From today’s Sacramento Bee Virginia Beach’s arena plan to lure the Sacramento Kings seems prohibitively expensive in terms of the public financing required:
“In its letter, the city asks the state for $70 million in construction assistance and $80 million in moving costs.
The moving costs include an estimated $30 million in relocation fees to be paid to the league.
Another $42 million would compensate the team for lost revenue while it plays in a smaller arena for two seasons while the new facility is under construction.”
That won’t include paying the City of Sacramento back the $65 million it’s already lent the Maloofs, and a spokesperson later in the article is quoted as saying that it is doubtful the State of Virginia will approve the expenditure.
I’ve always thought that Virginia Beach was a smokescreen, and that a request to move the Kings there was likely to be rejected by the NBA. The more you dig into the financial part of it of this deal, the less likely Virginia Beach seems as a possible destination.
Posted this a few threads ago but i think it fits perfectly on this post and nails exactly what is happening imo. http://m.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fshar.es%2F6tiVA&h=fAQH-E3iT&s=1
Agreed Hugh, good post.
“The rumors of relocation [to Virginia Beach] only help to divert Seattle’s eyes onto another opponent’s hand rather than the Maloofs whose chips are dangerously low.”
So, if the likelihood of VA getting their public subsidy is slim, I’m assuming it doesn’t increase the team’s value for Hansen. Maloofs are running out of leverage for negotiation — if, in fact, they are negotiating with Hansen.
You could kinda look at it like a pitcher in baseball too. Virginia beach is the maloofs curveball. Its not a great one but its there so ya gotta think about it. Right?
You only gotta think about it if they can get it across the plate. Otherwise, you just sit back and laugh while they walk you.
Im not gonna sweat it either way. We got our arena its only of matter of time till we get our team. Im still not buying virginia beach one bit though. Hahaha
Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. And agreed.
It cant hurt really. This is a game of poker. Youre pretty sure your hand is better but is it? It just another wrinkle to think about. To use something from another sport you could say its a curveball. Doesnt have to be a good one but its there so ya gotta think about it. Right?
Weird, i posted this before a few other comments and it disappeared now it posted. Weird…..
I’d be shocked if VB was willing to spend that kind of money at this time - to me it seems like a smoke screen.
Given the impact the potential fiscal cliff sequestration could have on the state (DOD jobs/private sector employment, bond ratings, etc), it seems a serious long shot that this commitment could be taken on until they get more clarity on the defense spending that is/isn’t going to happen in the region.
On a side note, the detailed architectural drawings for SODO Sonics arena are expected to be released Friday. (as per Times article)
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019777045_arenadesign28m.html
Awesome, can’t wait!
VB shows what I’ve been saying for a while, the Maloofs can’t afford to just move to a free arena. They need a lot of somebody else’s money just to keep the team if they were able to move.
For the league, I still think that they have a shorter fuse with franchises operating in substandard facilities with no viable plan (not in, but at least a plan) to be in a viable facility by the time the full CBA profit sharing kicks in.
The league is not about to have those idiots run in place for another decade while they rake in profit sharing money from large market (BOG) franchises.
Get into a new building, a new market with a better building, or sell your team to somebody that can get the job done.
VB might be a good market, but what it will take to get the Kings there is way too much.
Fantasy is such a lonely word. It’s also an appropriate description of the thought that the Commonwealth of Virginia is going to approve the arena financing plan.
Yea I think this is a Long Shot plus the NBA will have to defend it’s self from from people who will question why Kings did not move to Seattle espically sense we have an arena plan in place and moved a team cross country the to a town that has no corporate presence plus they will have to realign thier conferances which can be a lot of work Plus the public funding issues so I would be surprised if it happened
Memphis and New Orleans are already stretching the definition of Western Conference. It is not a good idea for the NBA to lose another west coast team. This is just another of the myriad reasons that VB is just a leverage play.
I can’t find this anywhere, but I thought I read someones Tweet that the Seahawks had some pretty high t.v. ratings this season. I say this because with sport network deals, I would imagine that the NBA BOG would love to get a piece of the revenue to be had in a Seattle market. Even as bad as the Mariners are, their network viewership is still very high. VB just doesn’t make financial sense for the NBA as a whole.
I don’t know for sure how serious the Virginia Beach proposal is; but, it would not suprise me if Virginia did come across with some subsidy. The Virginia Beach/Norfolk area had the Virginia Squires of the ABA. The team was supported by the area. They played to usually sold out crowds at The Scope in Norfolk. An NBA team in Virginia Beach would do well. The Virginia Beach area also has the Tidewater Tides the International League AAA affiliate of the New York Mets. This minor league team gets good attendance.
hey traven from the seattle times. cool story dude.
They sold out (supposedly of course) an Arena that holds 10,253…gee where can the NBA sign up??
They draw 5,600 a game for baseball…gee where can the NBA sign up??
This whole virginia beach things a joke. the old dominion has 9500 seats. thatd mean that
theyd have a smaller crowd than nhl would in key arena. just imagine the nhl playing in everett or kent. its rediculous and the maloofs are a total joke and they are making a mockery of the owners and league. they want to be big league but really they cant even afford to run a highschool team. its sad for the sac fans. i want to get the sonics as much as everyone but sad to see how low maloofs have taken this product.
It’s my birthday and all I want Chris to give us today is some spectacular arena drawings! Waiting for those to come out!
Happy Birthday Jenn!
Happy Birthday Jenn!
Where will I look first to find the new released Arena drawings? SonicsRising.com of course! Better have Dick’s Drive-in in there, that’s all I have to say! Hope to see it tonite after work!