left the city things have changed - a much larger population in the City and within an easy commute of the arena; the Canadian dollar is more or less at par with the US dollar, Vancouver has gained some notoriety having hosting the Olympics (hopefully opening the eyes of Steve Francis and other US born players that the city is not that bad... maybe even a better place to live than Detroit or Milwaukee?), and I am pretty sure if Vancouver were to get a team, Stu Jackson would not be the GM.Last edited by black angus; Tue Apr 17, 2012, 01:22 PM.
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Just had to comment on Apollo's move to Calgary! Yeah boi! LOL.
But onto the topic at hand, I do agree that Calgary 'could' support an NBA franchise financially speaking, but I also agree that the fanbase isn't as high as Vancouver or Toronto... But that's something the city's got to look into.
Hmm... bring in the Vancouver Mounties!#Raptor4Life, #Prepping4thePlayoffs
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Vancouver Canucks owner not very interested in bringing an NBA team back to the city:
http://www.iamagm.com/news/2012/04/1...medium=twitter(Sorry for poor English )
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japetas wrote: View PostVancouver Canucks owner not very interested in bringing an NBA team back to the city:
http://www.iamagm.com/news/2012/04/1...medium=twitter“I think if there was enough support, enough of a fan base, definitely the arena is ready to go,” Aquilini said. “There was a basketball team here before, the building is really plug-and-play. We could start tomorrow if we wanted to. But the question is always about market size. That really is the issue. The (Grizzlies) did leave Vancouver for a reason, because there just wasn’t enough market support. If there was, they wouldn’t have left in the first place. We’re continually doing work on that, to assess whether there is enough of a market for an NBA team in Vancouver.”
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Apollo wrote: View PostCareer. I've been to Calgary many, many times and I really like it. Did your family say why they don't like it there?
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BallaBalla wrote: View PostI live here in TO, and I am not sure how many of you actually live out West, but I lived in Vancouver for a while and nobody gave a flying #$&! over there about ball when they had a team, and no one cared when they left. Did the NBA mess up? Probably. But it'll be a tough climb as long as the Canucks are good. Overall, the more NBA in Canada the better
There's no doubt the Canucks will be at the top of the mountain right now. Heck, so will the White Caps... But if there was a return of a team, and success right out of the gate, I could see it climbing the ranks in obtaining a very good fan-base.Twitter: @ReubenJRD • NBA, Raptors writer for Daily Hive Vancouver, Toronto.
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