New Downtown Waterfront Arena (Louisville, Sacramento: appointed, construction, living)

[jmwbaw]

I have always thought that the key to landing an NBA team in Louisville would be to name it the "Kentucky ____." The whole state is basketball crazy, and alot of Kentucky doesn't really feel a connection with Louisville when it comes to sports. By naming the team Kentucky, you stand a better chance of getting fans support from the whole state, whether they are from Pikeville or Paducah, UK or UL fan, wouldn't matter.

It will always be a long shot though, considering the competition the NBA team would have with the college basketball market here.

[gocards1289]

Personally I don't think Louisville needs an NBA team. We've tried to land one here at least twice before (Vancouver Grizzlies, who moved to Memphis; Charlotte Hornets who moved to New Orleans) in the late '90's/early 2000's although of course there wasn't a new state-of-the-art arena under construction then (although it was in the planning stages).
But I don't think we need one as college basketball is huge in this state with 2 of the nation's premier programs in UK and UofL dominating the local sports scene. And due to this fact I don't believe Louisville could support one despite it certainly being a big enough market - this city and state revolves around college basketball.

[nick04]

I just moved here from Kansas City which how has a very similar downtown to Louisville. In fact, KC has the Power and Light District which was developed by the same folks that did 4th street here in Louisville. KC also just built a brand new downtown arena. All the same discussions occured (and are still occurring) about how KC can lure an NBA team or an NHL team and for the arena to really be worth all the money, it has to have a pro sports anchor. In KC, as much the same here, people talked about the tv market being too small and the city being a college town. I don't know if KC or Louisville will ever get a pro sports team. However, right before I moved, I read an article about the economic impact of the arena for KC. I will say that it has been very positive, but what I found interesting is that they suggested having an anchor tenet like an NBA or NHL team would actually reduce the amount of money the arena produced for the city. Their argument was that the Sprint Center currently has 2 or 3 (at least) events a week and they are often high ticket cost events with many people attending from out of town. A pro team's home games would take away the opportunity to have a lot of those events and in the long run the revnue wouldn't be as good. I'm not sure if I buy the argument or not, but found the article very interesting. I, being the sports fan that I am, always wanted to see a pro sports team in there. But, it does quite well without one.

I work in downtown Louisville and I can't wait for the arena to be done. And my parking garage is right next door to it, so free and close parking won't be too bad either.

[RonLG]

I think the new downtown arena will be a major boost for Louisville! I'd love to see that East Main corrider get renovated because from what I can remember, that is the last part of downtown that really needed sprucing up. I don't live there now but the times I've been back to visit, the downtown is really great! As for the arena, I can speak from experience living in Nashville what a downtown arena can do for businesses and nightlife. The Sommet Center here (Nashville's downtown arena) is almost always busy with either an NHL Predators game, concerts, or something else that contributes greatly to Nashville's active downtown. I can only imagine how the landscape of downtown Louisville's business and entertainment venues will change when you have 20,000+ people down there several nights a year at sporting events or concerts.

[DerbyCityDiva]

gocards1289,

I don't believe Louisville could support one despite it certainly being a big enough market - this city and state revolves around college basketball.

You might not be old enough to remember (I've noticed myself saying that more and more often, and it's starting to suck...) but John Y. Brown of KFC fame, bought (actually rumor was, his wife Ellie bought it) a team back in the 70's called The Kentucky Colonels. I always thought it was a great name for a team.
I remember they played at Freedom Hall. I think they were pretty decent, 'cause they sure had a fan base. I worked at the Colonel Sanders Inn at the time (think it's a Holiday Inn now, right infront of KFC headquarters) and I remember them all coming thru the hotel, with media, and big groups of people.
Then John Y. and Ellie divorced, I changed jobs, and I don't remember what happened with the team.
Maybe someone else can chime in...

[Off Topic]

The ABA had entered the 1975-1976 preseason with ten teams. After three preseason games, the Baltimore Claws were shut down by the league due to financial problems and unpaid bills. The San Diego Sails and the Utah Stars each folded shortly after the season began, the Sails after eleven games and the Stars after 16. The ABA was reduced to seven teams for the remainder of the season. Shortly after the regular season ended, the Virginia Squires were forced to fold because they could not meet a league-mandated financial assessment. The six remaining ABA teams began negotiations for the eventual ABA-NBA merger.

In the end, the NBA agreed to take in four teams—but the Colonels weren't among them. Although it has never been confirmed, it is likely that the NBA selected the Pacers over the Colonels because Indianapolis was a more lucrative market. However, the Colonels were on far stronger financial footing than the Pacers.

On July 17, 1976 the Kentucky Colonels ceased to exist as John Y. Brown, Jr. agreed to fold the Colonels in exchange for $3 million. Brown used the money to purchase the Buffalo Braves of the NBA.

The Colonels players were put into a dispersal draft.

Kentucky Colonels - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[gocards1289]

DerbyCityDiva: Off-Topic pretty much nailed it in his reply but I do recall the Colonels and they were a fairly successful franchise in the ABA - I think they would've been able to make it in the NBA, although they probably would've been "lower tier."
But college basketball has become practically a life-blood in this city and state and personally I don't think Louisville needs an NBA team and frankly I'm not a fan of the NBA.
DerbyCityDiva, you mentioned you worked at the old Colonel Sanders Inn - its been a Holiday Inn for years but recently Sullivan University bought it and has turned it into a residence hall. I don't think they've actually opened it yet for students but its now called Gardiner Point Residence Hall.

[pappy van winkle]

Originally Posted by gocards1289

DerbyCityDiva: Off-Topic pretty much nailed it in his reply but I do recall the Colonels and they were a fairly successful franchise in the ABA - I think they would've been able to make it in the NBA, although they probably would've been "lower tier."
But college basketball has become practically a life-blood in this city and state and personally I don't think Louisville needs an NBA team and frankly I'm not a fan of the NBA.
DerbyCityDiva, you mentioned you worked at the old Colonel Sanders Inn - its been a Holiday Inn for years but recently Sullivan University bought it and has turned it into a residence hall. I don't think they've actually opened it yet for students but its now called Gardiner Point Residence Hall.

Agreed. While an NBA franchise cold be mildly successful here, it would always take a backseat to college basketball. I don't know anyone who pays much attention to the NBA, and while a local team could change that somewhat, I don't think it could survive long term. To me the NBA is more about the "show" and the individual players than who wins or who loses. Most people I know seem to agree. It really is a turnoff.

[ThePoint502]

There is nothing I'd rather see than Louisville landing an NBA team. I think it would thrive in this area. However, the recent arena deal gives UL full scheduling power, and that will be a turnoff for an NBA team. I am doubtful it will ever happen.

[jclaude]

Since everyone is cheerleading, here's the other side: It's a terrible location (get ready for terrible traffic jams and it'll be worse for the New Albanians), hurts small businesses, and will prove to be a big mistake. It's the city's version of a hail mary economically, which around the country is not working (sports arenas as economic saviors actually end up hurting economic development). The city will end up in major debt over this. It's going to allow Cordish to turn downtown into more 4th Street Live tackiness, sports bar-focused. This will prove to be Abramson's thorn, when people are looking back in 2015 or 2020.

By the way, this isn't an anti-sports thing. The same problems I mention have happened in small Madison, WI because of an arts center downtown. The city can't afford it, just roughly 5 years after construction, and property tax hikes have forced the long-time businesses (the locally run small businesses) to close or move elsewhere in the city.