Las Vegas is a "basketball town", hosted the greatest All-star weekend ever, has a great arena (Thomas & Mack Center), has pleasant winter weather, and has the most available hotel rooms in America.
Pitsburgh is a very good suggestion, Barkingclam. I should also ask people whether they think it would be better to add an NBA franchise to a city that already has pro teams from other sports (like Pittsburgh), or whether it is better to bring a team to a city that has no pro sports teams (like Las Vegas).
LOL! Yes, and even that looks bleak, SSReporters. It will be a shame if the Sonics actually leave. Seattle is a city that should always have an NBA team. I went to a few games there when Shawn Kemp played and it was truly amazing.
There are too many outside interest to take your kids/family too Superblog: Sea World, LegoLand, The Zoo + Wildlife Reserve, The beautiful weather, the camping/beach options etc. etc. Sports just aren't a priority to the people of SD.
Hmm, yeah that's weird. It's such a big town with nice weather and lot of resources. Why don't they support their sports teams? If they can't get 18 to 22,000 fans a night, the NBA won't be interested. Too bad, though. I really like San Diego.
You would think right? It's my second home and the people are just typically disinterested in pro sports unless the teams are winning. Because of the weather and the alternative options SD finds interest outside of sports; where a city like Pittsburgh or Detroit where there are fewer viable alternative options are much more passionate about their sports.
In their last five years at Qualcomm, the Padres averaged 2.5 million per season, which is around 28,000 per game. In their first four seasons at Petco, they've averaged 2.9 million, or roughly 35,000 per game.
The extra 7 grand per game could be from tourism, who now have options of staying downtown due to extensive revitalization and new hotels, etc.
Sorry, LA, the numbers prove they're is enough of a fan base, either through increased population or increased tourism, to support an NBA franchise downtown. Like I said, cash cow.
You sink the millions and the population will side with me. I'm down here speaking with the people, the people show disinterest in the NBA. They won't come for 41 games a season, not consistently, and I'm sure that as the luster wears off of Petco the attendance numbers will fall off there as well.
Now that I think about it, LA, you have a point. Winter isn't exactly the high point of tourism in SD, the extra seven grand which trek over to Petco won't be in town in November and December.
There are current NBA franchises in far worse markets than San Diego County, maybe in Charlotte basketball is the only thing to do, I don't know.
Thanks, NBA, you too. You guys working on a draft preview for us?
San Diego wasn't a big time city back then. The Padres were a couple years old, the Chargers had been there only about ten. Jack Murphy Stadium is about 12-15 miles NW of downtown, where no one really went. Seaport Village didn't exist, Balboa Park and the Gaslight District were just neighborhoods, they weren't really tourist attractions. And the San Diego Convention Center, where the Clippers played, was just that, a convention center. It's across the street from the airport, in more of an industrial area. Getting there is a bitch, parking is worse, and when you got inside it was like a bad high school flashback. It was a dump, picture a bunch of temporary aluminum bleachers, just like a high school game. It was far from a professional experience, to say the least.
Now with Petco Park, and with all the new hotels and such downtown, and with there being almost as many tourism attractions in the city as opposed to outside, a new arena and a team would be a cash cow. (A joint building with an NHL expansion team?)
Yeah, Kelsdad. I'm spending so much time with the Draft that I haven't been here much lately. I've been calling the FIBA people I know and they are so helpful with providing information about prospects, but the American prospects must be scouted the "old fashioned" way - by going to the pre-draft camps and watching tons of tape, because their "people" are so suspicious of them being evaluated. I start scouting most of these guys during their senior year of high school, but not before, and I talk to them in Las Vegas during the summer tournaments. I love the NBA Draft as much as any other sporting event of the year. I have some player reviews and information up at: NBA Draft Blog. BTW: How is baseball season going for you? Lots of surprise teams so far, it seems.
I feel your pain. I spent the last four months scouting high school baseball games. I get sort of the same thing you do except in reverse. High School AD's and coaches will fluff their players in an attempt to either get them drafted or land them a scholly. Then I go see the kid and I want so bad to sent the coach a bill for wasting my time.
I watched a couple games already today, the USA Juniors is being held at the complex next to my house. It's 114 now, so I'm chilling inside, I'll head back over in a couple hours and watch another couple games, then do the same tomorrow.
Wow, that's crazy, KD. My problem is that most NBA scouting departments are so ridiculously lazy that they allow a good prospect that has actually played meaningful games to be "overevaluated." Here's an example: I have personally scouted Roy Hibbert a dozen times over the last five years and I have close friends with the Georgetown athletic department. He has been "overevaluated" so much that every flaw is repeated over and over again to the point that everyone thinks he can't even walk straight. Now, take DeAndre Jordan. He played in few high school tournaments and he was a reserve in his one college season at Texas A&M. He is a legitimate seven-footer, but he's tough to scout because he rarely played in meaningful games. Because of this unnecessary guessing game, Jordan will be drafted much higher than Hibbert, even though Hibbert would destroy Jordan in a head-to-head match-up. We must allow the scouting process to work without criticizing a good (and proven player to the point that he's less attractive than someone like DeAndre Jordan or an unknown international player that hasn't faced the same scrutiny. That's why basketball prospects avoid evaluation at all costs, it rarely helps them these days.
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