NBA in Cincinnati? (Columbus, Dayton, Middletown: house, salaries, living in)

[franke01]

Originally Posted by LadyBeBop

Cammy Dierking on Channel 12. (Side note...I went to school with the Dierking children, and I knew the family. Nice people).



Yeah, I remember that Sportservice had a stake in the Royals which led to its downfall. However, I thought Sportservice was out of Buffalo. I might be wrong though. I'm going from memory from 35 years ago.

No, I think you're correct that they were out of Buffalo.

I seem to remember that the owner of Sportservice had something to do with the Royals move to KC but there was a Buffalo connection.

BTW, I used to do a lot of Sports Memorabilia stuff and I had a program from the All Star Game when it was held at the Gardens. Kind of a reflection on where Sports has gone from then to now - it was merely a standard 1964 Royals Program with a typed page stapled in the middle giving the names and positions of the All-Stars (you know, guys like Wilt, Lucas, Baylor, West and a ton of others). It was kind of amusing - the NBA has come a long way since then.

[unusualfire]

Unless someone comes up with 300 million for an arena. There will never be a team here.

I think if the county commissioners of Butler and Warren County could come together in some some sort of financing agreement. An arena could be build right on the border of both counties. Build a new exit at about a mile north of 63. If planned right, It would be booming with activity and development.

[Mikey1003]

It ain't gonna happen in our lifetimes.

I know that years ago a great sport's agent/attorney in Cincy tried (I believe Oscar Robertson was involved-but really not sure).

No backing, no coliseum, no interest, no money.

After Hamilton Cty residents got royally screwed on the Bengal's and Red's Stadiums, the chances of city/county money is somewhere between slim and none! Mikey-boy Brown and family are laughing all the way to the bank.

Columbus was smart..Voters turned down stadium and Nationwise picked it up. Thats how they got NHL Team.

[jlrosen]

I think northern kentucky might make sense. Somewhere in Covington maybe. KY has zero pro sports teams

[ayersd1]

Dead on. No want for a team..

Originally Posted by Mikey1003

It ain't gonna happen in our lifetimes.

I know that years ago a great sport's agent/attorney in Cincy tried (I believe Oscar Robertson was involved-but really not sure).

No backing, no coliseum, no interest, no money.

After Hamilton Cty residents got royally screwed on the Bengal's and Red's Stadiums, the chances of city/county money is somewhere between slim and none! Mikey-boy Brown and family are laughing all the way to the bank.

Columbus was smart..Voters turned down stadium and Nationwise picked it up. Thats how they got NHL Team.

[jstn]

I live in Charlotte (but raised in Cincy)...we have a team you can have. Hell, we'll even pay for relocation expenses.

Seriously though, Cincy does not need an NBA team for several reasons (nor does Louisville). First and foremost, the NBA is a dying product. Attendance across America is down, the TV market is so poor that most games (including playoffs) are designated to cable, scandle has taken over (corruptness with officiating), and level of play is at a long-time low (we can't even beat NBA playerless teams in the Olympics).

Secondly, while Cincy is a great sports town, it has proven through the years that it will basically only support a winner (in attendance numbers) as depicted by the recent Reds seasons and MANY sub-par Bengals seasons through the 90's. A small market team just can't compete on a regular basis the way the current NBA system is set up. Especially a small market team that has nearby competition. That means lots of losses and fans disguised as empty seats.

Thirdly, Cincinnati is not an attractive market to the NBA for a couple of reasons: 1) No arena: Here in Charlotte we had to tear down a perfectly fine 24,000 seat arena that was only 15 years old and build a brand new $300 million arena downtown. The arena itself is nice, but the fact that the NBA is the major tennant is a major drawback. 2) Competition: Cincy is a Reds and Bengals town, the NBA doesn't want to compete with that. They can't. Here in Charlotte we led the league in attendance for the first 8 years they existed, then came the NFL and the Panthers. Well, people have limited income to spend on sports, especially these days. People just aren't going to spend money on the NBA when they can purchase NFL tickets instead. Plus, UC and X have huge followings. College basketball fans don't translate to NBA fans. In most cases it's just the opposite, college fans can't tolerate the street ball called the NBA. I see it first hand here, people would rather watch UNC play University of Podunk on a crappy cable station than use free tickets to go to a Bobcats game.

Anyways, that's my opinion on the matter. Sorry about the long rant, but I am passionate about Cincy sports and think the NBA would be a dire mistake. Possibly the biggest since they moved the Cyclones away from the Gardens (minor league hockey needs to be gritty) They've been talking about the NBA coming to town since I was a kid (Butler County was the possible location in the early 90's). It's not going to happen - Be glad about that! Embrace the Bengals and the up-and-coming Reds (they really have a chance to be special in a couple of years), and realize that it's one of the best COLLEGE basketball regions of the country.

How come after years of cursing his name, all of a sudden I don't want the Reds to trade Adam Dunn

[LadyBeBop]

Originally Posted by jstn

Sorry about the long rant, but I am passionate about Cincy sports and think the NBA would be a dire mistake. Possibly the biggest since they moved the Cyclones away from the Gardens (minor league hockey needs to be gritty) They've been talking about the NBA coming to town since I was a kid (Butler County was the possible location in the early 90's). It's not going to happen - Be glad about that! Embrace the Bengals and the up-and-coming Reds (they really have a chance to be special in a couple of years), and realize that it's one of the best COLLEGE basketball regions of the country.

No need to apologize. You bring up some excellent points. I've moved on from the Royals...oh about 34 years ago, and no way could a NBA make an impact here.

You bought up a point about the Bobcats attendence going down when the Panthers joined the NBA. The Royals attendence started going downhill soon after the Cincinnati Bengals came into be (in 1968, as the last AFL franchise before officially joining the NFL in 1970). I think the dreaded Oscar trade was in 1969. And management started alienating the fans. Throw in a team that couldn't even make the playoffs when most NBA teams make it (remember, this was the era of the Big Red Machine, and the very young Bengals were already playoff contenders), and...well bye-bye pro basketball in Cincinnati.

[hillside]

cincinnati could have a team if the city put the effort in, and have the county pay for it if need be, too.

we already payed for 2 stadiums at one time, why not an arena? key selling point - it'll be cheaper than pbs. that was the gripe about the deal, wasn't it?

another selling point - remember broadway commons? it would be huge in solving one of downtown's biggest problems - people on a cold weeknight.

cincy uplifts a winner and destroys a loser. the nba is the easiest league to compete in. in the eastern conference, it wouldn't take much. look at the cavs.

the perceived "want" of the city isn't relevant. if the city is arguably the best college hoops center in america, how could it not like a pro version of the same sport?

cincy isn't a small market, it has a small tv market structure. dayton would really go in the tank if it doesn't have cincinnati next to it, and it isn't part of the market. in 2010 it will be, so maybe that will put the small market rumor to bed. over 3 million is plenty enough, with louisville and columbus nearby also.

cincinnati does need a team, if nothing else but to continue to turn around the image of a sputtering city with not enough to offer and compete with the big boys.

[unusualfire]

Originally Posted by LadyBeBop

No need to apologize. You bring up some excellent points. I've moved on from the Royals...oh about 34 years ago, and no way could a NBA make an impact here.

You bought up a point about the Bobcats attendence going down when the Panthers joined the NBA. The Royals attendence started going downhill soon after the Cincinnati Bengals came into be (in 1968, as the last AFL franchise before officially joining the NFL in 1970). I think the dreaded Oscar trade was in 1969. And management started alienating the fans. Throw in a team that couldn't even make the playoffs when most NBA teams make it (remember, this was the era of the Big Red Machine, and the very young Bengals were already playoff contenders), and...well bye-bye pro basketball in Cincinnati.

The only thing i would have to say about that is. Ticket prices are MUCH higher now, but there is also 600,000 more living in the metro compared to 30+ years ago.

If any arena was to be built. It would have to be used year round and would have to have an owner that would allow events to take place the other 300 days in the year.

High prices and a losing team is a bad combo for ANY market. Big or small.

[jstn]

Originally Posted by hillside

if the city is arguably the best college hoops center in america, how could it not like a pro version of the same sport?

No, no .... it's a much different game, much different. I would be willing to say that MOST die hard college fans can not stand the NBA. Hard working middle class people just don't like to spend $75 a ticket to watch a sport in which the vast majority of players don't even make an effort for the first 3 1/2 quarters of a game.

Hey I used to be one of those teenagers that LOVED the NBA. Magic, Larry and of course MJ. I never understood why all the adults around me would talk about how they couldn't stand to watch NBA basketball. Now, I'm older, one of those grumpy old men as I used to see them, a basketball coach and a realist...the NBA is terrible. I understand now why the age of the average fan is about 14.