Sacramento Kings to Va Beach? (Virginia Beach, Hampton: leasing, credit, new home)

[tvpirate05]

Another thing: the Maloofs are denying everything. Whether or not Virginia Beach is the place they want to go, the Maloofs have to say all that to save face for the people in Sacramento. That's PR 101. If you've followed the soap opera between they and the Sacramento city council, it's gotten ugly. They had a $400M arena plan fall through a few months ago, but say they're still committed to keeping the Kings there. So for residents to wake up and see VB as the next home, the owners have to say something to keep the lions at bay. I do feel for the residents there...

This story started in a local (Hampton Roads) trade journal, then spread like wildfire. First to the HR news outlets, then DC, and even ESPN. It's almost like Sacramento was the last to find out, so of course the residents and media there are going "WTF?" It's very similar to all the crap that went down with the Destroyers here. There was an ongoing personnel merry-go-round before the team even took the field! We got the team in summer 2010, and went through 2 or 3 GMs and head coaches before they decided on Marty Schottenheimer.

I'm willing to bet good money the Maloofs (and the NBA) are very much aware of VB, at least as an option. We had the Squires that folded because of financial problems and because they had 4 home cities (Norfolk, Hampton, Richmond, and Roanoke...5 hours west!). But because Sacramento residents are now wondering where the VB possibility came from, the Maloofs had to quickly backtrack to correct the rumblings that unexpectedly exploded into a media circus.

My theory: the Maloofs are technically right when they say they haven't talked to VB, but again, they're aware of a possible deal. However, they have spoken with Comcast, who has spoken to VB. I'm thinking Comcast is going to buy the team and then consider relocation. These stories you're reading aren't out of thin air...there's some facts there. It may be exaggerated, it might be leverage, but I doubt this is some random April Fool's prank, or another pipe dream like all the other teams. Like I said before, people are aware of a fanbase in Hampton Roads. The studies have even proven it...someone realizes our potential.

[Falcor117]

Originally Posted by Steelers10

Are you sure you have lived here long enough? The Norfolk Neptunes led the Continental Football League in attendance in the 1960s. I'm sure you have heard of the Virginia Squires, right?

Thanks for the history lesson. I'm not 80 so I hadn't. Looks like the area wasn't able to support the Squires. Not like it's relevant today anyway, that was 40 years ago.

As far as population density, we have all these damned bridges and tunnels. It's not so much a distance/density thing as much as it is a bottleneck traffic problem. The tunnels and bridges cause us to be spread out in terms of access, not distance.

Anyway, this is another case of "been there, done that". We will not be getting a professional sports team.

The Marlins talked about moving up here. Didn't.
The Expos talked about moving down here. Didn't.
An attempt to start an NHL team here was attempted back in the 90's. Denied by the NHL.

These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I remember another attempt to presell season tickets for a baseball team back in 1999/2000. That fell through as well.

[tvpirate05]

Originally Posted by Falcor117

Thanks for the history lesson. I'm not 80 so I hadn't. Looks like the area wasn't able to support the Squires. Not like it's relevant today anyway, that was 40 years ago.

The Squires played in four different cities, as much as 5 hours apart (Norfolk-Hampton-Richmond-Roanoke). They were traveling to "home" games just as much as they were to away matches. Add to that the cost of renting four separate venues, and it's no wonder they had financial problems. I'd love to see how things would've been different had they played at just the Scope.

Anyway, this is another case of "been there, done that". We will not be getting a professional sports team.

The Marlins talked about moving up here. Didn't.
The Expos talked about moving down here. Didn't.
An attempt to start an NHL team here was attempted back in the 90's. Denied by the NHL.

The Marlins were never anything more than speculation. As for the Expos, Rhinos NHL, and Hornets, I'll agree, but that wasn't from lack of support.

-DC had RFK stadium, home to a former MLB team in the 60s (the Senators, now the Texas Rangers). Much easier (and more lucrative) to play there temporarily as opposed to Harbor Park, 1/3 of the size.

-The Rhinos NHL deal had its own issues...no temporary arena being one of them.

-There was also the Charlotte Hornets relocation in the early-2000s. Norfolk was a serious contender then, until the NBA realized that 10,000 seat Scope was the "home venue", and The Ted wasn't ready yet. New Orleans had a much newer, much larger arena. Easy decision.

Norfolk should've pulled the trigger on a new arena when they had the chance in the late-90s, pro team prospect or not. It would've been much cheaper (even with inflation), and they could've landed other events until another league came calling.

[Steelers10]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

Um, the Giants and Jets just did with MetLife Stadium.

Only because the much more preferred location on Manhattan's West Side (which would have required significant public contributions) fell through. The stadium is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. Yes the stadium itself was built by private funds. However, this is Metropolitan New York City, one of the rare geographic locations where the land underneath a structure is worth more than the structure itself. In most real estate markets, your house or whatever building tends to be worth far more than the land (see Texas where actual land is not to say worthless, but pretty darn close). But in New Jersey, asking the public to give up a parcel of land the size of a stadium? If the Meadowlands wasn't already owned by the state there would have been NO WAY to get that deal done with today's real estate prices. The only place to build that stadium was where they built it, in the parking lot of the old one. The public contribution of giving up that Meadowlands parcel is FAR less than what Virginia Beach will have to pony up to finance an arena. The very reason why the Jets and Giants have to share a stadium is because it is just too prohibitively expensive to build a stadium in Metro NYC (much less two) and the taxes that would have to be paid by any one municipality to afford to build a stadium is a non-starter.

[Spazkat9696]

My land in vab is worth about the same as my house, and I'm willing to bet the land by the pavilion is too!

[pontiac51]

The Kings will move to Columbus (and several other cities) before Va Beach. Why? Because Columbus is one of the few cities without the NBA that already has an NBA-grade arena. Because of the economy, getting stadiums/arenas built without taxpayer help will be very difficult.

[Steelers10]

Originally Posted by pontiac51

The Kings will move to Columbus (and several other cities) before Va Beach. Why? Because Columbus is one of the few cities without the NBA that already has an NBA-grade arena. Because of the economy, getting stadiums/arenas built without taxpayer help will be very difficult.

Um..ok..yeah. NBA? Columbus? NOT HAPPENING!

Obstacles abound as Columbus announces interest in adding an NBA team

Experts say Columbus would struggle to support NBA team

LeBron took his talents to South Beach. I am confident yours would be better served over in the Columbus forum.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by pontiac51

The Kings will move to Columbus (and several other cities) before Va Beach. Why? Because Columbus is one of the few cities without the NBA that already has an NBA-grade arena. Because of the economy, getting stadiums/arenas built without taxpayer help will be very difficult.

I'd suspect Cleveland and Indianapolis would object.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by Falcor117

Thanks for the history lesson. I'm not 80 so I hadn't. Looks like the area wasn't able to support the Squires. Not like it's relevant today anyway, that was 40 years ago.

As far as population density, we have all these damned bridges and tunnels. It's not so much a distance/density thing as much as it is a bottleneck traffic problem. The tunnels and bridges cause us to be spread out in terms of access, not distance.

Anyway, this is another case of "been there, done that". We will not be getting a professional sports team.

The Marlins talked about moving up here. Didn't.
The Expos talked about moving down here. Didn't.
An attempt to start an NHL team here was attempted back in the 90's. Denied by the NHL.

These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I remember another attempt to presell season tickets for a baseball team back in 1999/2000. That fell through as well.

To clear things up, the reason why the Expos (Nationals) didn't move down to HR had more to do with DC being DC than HR being a viable place. What it really came down to is, we in the DC area had owners with more money. That's all it was. That is no knock on HR, so I don't see how that point has any merit to HR being a viable option for an NBA franchise.

[pontiac51]

Originally Posted by Steelers10

Um..ok..yeah. NBA? Columbus? NOT HAPPENING!

Obstacles abound as Columbus announces interest in adding an NBA team

Experts say Columbus would struggle to support NBA team

LeBron took his talents to South Beach. I am confident yours would be better served over in the Columbus forum.

My only point is that VaBeach is not going to get an NBA team. No way, no how!!! If the Kings move, they will move to a city THAT ALREADY HAS AN ARENA!!! They are not going to play in some high school gym in VaBeach. The Kings will move to Anchorage Alaska before they'll move to vabeach. In other words, keep watching Old Dominion!!!