OT - Pistons moving to Las Vegas?
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/14/nba-team-under-contract-if-…
This is out of the Las Vegas Sun. An investment group has (allegedly) a NBA Team under contract to move to Las Vegas pending the completion of a stadium. I do not know which other franchises in the league would be close to moving, but as a Detroit Sports fan, this really scares me. I am not a die hard Pistons fan, but I would seriously hate for them to move. Anyone else feeling the same way about this? Can anyone pull me off the perverbial ledge with another team that could possibly move?
UPDATE: http://detnews.com/article/20100715/SPORTS0102/7150452/NBA-denies-team-…
From DetNews, NBA denies a team is "under contract" for move to Vegas. Take that for what it is worth. It could be a situation like there is no "contract" but a verbal agreement might be in place. I do not think the NBA would confirm the original story even if it is 100% true.
They better not although I really don't follow NBA
I think you're safe according to CNBC the Warriors were bought by Peter Guber and Mandalay Entertainment (from Vegas) today.
That the report that a team is moving to Vegas came out the same day a team way bought by an ownership group from Vegas sure seems to point to the Warriors being the most likely team to go there.
Long live "Detriot Basketball"!
Not going to happen. The NBA will not move a franchise with the history and arena that the pistons do, to an unproven market
Right. The NBA's never done that. OH Wait!
http://www.hickoksports.com/history/nbafranchisehist.shtml
By my count 18 major moves (Not counting examples such as Warriors: SF to Oakland or Nets: New York to NJ). This also doesn't include the most recent one Seattle to Oklahoma City, which would make it 19.
Some have history, some without, but with the NBA allegedly nearly $400 million in the red and a looming lockout, if Las Vegas promises to bring in more money and build a nice arena, the NBA will not hesitate to move the Pistons...and it wouldn't be the first time for that franchise.
Yeah, I mean, what's the difference between winning one championship versus three?
Either way a city has won a championship.
Stern allowed Seattle fans to the "bend over and cough" treatment a few years back. What's keeping him from allowing Detroit the same? Add in the fact that from an economic standpoint, Detroit doesn't look too hot right now, and you have to at least put it in the realm of being possible.
That being said, the Pistons have to be fourth or fifth on the list at best/worst (depending on how you look at it).
Clearly the favorites are Memphis (crap market, crap revenues, crap team) and Sacramento (Maloof's moving a team to Vegas seems so obvious).
Personally I hope it's Sacramento. Anytime you can merge the Maloofs, Reke, Cousins, and Vegas together - you gotta do it.
1. Detroit-Windsor has ~5.7 million residents while Las Vegas has a population of 1.8 million.
2. Detroit has been hit hard by the economic times, but do you think a tourist city like LV wasn't hit hard. In fact, both are synomonous with the housing bubble and the recession as the hardest hit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/23/the-cities-hit-hardest-by_n_509744.html#s75345
3. Why would the NBA move a team to an untested market. Look what that had done for the Grizzlies and Hornets.
4. The Grizzlies would be the market to move, as there is no tradition, longevity, success, etc. that is holding them down
5. There are many buyers that are local who are interested in buying the pistons, and the current ownership group has said that local buyers take preference.
The entire state of Michigan has 6.9 million residents, and you're going to tell me that Detroit (combined with Windsor) makes up 5.7 million?
Wayne and Oakland county make up 3.1 million people.
According to Wikipedia, Windsor has a population of about 216,000 people.
That's 3.3 million max.
If you take Detroit's wiki population number (910,000), you're at about 1.1 million. Still, neither number is near 5.7 million.
Nice try, buddy.
Actually the population of Michigan is a bit over 10 million, making it the 8th most populous state.
This is all 2000 Census data... Wait till the 2010 information comes out!
My data is stuff my employer pays for (2009 data) - and you're using wikipedia 2000 census data.
Your employer should get a refund, because they're getting swindled if someone's telling them that. The most 2008 Census Bureau estimate put the state's population at 10,045,697.
The numbers on wikipedia come directly from 2008 census estimates on the census bureau's website. Your numbers come from Butthead.
Take a look at this link:
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/michigan_map.html
It's from the US Census Bureau, so you know it's legit. You can click on any county in Michigan and see population statistics.
For those who don't want to click the link, Wayne County comes in at just under 2 mil, Oakland at 1.2 and Macomb at over 800k, all 2009 estimates. Also, although Wayne has lost an estimated 6.6% of it's population, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties have all grown, all but Oakland are some of the fastest growing counties in the state (Livingston by 16.7%).
Keep in mind also that outside of Metro Vegas, there is nothing for hundreds of miles, and the Pistons get fans from Flint, Saginaw, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Toledo and much of the rest of Michigan. I grew up in GR and we would drive to Pistons games every year.
On the other hand, Vegas has millions of visitors every year which don't show up in the population numbers. Lots of people would catch an NBA game while they were in town if it was an option.
I get neg banged to all hell for posting accurate data (as supported by WolvinLA).
That's freakin awesome. Go Detroit! YEAH!
What the hell are you talking about? You claimed above that the state's population had plummeted to 6.9 million. The above link completely refutes that.
Wayne/Oakland 3.1 mill > Las Vegas 1.8 mill.
Also, the CSA for Ann Arbor/Detroit/Flint is 5.3 mill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Combined_Statistical_Areas
All of that stuff is based on the 2000 census, which is of course - 10 years old.
Also, according to my 2009 data - Oakland / Washtenaw counties have been slightly up to flat in terms of population growth, while Wayne has seen a significant decrease (and that's only over the last three years).
...that 3.1 number for Wayne/Oakland is the number you gave above, not the wikipedia number from 2000.
But yes, Metro Detroit is shrinking. I'm just trying to hold on to reasons for the Pistons not to move to Las Vegas.
Wayne County is shrinking, but Metro Detroit as a whole is flat or slightly increasing. Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Washtenaw are growing in population, albeit not by much.
7000 people are moving to Vegas per month. How many people are moving away from Detriot each month? These numbers could sway the NBA.
Just throwing that out there.
I'm pretty sure that statistic is no longer accurate, given that Nevada now has the nation's highest unemployment rate (as well as its highest foreclosure rate).
Detroit is a MUCH MUCH MUCH bigger market than Las Vegas. The Piston's aren't going anywhere. It must be referencing another team.
Much bigger size, yes, however there isn't as large of a gap in market size as you'd think.
the D is shrinking.
Vegas has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation - five times the national average.
Yes, but Wayne county has lost ~80,000 residents over the last three years while Clark county has gained about ~130,000 residents over the same time span.
Cannot argue against foreclosure rate, but I assume Wayne county is also up there.
(FYI I have no bias for/against either city - just sayin')
I guess it's a good thing the Pistons are in Oakland County
It makes sense with Vegas and other vacation/resort towns because people often by second homes there -- therefore when they lose their jobs, foreclosures occur more often with second homes.
That's what she said....
Considering how corrupt the NBA is, Vegas suits the league well.
The obvious name to switch to would be The Gamblers. You could put in Wise Guys or some other mob reference, but I like the name The Las Vegas Gamblers.
Not that I want The Pistons to move there.
I agree it is probably another team, but we can't say they would never be moved. Stern basically left that door open by saying he "really hopes they don't." In other words, it's possible. I still hold hope Illitch and some other investor(s) take them.
If the Pistons do move can we get their announcer for Michigan Basketball games and get rid of our current announcer?
The only downfall (not really) would be is there going to be anymore "FREEEEE PIZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" if that would happen?
Edit: I really hope downtown Detroit is the only place the Pistons move to!
Although I really don't care about the NBA anymore, I would be sad to see the Pistons leave. That being said, I doubt a team could thrive in Vegas. Having a bunch of young and (mostly) immature millionaires living/working in Vegas seems like a recipe for disaster
TBH you could make the same argument about young/immature millionaires in NYC, South Beach, LA, and just about everywhere else. All that matters to the NBA is money. Although they put up a front of trying to "rebuild a good image" the reality is that the NBA is already looked at by the majority of the country as a "thug" league.
The Pistons aren't the only team that is rumored might move to Vegas.
Other teams rumored: Hornets, Kings, Grizzlies
and nearly a billion over the last 5. They are a ton of team hemorrhaging money. So I doubt the Pistons would be near the top of the LV transfer list. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35401379/ns/sports-nba/
Even if they were there is a bigger issue: David Stern hates Vegas, especially now after the All Star Game debacle and the ref scandal. In addition, you already can't even bet on NBA games at Palms because the Maloofs own the Kings. DS is VERY image concious and a league with an image problem does not need to try to explain why a team in moving to "Sin City."
Lastly, the rumor for years has been that it's actually an NHL franchise moving to Vegas sometime in the near future.
The Piston's are Detroit to the core. I can't imagine them any place else. It would be a tragedy to see them rebranded as a Las Vegas team. Thankfully, I care little for the NBA . . .
I support the Pistons, but they haven't always been Detroit's Pistons.
the Pistons have been in Detroit since 1957, approximately three times as long as they were in Ft Wayne. So Detroit has far more meaning, I think.
Are we really comparing a small Indiana city with the 11th largest metropolitan area in the United States?
My guess, and obviously just a guess, is that it could be the New Orleans hornets. They're struggling for revenue/attendance at the moment and there's talk that CP3 wants out of the town next year when he's a free agent. No Chris Paul = even less attendance = move to Vegas?
I'm guessing Hornets over Pistons. The team also just parted with their GM. A reported done deal sale a few months ago fell through, CP3 openly talked about forming another Big 3 with Melo and someone else (Amare?) at a wedding last weekend . . . The franchise is in poor shape.
That's exactly the talk I was referencing, and you are correct the third is Amare. The plan is to go to the Knicks. In any case with the emergence of the Saints, New Orleans is officially an NFL town and I doubt the Hornets will get much support unless they unexpectedly turn into an NBA jewel.
New Orleans always has been an NFL town, New Orleanians are addicted to the Saints, win or lose. The Hornets never had a chance to compete with the Saints and winning a SB makes it even harder. Even when the Hornets made the playoffs and advanced to the 2nd round against the Spurs a few years back there were tickets available. If fans won't pay to see Chris Paul WIN games, I don't know what will draw them in. If Paul leaves the franchise should shut down, maybe Paul will just take the whole franchise with thim
If this was in the realm of possibility. Please let this be true! For the Knicks to trot out a starting 5 of CP3, Amare, Melo, Randolph and Gallinari; with Turiaf, Felton, Azubuike, and Toney Douglas off the bench? This will be my new Knicks pipedream that will probably never happen, but whatever. I'd watch every game. EVERY GAME.
There is absolutely no chance that this happens. People said Detroit because we are for sale. The Pistons will not be leaving Detroit. This was just someone saying "oh, the Pistons are for sale, Vegas wants a team, so let's say that Vegas wants Detroit!"
Kings are the team rumored to move to Vegas. Their owners, the Maloof Brothers, have been contemplating this for years.
The pistons are not moving. We all realize that the economy is down, but this area's sports fans are passionate and can support a winning team. Pistons finances aren't in as bad of shape as some other teams, especially those without high end revenue streams like an abundance of luxury boxes with the corporate partners to fill them ( Sacto, Memphis New Orleans are really struggling in this regard)
pistons were to leave it would be the final nail in the coffin for the NBA with me... i've barely watched a pistons game in 3 years because the NBA has gotten so bad to watch...
If the Maloof Brothers would let anyone else move to Las Vegas. They have wanted to move there from the moment they bought that franchise.