I was listening to WHBQ out of Memphis, Tennessee, and Dick Versace the former President of Basketball Operations of the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies said that ownership was very dissapointed with the attendance in Memphis, he said that the Grizz didn't even sellout their 2 playoff games against the Dallas Mavericks, and the attendance during the regular season has not been great, he said "we were averaging more fans in Vancouver then we are getting in Memphis". He said the NBA has to stay commited to a city for 6 years before they can consider relocating. He said Memphis is a college sports town, and then a caller called in and asked if the Grizz can survive in Memphis even with the cheapest seat being $5.00 next year. Versace said Memphis is a great city but you know Vancouver want's another shot @ an NBA franchise, so does Las Vegas and Kansas City, so the business community and the fans need to step up to the plate as this coming season will be the 6th season in Memphis. Intresting interview.
Memphis Grizzlies back to Vancouver???
- Thread starter scott231
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S
Smother
This would be awesome if we can have this back!! I saw a couple of games and had a blast!!!
I still say we got burned losing this team.....it was all bullshit!!! Attendance was never a problem!!
I still say we got burned losing this team.....it was all bullshit!!! Attendance was never a problem!!
i almost fell asleep watching the grizzlies when they where here. My friends and family thought it was a waste of time even though we had awesome seats.
the problem at the time was an enept gm that signed a unproven injury prone, weight problem having rookie center to a ludicris contract well the contract extension anyway which was 65 million over six years. yes folks you heard me right.craiglist-lover said:
this is in u.s. dollars at a time when the canadian dollar was 0.63 cents u.s. . bad management, bad draft picks, poor canadian dollar and bryant reeves killed this team. fan support as well as corporate support were never a problem.
For the 5 years the Grizz have been in Memphis the team has made the playoffs 3 times, and have still had shitty attendance, the people of Memphis care about their college basketball team more, as they outdraw the Grizzlies. Michael Heisley has had to cut his ticket prices in half for next year as the cheapest ticket will be $5.00 an NBA low. This franchise has been a disaster in Memphis, and I guarntee you it will be out of Memphis in the next few years, since Vancouver is intrested in getting a team here. If the Grizzlies had sucsess on the floor here they would sellout their games. The NBA mistreated Vancouver and if any city deserves a 2nd chance it is Vancouver.
I loved to watch the Vancouver Grizzlies play, even though the team sucked the whole time it was here.
And I'd love to seem them here again, but not with Versace and Heisley at the helm. That ship has sailed. What NBA fanbase is left in Vancouver won't trust the likes of those two, if the team returned. It would need to be local ownership in some way, with a new management team.
If Versace mentioned the idea of coming back to Vancouver, he'd be doing it to use Vancouver as a pawn. He'd want us to help "up the bid" among prospective host cities, but he would have no interest in truly coming back here.
And I'd love to seem them here again, but not with Versace and Heisley at the helm. That ship has sailed. What NBA fanbase is left in Vancouver won't trust the likes of those two, if the team returned. It would need to be local ownership in some way, with a new management team.
If Versace mentioned the idea of coming back to Vancouver, he'd be doing it to use Vancouver as a pawn. He'd want us to help "up the bid" among prospective host cities, but he would have no interest in truly coming back here.
Exactly. I know fuck all about the NBA and don't really care to, I never did see a game either live or on tv when they were here, but wasn't the fact players didn't want to play here a big problem? If that's the case, the team would be doomed to high player turnover and ongoing failure, and it's days would again be numbered from the moment it landed here.
S
Smother
It's all about the money....our dollar sucked at the time....most Canadian sports players are paid in American funds.....we were a new franchise and didn't perform well....some of the players picks were not all that great......we weren't givin the chance.....and also.....I had a friend who was working at the games full time....so I had the info.....attendance was not the problem!!! Trust me....moving a team into American territory after a few years sounds fishy.....especially when .....once again ....attendance was near capacity for most of the games.....not all games though!craiglist-lover said:
I was closely involved with the Grizzlies during their time in Vancouver. If Jackson had spent more time recruiting players who could play rather than looking for what he termed "good citizens" they would have done better. The US dollar back then hurt more than anything else and coupled with the fact that the average intelligence of the NBA player wouldn't allow them to get their mind around the fact that Vancouver wasn't some wasteland way up north. One of the players showed up here in August wearing a parka. In any event, my past experience tells me you can't believe anything that comes out of Versace's or Heisley's mouth..they are all about posturing. The only way an NBA team could survive here is committed local ownership with deep pockets and possibly co-ownership of GM Place.
In the States, isn't it also a matter of better tax management? Don't some US cities give tax incentives to sports teams?
On another note (I am not a tax lawyer), don't big earners usually have an entity that loses money so that they can claim the losses against their gains on their tax returns?
OT, I'd imagine they'd try other American cities before trying here again. I do remember people saying Memphis wasn't a good choice when they first moved there. The south east is usually very strongly college sport minded.
On another note (I am not a tax lawyer), don't big earners usually have an entity that loses money so that they can claim the losses against their gains on their tax returns?
OT, I'd imagine they'd try other American cities before trying here again. I do remember people saying Memphis wasn't a good choice when they first moved there. The south east is usually very strongly college sport minded.
well if you absolutely need to sit courtside then yeah that might be the deal but dude i paid no more then 60 bucks for every game i went to and i had centre court tickets maybe 10 rows from the floor.goodlube said:
at that some token i've paid no more then 80 bucks for canucks tickets and always been in the upper bowl.
so if you need the vanity of being courtside in that luxury section were people come take your orders for food and shit then be prepaired to shell out the big bucks.
My take? Who cares? let the overgrown assholes play anywhere they want. As long as we have tv's there's a home game every night.
