Report: Vancouver has the bank to back a new NBA franchise

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sj-roc
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From the Vancouver Sun:

Vancouver has the bank to back a new NBA franchise: Report
Vancouver has the bank to back a new NBA franchise: Report

By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun June 9, 2014 12:32 PM

VANCOUVER - Vancouverites pining for professional basketball’s return could see their dreams come true, but baseball lovers can forget about a Major League team coming to the city, according to a new report on the economics of professional sports in Canada.

Notwithstanding any expansion plans that would bring the NBA back to Metro Vancouver, the city’s growing population has the size and wealth to support a franchise, according to the report from the Conference Board of Canada, but not all sports.

The report’s author noted that Vancouver’s experience with the Vancouver Grizzlies ended badly with the team’s move to Memphis and hard feelings left behind in the city, but “market conditions exist for another franchise to be successful,” said Glen Hodgson, the conference’ board’s senior vice-president and chief economist.

“With Vancouver’s steady rise in population, high income levels and a strong corporate presence, the NBA could return one day, especially if the Canadian dollar remains strong.”

In the report, Hodgson notes that Metro Vancouver’s population had just crested two million in 2000/01, the Grizzlies’ final season here, and the Canadian dollar was on its way to an historically low exchange rate with the U.S. dollar.

However, Hodgson said that with Metro Vancouver’s population on its way to hit 3.5 million by 2035, according to estimates, and the expectation it will attract more potentially team-sponsoring corporate headquarters the city would have a good base for a new NBA team.

“The major challenge will be to find committed ownership and astute management,” the report said.

And while that 3.5-million population base would comfortably support its existing franchises, and an added NBA team, Hodgson doesn’t believe it would be big enough to support a Major League Baseball team.

The Conference Board Report: Power Play: The Business Economics of Pro Sports examines the economic conditions the cities that host major pro-sports leagues, the operating conditions of leagues and addresses the hot topic of who should pay for new pro sports facilities.
How strongly would an NBA team impact the Lions? The Lions would have to become more competitive in terms of securing corporate partners and attracting new fans from among our large immigrant population for whom basketball would be a more familiar sport than football. Could the Lions co-exist and thrive alongside another major pro sports team, and would the NBA be able to cope with a downturn in the dollar exchange rate?

The website for the report (available as a $5 ebook on Kindle) is here:

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/powerplay.aspx

The scope of the report goes beyond Vancouver to the entire country and considers which Canadian markets in the long term are best suited for which sports leagues. Interestingly, they seem not to entertain the possibility of the NFL anywhere in Canada (presumably not even Toronto).
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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WestCoastJoe
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I well recall the NBA not allowing us to draft before #6 in our first year, 1995.

And we missed out on Tim Duncan in 1997. Ouch ...

The Griz finished last in its division all five years of its existence here.

Top draft pick in 1999 Steve Francis refused to play for the team.

Not quite like the opportunity the RedBlacks have been given to be competitive out of the gate.

Count me not a fan of the NBA. I was for many years rather keen on it. Nowadays I prefer NCAA basketball.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
TheLionKing
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I could care less about the NBA returning to Vancouver. Remember Stu Jackson drafting Big Country Bryant Reeves and then signed him to a $60 million contract extension. They could have had a good Canadian kid by the name of Steve Nash.
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Toppy Vann
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TheLionKing wrote:I could care less about the NBA returning to Vancouver. Remember Stu Jackson drafting Big Country Bryant Reeves and then signed him to a $60 million contract extension. They could have had a good Canadian kid by the name of Steve Nash.
Stu Jackson ... haha....He could be the poster boy for a movement called "nice guys finish last."

Whether it was that mix of players here or what - but unlike in the CFL where players come north and mix into the CFL culture and community the NBA players might as well have been from Mars. Toronto close to big cities in the USA must be different.

Hey even Seattle doesn't get the respect it should in the USA except this NFL year or two. If the NHL was in Seattle it'd be better for Vancouver. In fact Portland too - much smaller - but I'd bet the west coast cities would be far better than Phoenix and Florida.
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
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Sir Purrcival
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And in other news, pigs could start flying very soon. Could the NBA come back to this city? Of course, will it? Do people here care enough to once again put up with the "Vancouver isn't black enough", "I'm too far from home", "I don't want to play in Canada" kind of BS that we saw here before? I'm not sure we are. The NBA hasn't got the greatest reputation of being a bastion of fine sportsmen. I also see other US cities like Seattle being much more prone to get a franchise before Vancouver.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
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