Inside Biz.com-Sources: Sacramento Kings may move to Virginia Beach, arena deal in the works

[Ghost of]

This is awesome x2 for me.

One, it gets the rid of the **** stain that the Maloofs have put on my current locale. Plus, it means my old home will be big time.

I think they should revive the Squires nickname from the ABA days, if it happens.

Squires would be tight. Though let me say this:

I am looking forward to the Virginia Beach Mega Bowl! The Virginia Beach Mega Bowl!

On a less serious note: The population of suddenly swollen uteri, flush with child support cash is about to go up. Boost to the local economy/labor supply?

[@DCGoldPants]

Ah, didn't realize that... though I'm sure the NBA would consider the failure to pony up a sign of public disinterest. For pro-sports love equals dollars.

Isn't that what happened in Charlotte when the Hornets left? They they got the Bobcats in expansion and a new arena.

[tds]

This story is hilarious. I live in norfolk and would love for this to happen but it would be a huge mistake. The Norfolk Admirals and tides can't even average 6,000 fans a game. sure there are a lot of people in the area but it's far from a city. It's a transient military town.

[CrazyZeb]

Holy crap. I've waited so long... *sniff* Please be true.

[ixcuincle]

They did not lose it because of disinterest, they lost it because the city would not build them a new arena.

Didn't Seatle have a basketball team and lose it because of fan disinterest? Seatle Supersonics?

Basically what lovetoaster said. Seattle has loving fans. this wasn't some Expos thing. Their team was basically robbed

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

WTF is in Virginia Beach? Might as well put a team in Ocean City lol

the whole Hampton Roads area has over 1 million people.

then you have another million in the Richmond metro area.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 12:05 AM ----------

and it'd be hell having to compete with Charlotte and DC.

Hampton Roads is a 3-4 hour drive from DC and another 6 hours from Charlotte.

They would not be competing with the Wizards and Bobcats.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 12:08 AM ----------

Didn't Seatle have a basketball team and lose it because of fan disinterest? Seatle Supersonics?

They did not lose it because of disinterest, they lost it because the city would not build them a new arena.

and then Stern, the previous owner, and Clay Bennett conspired to steal that team from the city

[Renegade7]

Hampton Roads is a 3-4 hour drive from DC and another 6 hours from Charlotte.

They would not be competing with the Wizards and Bobcats.

Wizards radio map

Cox 11 actually shows Wizards and capitals games, plus comcast sportsnet comes with second level cable package, same as masn for the washington nationals. Shot, channel 3 down here is the "home of the washington redskins", so DC already does have tv deals and a stake in hampton roads.

Bobcats are a little different, given their market share is more towards the western part of the carolinas. So that leaves East Carolina (not really with a huge chunk of Hatteras gone to the Wizards), given the Bobcats aren't pushing resources to branch out further then their 75-mile viewing radius they have set up with the NBA, FoxSouth, DirecTV, etc.

I still feel Hampton Roads is right on the line in terms of being on the outskirts of the two markets, and at least half our radius viewing area is ocean. We're the 42nd largest TV market in the country, and when you look at 3 cities that are that close to each other and have teams (like Texas with the Rockets, Spurs, and Mavericks), their markets are either much larger then ours our their team is winning.

You basically have to hope Leonsis and Jordan won't care, and that this team can actually compete. Otherwise, I still feel this is a recipe for disaster. Agree to disagree tho, but the NBA would definitely have to re-align again, especially with Memphis already the only team in the West that's east of the Mississippi River...

[Going Commando]

Va. Beach has tried multiple times to get a pro team here. When the Expos where looking for a new home, Norfolk was one of the preferred locations but the City of Norfolk shut that down real quick. Instead they went to DC and now at the top of the NL East.

That could be us!!!!!!

Matter of factly.........the last time Hampton Roads had a professional team.....they played at the Coliseum. They also had a future HOF'er on that squad by the name of Julius Erving :mad:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/1999/playoffs/spurs_gallery/aba02_sm.jpg

They played mostly at Norfolk Scope during Dr. J's brief time with the franchise. The Squires also played games in Richmond and Roanoke during their day.

George Gervin played for the Squires briefly too. I think his career overlapped with Dr. J's for a year or two in VA.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 08:39 AM ----------

Such a bad choice. I think about the places that would be better suited.

Seattle

KC (who built an arena for the Penguins before the NHL got in bed with a casino to build a new one in Pittsburgh)

Speaking of Pittsburgh...PITTSBURGH

Cincy

I could see Seattle and KC being good choices. Particularly KC since college BBall is so big time there. That seems like the first choice.

But Hampton Roads is most definitely a better choice than some dying rust belt city with struggling franchises already in place. Cincy, really? HR is a 0 sport town with rabid sports fans & just the right mix of blue and white collar populations for supporting a team. Put one pro team in it and people will absolutely embrace it, and it will be top dog. Especially if it wins early.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 08:47 AM ----------

I grew up in Williamsburg so that would be crazy to see the 757 get a professional team. Could you imagine the HRBT on a game night? Yeeeeeeeesh.

I think the area could support it but they would have to have really really low ticket prices (like the Wizards).

Yeah, prices would definitely have to be low. I think that'd be standard practice for an expansion style team cropping up in a new area.

I think they'd also be smart to give it a college style atmosphere like OKC did when they moved.

I see a few problems. Hampton Roads is a transient area. Not like DC, but the military population is pretty significant and it's going to be extremely hard to get them to buy in unless,

1.) The games are cheap,

2.) The games are super fun to go to.

That said, Virginians would absolutely LOVE to root for a true VA team. And when you think about it, it's a little absurd that VA doesn't have a single pro team. I could see the Richmond metro area definitely getting behind a VA Beach team. I think everyone up the peninsula would.

But you're right highlighting a potential problem with traffic on game nights. Especially putting it all of the way on the end in VA Beach where everyone would be driving East to get there and West to get home pretty much. The tunnel(s) would be monstrous. I honestly don't know if the area has the traffic infrastructure to deal with a pro team. Especially one that played several nights a week.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 08:54 AM ----------

This story is hilarious. I live in norfolk and would love for this to happen but it would be a huge mistake. The Norfolk Admirals and tides can't even average 6,000 fans a game. sure there are a lot of people in the area but it's far from a city. It's a transient military town.

Those are minor league sports. A pro sports team is a whole different animal. Especially the NBA where you've got international celebrities playing the game. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant would fill up an arena anywhere they went.

Being a transient town hasn't hurt DC that much.

I don't necessarily like the idea of the team coming into the area, but I could see how it could be pretty successful. The NBA has been able to make a franchise work in Orlando for the past 20 years...

[RichmondRedskin88]

The chances of this happening seem like the chance of Richmond landing a pro team. Doubt it happens.

Also very little chance richmond gets behind a norfolk based team. Those cities have fierce rivalry. If anything richmond folk will despise norfolk for getting one. They will go a kickers fc or flying squirrels game (actually sell out alot) game before supporting anything norfolk.

[Going Commando]

.... bro they have alot of talent... aw man,

I'm not going to lie, it would be pretty ****ing exciting if the Kings moved here.

They do have a lot of young talent. TRob and Boogie Cousins is absolutely enough to pique my interest. I don't really care about Tyreke, but I suppose he'd be fun to watch too.

I'm pretty committed to the Wizards, but it's near impossible for me to get to their games from here. It could only be for special occasions. And they really have 0 credibility in this area. I don't know any other Wizards fans here, I never see their gear around, they're never mentioned on local news, and my only connection to them here is CSN broadcasting their games.

If Comcast moved a team to my doorstep and then started showing that team's games over Wizards games on CSN (of course they would), it would make it extremely hard to follow the Wizards. It would be hard to continue rooting for them over the true hometown team, especially if they're both losers. The Wizards would have to really go places to keep me passionate. Fortunately, John Wall and Brad Beal are basically my two favorite basketball players now, so it's easy for me to get excited about them. I'm also a Vesely fan, I believe in what the Wizards have built the last two years.

But I would also find it very easy and entertaining to root for TRob and DeMarcus Cousins. Most likely, I'd become an NBA bigamist and pull for both teams.

All in all, I wouldn't be disappointed if the Kings stayed on the West Coast or moved to KC. If nothing else, it'd keep my rooting interests simple, I'm fine sticking with DC teams.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 09:12 AM ----------

The chances of this happening seem like the chance of Richmond landing a pro team. Doubt it happens.

Also very little chance richmond gets behind a norfolk based team. Those cities have fierce rivalry. If anything richmond folk will despise norfolk for getting one. They will go a kickers fc or flying squirrels game (actually sell out alot) game before supporting anything norfolk.

It'd be a Va Beach team for starters.

The cities have a rivalry in what exactly? I lived in Richmond and the Richmond Metro area for most of my life before I moved to Norfolk. I've never once felt any sort of rivalry with either place. And that was back in the day when the Braves and Tides played in the same league. Maybe the CAA had some interesting peninsular rivalries in college basketball but that's not going to actually freeze a Pro team out of an area. Plus those days are coming to an end anyway.

I think Virginians would go nuts about supporting a true Virginia team.

[RichmondRedskin88]

I'm not going to lie, it would be pretty ****ing exciting if the Kings moved here.

They do have a lot of young talent. TRob and Boogie Cousins is absolutely enough to pique my interest. I don't really care about Tyreke, but I suppose he'd be fun to watch too.

I'm pretty committed to the Wizards, but it's near impossible for me to get to their games from here. It could only be for special occasions. And they really have 0 credibility in this area. I don't know any other Wizards fans here, I never see their gear around, they're never mentioned on local news, and my only connection to them here is CSN broadcasting their games.

If Comcast moved a team to my doorstep and then started showing that team's games over Wizards games on CSN (of course they would), it would make it extremely hard to follow the Wizards. It would be hard to continue rooting for them over the true hometown team, especially if they're both losers. The Wizards would have to really go places to keep me passionate. Fortunately, John Wall and Brad Beal are basically my two favorite basketball players now, so it's easy for me to get excited about them. I'm also a Vesely fan, I believe in what the Wizards have built the last two years.

But I would also find it very easy and entertaining to root for TRob and DeMarcus Cousins. Most likely, I'd become an NBA bigamist and pull for both teams.

All in all, I wouldn't be disappointed if the Kings stayed on the West Coast or moved to KC. If nothing else, it'd keep my rooting interests simple, I'm fine sticking with DC teams.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 09:12 AM ----------

It'd be a Va Beach team for starters.

The cities have a rivalry in what exactly? I lived in Richmond and the Richmond Metro area for most of my life before I moved to Norfolk. I've never once felt any sort of rivalry with either place. And that was back in the day when the Braves and Tides played in the same league. Maybe the CAA had some interesting peninsular rivalries in college basketball but that's not going to actually freeze a Pro team out of an area. Plus those days are coming to an end anyway.

I think Virginians would go nuts about supporting a true Virginia team.

When ever any richmond team played norfolk it sold out even hockey. Why do you think you hear I hate 757 so much around vcu? Va beach,norfolk,and odu are lumped together. Richmonders would never support norfolk. Whenever vcu plays odu its when the city really gets fired up cuz thats the only thing they play in now since our hockey team is gone.. Richmond doesnt want to support norfolk, it wants to beat them.

[Going Commando]

Someone asked an interesting question about realignment. It would have to happen of course. You simply can't travel like you'd have to as a western conference team from VA Beach.

So who do you send from the East to the West? It'd have to be a fringe team without a ton of tradition IMO. You can't send Detroit or Milwaukee or Chicago or Indiana. You can't break up that group of rivalries IMO. None of the coastal franchises make sense, so that pretty much rules out Boston, Miami, New York, Brooklyn, DC, Orlando, or Philadelphia. Atlanta and Charlotte don't make sense in the West logistically either. Neither does Toronto. Cleveland? Ohio in the West? Seems a bit like a stretch.

I just don't see a good candidate for moving someone to the West except Milwaukee, Indiana, and Detroit, and those are three of the most storied franchises in the league. I don't like the idea of jerking them around. I think you'd have to go unbalanced conferences with only 14 teams out West, which would be stupid.

There are a lot of reasons why it makes sense for the Kings to move to Kansas City instead. Has to be better traffic and infrastructure to support a team, rabid BBall fans that would give the team a really nice collegiate atmosphere like OKC has, new arena already in place, T Rob would be a megastar in the region...

I have a hard time seeing VA Beach getting the team over KC.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 09:33 AM ----------

When ever any richmond team played norfolk it sold out even hockey. Why do you think you hear I hate 757 so much around vcu? Va beach,norfolk,and odu are lumped together. Richmonders would never support norfolk. Whenever vcu plays odu its when the city really gets fired up cuz thats the only thing they play in now since our hockey team is gone.. Richmond doesnt want to support norfolk, it wants to beat them.

You do realize that VCU has about a million students from the 757 right? Half of that school's student body is from Nova, the other half from Hampton Roads.

Minor league rivalries are petty and definitely wouldn't keep Virginians from getting behind a VA pro team. It's a whole different story. I couldn't tell you one single player's name that plays for any HR or Richmond minor league team and I bet that's true for 98% of the people living in both metro areas. The NBA is a national game with international celebrities. Richmonders wouldn't avoid following an entertaining HR NBA team because they're still pissed about what happened in some minor league hockey game years ago.

Also, you know VCU is leaving the CAA for the A-10 right?

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 09:47 AM ----------

You know, if you folded the Kings and had TRob, Tyreke, and Boogie Cousins absorbed by the Wizards, you'd have a pretty amazing team.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

The Hampton Roads area is a little bit bigger than Ocean City. I'm not sure why no one ever takes this area seriously when mentioning pro teams.

Because it has no real money in it. Population is one thing. The dollars in that population is another matter. The one advantage OKC has at the moment is that it is home to a lot of energy companies that are doing extremely well. So filling suites and getting corporate sponsorship is not an issue. At least for the time being. Energy tends to be a boom/bust business so it will be interesting to see how the Thunder do if that business goes in the tank again (which it always does).

Hampton Roads does not have that advantage.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 11:18 AM ----------

Didn't Seatle have a basketball team and lose it because of fan disinterest? Seatle Supersonics?

They lost it because of corporate blackmail. They just spent a ton of money to revamp their arena and were told, "We need a new arena." They said no. The team left.

By the way, I'm 99 percent sure that this is all BS.

The Maloofs are desperately trying to start some kind of bidding war that leaves them with:

1. A new arena,

2. A partner with deep pockets, and

3. Control of the team.

The team could set up shop in Reno for all they care as long as they get those 3 items. Which I don't think they can get.

[HogNose]

Because it has no real money in it. Population is one thing. The dollars in that population is another matter. The one advantage OKC has at the moment is that it is home to a lot of energy companies that are doing extremely well. So filling suites and getting corporate sponsorship is not an issue. At least for the time being. Energy tends to be a boom/bust business so it will be interesting to see how the Thunder do if that business goes in the tank again (which it always does).

Hampton Roads does not have that advantage.

Makes sense.

One question.....why doesn't Pittsburgh have an NBA team? I'm sure Pittsburgh could support an NBA team.

[Going Commando]

Makes sense.

One question.....why doesn't Pittsburgh have an NBA team? I'm sure Pittsburgh could support an NBA team.

They might be able too.

But you'd be hard pressed to convince me there would be more white collar fans in Pittsburgh than Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads has some pretty big corporate presences in the region. Banks, the railroad, the shipyards, government subcontracting, these are things that aren't going away.

You've got the right amount of blue collar fans in the area too. That's where the real enthusiasm for a team comes from.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 01:48 PM ----------

Because it has no real money in it. Population is one thing.

You'd be surprised. It's not like Nova, but the area definitely isn't barren. I also think you are undervaluing how important a large blue collar fan base is. You need these people because they are the ones who go to games and root hard, watch games regularly in their homes, and they spend their money on team merchandise.

[@DCGoldPants]

Makes sense.

One question.....why doesn't Pittsburgh have an NBA team? I'm sure Pittsburgh could support an NBA team.

I lived up in Western PA for a bit and wondered that myself. They are a blue collar sports town. For Hoops they love the Pitt Panthers. A Pittsburgh NBA team to share the arena with the Penguins wearing Black and Gold would be a hit right away. Its still not a big market. But put them in the same division as Cleveland and its on. They HATE that city.

[HogNose]

I lived up in Western PA for a bit and wondered that myself. They are a blue collar sports town. For Hoops they love the Pitt Panthers. A Pittsburgh NBA team to share the arena with the Penguins wearing Black and Gold would be a hit right away. Its still not a big market. But put them in the same division as Cleveland and its on. They HATE that city.

They could call them the Pittsburgh Pisces... (Not sure how many remember this flick)

[Going Commando]

The area that surprises me not having an NBA team is Missouri/Kansas. Think of how rabid these basketball fans are. Great sports fans in that area that would definitely get out to support the team. Kansas City would be the perfect spot to put an NBA team to bring in this region. You've got Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska all within reasonable coverage distance, and right now, that's an NBA desert.

It makes a lot more sense having a team there than in Oklahoma City, San Antonio, or Orlando.

I think it also makes some sense having an NBA team in Vegas. Move the Clippers to Vegas. Is that not one of the most fascinating franchises in the league now?

Then again, I'd be terrified every time my team played a road game there.

[Gary Clark Fan]

this is from the sac town fishwrap

http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2012/8/24/3264955/how-the-maloofs-can-end-the-rumors-about-kings-relocation

[mcsluggo]

Basically what lovetoaster said. Seattle has loving fans. this wasn't some Expos thing. Their team was basically robbed

you could say the same thing about the kings and sacramento. The fans aren't the problem... the owners are incompetent booger eating morons.

if the kings move the owners will STILL be incompetent booger eating morons

[amm0409]

this is from the sac town fishwrap

http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2012/8/24/3264955/how-the-maloofs-can-end-the-rumors-about-kings-relocation

well that sucks

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

You'd be surprised. It's not like Nova, but the area definitely isn't barren. I also think you are undervaluing how important a large blue collar fan base is. You need these people because they are the ones who go to games and root hard, watch games regularly in their homes, and they spend their money on team merchandise.

I'm not under-valuing them, because in today's sports market, they really have no value.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 02:40 PM ----------

The area that surprises me not having an NBA team is Missouri/Kansas. Think of how rabid these basketball fans are. Great sports fans in that area that would definitely get out to support the team. Kansas City would be the perfect spot to put an NBA team to bring in this region. You've got Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska all within reasonable coverage distance, and right now, that's an NBA desert.

How has that logic worked in Charlotte twice now?

The single best place for the Kings to move is probably Anaheim. Kansas City would make some sense, I think. Seattle or Vancouver would be the dark horses.

I can't see any major city outside of possibly Vegas building an arena for an NBA team so, they need to go somewhere with an arena waiting for them. Pittsburgh has that, but that place has been a terrible basketball market for 50 years.

[artmonkforHOF]

Exactly what is wrong with sports. How can anyone believe that the owners of the Kings, who also own a casino, can't scrape together enough cash to build a building on their own? Instead they want to use public money to buy their new toy, and when cost over runs in construction happen, who cares! it's not thier money anyway and they have a deal with the city tha the building has to meet certain requirements, so you can't fix the budget by cutting luxury items. God forbid the Mallof's pay $10 million for a state of the art scoreboard in their new $200million dollar facilty that they did not contribute a dime to.

The Maloof's are like most sports team owners, smart businessmen, and they know that they would never make a return on their investment if they build the stadium to the standards they are demanding Sacramento & now Virgina Beach build, but yet they get the stupid politicans to give the project the OK and just tell lies about how the goverment will make it's money back through "econonmic impact" even though that has never happened in the history of sports stadium construction. You could build a stadium and turn a profit on it in a reasonable time, but you wont be able to fit it out with luxury suites, massive Super HD screens and a top of the line light and sound system, but nobody can build anything reasonable, it always has to be better than what the last guy did for some reason that is lost on me. The only one that makes some sense is ego, but even then that reason is not valid or a very good one.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

For Hoops they love the Pitt Panthers.

That is a very recent phenomenom and it is partly tied to the fact that Pitt demolised Pitt Stadium and built a beautiful basketball arena in its place. Pitt has been very good and had a great place to watch games.

At the same time, Pitt football attendance has cratered.

I don't think Pittsburgh is big enough to support four teams. Short of going into some kind of 15-year funk, the Steelers will always sell out. But the Pirates and Penguins typically need to be good to draw fans and even then it's a struggle. Another team dilutes that market.

[Dan T.]

this is from the sac town fishwrap

http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2012/8/24/3264955/how-the-maloofs-can-end-the-rumors-about-kings-relocation

The article is incorrect on one point... the Hampton Coliseum could serve as a temporary home while a new facility is built.