Pacers Could Move If Financial Losses Continue

[duncan228]

Pacers could move if financial losses continue (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/03/12/pacers.move.ap/index.html)


Indiana Pacers co-owner Herb Simon passionately says he doesn't want to see the city without his franchise.

His wishes and the bottom line appear to be at odds.

[lil_penny]

Seattle pacers

[IronMexican]

Seattle Super Pacers.

[lefty]

It would be cool to have 2 NBA teams in San Antonio

[JoeTait75]

Any team that moves to Seattle is going to be the Sonics.

It'd be nice to see them get a team back, but hopefully it won't be the Pacers.

[BRHornet45]

Wyoming Pacers

[lil_penny]

Seattle Super Pacers.

That sounds perfect.. I would wear their jersey

[angel_luv]

San Antonio Pacers! If LA. can have two teams... :lol

That or just send Sho back to the Spurs. That would work too. :)

[Flintstones32]

Brooklyn Pacers

[dirk4mvp]

Wyoming Pacers

sons you better be careful before it's the Wyoming Hornets.

[Bruno]

London Pacers

[Twisted_Dawg]

San Diego Pacers

[Extra Stout]

There are more NBA teams on the financial brink than there are cities to rescue them. Expect the NBA to contract in the next few seasons.

[I. Hustle]

I say we need another Texas team. Send them to El Paso and they can even keep the name. They would have to change up the colors though to match. http://www.caswells-moms.com/e-shop/images/PaceChunkHot.jpg

[Kobayagi]

Pacerikoulios Athens.


We have nba standard arena already is waiting stupid amerikkans in europe not dominate like say fan here.

[lefty]

Looks like Letterman is gonna have to give some money to save the Pacers

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HyyDHyAwI6k/SNrWbl0sJII/AAAAAAAADMw/EESA2Rx8n0E/s400/david+letterman.jpg

[Darkwaters]

Venezia Pacers

[Kai]

Los Angeles Pacers

[BRHornet45]

sons you better be careful before it's the Wyoming Hornets.

yea son since our owner is working on a new deal to keep the Hornets in N.O. for at least 10 more years.

[Indazone]

Holy Crap! Indiana the state that basically invented basketball? Hoosier Hysteria without an NBA franchise? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Pelicans78]

Kansas City is the next city in line for a new team. They have a brand new downtown arena and college basketball is very big in the region. A team with a good front office could do really well in that city. Seattle needs to get a new arena to even have a chance.

[ChumpDumper]

Quit fielding shitty teams, Herb.

[Rogue]

yea son since our owner is working on a new deal to keep the Hornets in N.O. for at least 10 more years.
son it's not a good idea for stern to permit pacers to move westwards. If the pacers move to a western state then there will definitely be a current western team being forced to join the eastern conference. and I think that team will very likely to be the houston rockets who have been grumbling to get outta the west for long.

Houston rockets have been clean from the second round for many years but that team is not as bad as their postseason records have reflected. In the tough west the rockets have little chance to break up the first round but the situation will be quite different for rockets if they join back to the east. Rockets are capable enough to rank at 4 or 5 in eastern conference in regular season and they can also win a series or two in the post season over the eastern teams.

But no fan wants to see that happen except the rockets fans.

[RedsLakers24]

Mexico City Pacers

[Lakers2009champs]

Montreal Pacers.

[BRHornet45]

Compton Pacers

[Ghazi]

Seattle Hornets

[BRHornet45]

Seattle Hornets

Dallas Choking Vaginas

led by Ghazi the ultimate sissy cuckold bitch. that right. you bitch you.

[Pelicans78]

I think the league would move Memphis to the East before they moved Houston. Memphis is in the Southeast anyway and would fit in nicely with Atlanta, Charlotte, and the two Florida teams. Toronto could take the Pacers place in the Central Division while Washington will move with New York, Philly, New Jersey, and Boston. Then they can move Oklahoma City to the SW division and Kansas City with Denver, Portland, Utah, and Minnesota.

Still, I hope the team stays in Indiana. The league could add two more teams in Kansas City and maybe Seattle. Move Memphis and Minnesota to the East. Go with 4 teams in each division.

Boston
New York
Philly
New Jersey

Cleveland
Toronto
Charlotte
Washington

Detroit
Indiana
Chicago
Milwaukee

Charlotte
Orlando
Atlanta
Miami

WESTERN

New Orleans
Dallas
Houston
San Antonio

Kansas City
Oklahoma City
Denver
Minnesota

Utah
Phoenix
Portland
Seattle

Sacramento
Golden State
LA Clippers
LA Lakers

[exstatic]

I think the league would move Memphis to the East before they moved Houston. Memphis is in the Southeast anyway and would fit in nicely with Atlanta, Charlotte, and the two Florida teams. Toronto could take the Pacers place in the Central Division while Washington will move with New York, Philly, New Jersey, and Boston. Then they can move Oklahoma City to the SW division and Kansas City with Denver, Portland, Utah, and Minnesota.

Still, I hope the team stays in Indiana. The league could add two more teams in Kansas City and maybe Seattle. Move Memphis and Minnesota to the East. Go with 4 teams in each division.

Boston
New York
Philly
New Jersey

Cleveland
Toronto
Charlotte
Washington

Detroit
Indiana
Chicago
Milwaukee

Charlotte
Orlando
Atlanta
Miami

WESTERN

New Orleans
Dallas
Houston
San Antonio

Kansas City
Oklahoma City
Denver
Minnesota

Utah
Phoenix
Portland
Seattle

Sacramento
Golden State
LA Clippers
LA Lakers

It could be a decade before the NBA is at 32 teams. If you have money, bet on contraction rather than expansion in the near term. Bill Simmons sums it up, with some humor here (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090227).

My favorite quote:

The most important trade for playoff purposes? A seemingly minor three-teamer between Houston (landed Brian Cook and Kyle Lowry), Orlando (landed Rafer Alston) and Memphis (landed a 2009 first-rounder from Orlando). It happened because Memphis is hemorrhaging money and supposedly saved $2 million, even if it meant turning Lowry (who had been outplaying 2008 lottery pick Mike Conley for two solid seasons) into a meaningless pick in one of the worst drafts ever. I'd say the Grizzlies hurled a flaming bag of dog feces at their fans, but they don't have any fans. :rollin
Now, the not so funny.. Franchise hot potato is slang for relocations. Scary that this many teams are in trouble.

I became obsessed with this topic over All-Star Weekend and solicited input from as many people in the know as I could. Franchise Hot Potato hinges on five factors in all, although only three need to be in play. You need a team with a dwindling fan base and/or bailing sponsors and suite/courtside customers. (I count 11: Indiana, Memphis, Milwaukee, Sacramento, New Jersey, New Orleans, Miami, Orlando, Minnesota, Charlotte and Philly.) You need a team trapped in an aging stadium that can't drum up local money for a new one. (I count three: Sacramento, Jersey and Milwaukee.) You need an owner who purchased his team because he was worth a ton of money ON PAPER … only now, he's worth significantly less and might even be worth $10 for all we know. (Consensus candidates for this list: Phoenix, Hijack City, Jersey, Memphis, Indiana, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Charlotte … and, surprisingly, Sacramento and Cleveland.) You need cities with NBA-ready, modern arenas either finished or about to be finished that would love nothing more than stealing a team. (Definitely Kansas City, Anaheim, San Jose, Louisville, Tulsa and Pittsburgh; possibly Columbus, St. Louis; and just for fun, let's throw in Montreal and London.) And you need a struggling team that can actually extricate itself from its lease.

One final note for Hornets fan: :lol

(Note: Any conspiracy theorist -- here I am! -- could argue the Hornets intentionally antagonized their fans in a last-ditch attempt to shed the lease. They need to average about 15,000 fans to activate the lease through 2014, and they're a few hundred over this season … but that number would have dropped after the Chandler trade, right? Would you put a ploy that devious past the likes of George Shinn? Me neither.)

It's a long read, but worthwhile if you're interested in the real state of the No Benjamins Association.

[Biggems]

Compton Pacers

They would have to change their name.......

Compton Impalas or Compton Cadillacs

[Biggems]

It would be cool to have 2 NBA teams in San Antonio

hilarious sig........but I think it would be even funnier with Gasol instead of Phil.......especially if he had one of those ugly ass expressions on his face when they actually call a foul on him or when he does something clutch.

[manufor3]

Las Vegas Pacers

[Pelicans78]

Bill Simmons is an idiot. We're averaging over 17,000 fans this season, way more than a few hundred over 15,000.

[ploto]

The problem for the Pacers is not so much the basketball team as the cost to operate the facility- of which they are responsible.

[exstatic]

Bill Simmons is an idiot. We're averaging over 17,000 fans this season, way more than a few hundred over 15,000.

Paid admissions, not turnstile count. The NBA may peddle that freebee shit as attendance, but any businessman worth his salt setting up an attendance clause won't count them.

[Pelicans78]

Paid admissions, not turnstile count. The NBA may peddle that freebee shit as attendance, but any businessman worth his salt setting up an attendance clause won't count them.

Get the facts straight bub, the Hornets already reached their attendance clause this week due to high season ticket sales and attendance throughout the year. The Hornets lease is now extended to 2014.

[ChumpDumper]

The problem for the Pacers is not so much the basketball team as the cost to operate the facility- of which they are responsible.That and they are spending about 40% of their payroll on white guys.

[peskypesky]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[BRHornet45]

Paid admissions, not turnstile count. The NBA may peddle that freebee shit as attendance, but any businessman worth his salt setting up an attendance clause won't count them.

son are you fucking stupid? just a question ....

the Hornets have over 11,000 season ticket holders and are averaging around 6,000 "walk up / single game" ticket buyers. They don't give away anymore tickets than any other organization in the NBA. Thats the biggest load of shit I have ever heard. Whether you and the couple sports writers who hate New Orleans like it or not, the Hornets are in New Orleans for good. They will average sellout attendance this season, sellouts with a waiting list for luxury suites, new corporate sponsors every week, and Shinn is already working on a deal with the state that would lock them in for another 10 years.

It seems that some of you and a couple of "sports" writers in particular are hell bent on ragging on New Orleans no matter what the facts are. They are stuck on the Hornets attendance at the beginning of last season and pre-Katrina which was around 13,000 per game and they won't listen to ANY other facts ..... they turn the other cheek to the fact that over the last 14 months the Hornets fan base in Louisiana has grown tremendously. They turn the other cheek whenever reports come out about the Hornets selling out most home games and averaging over 98% of the arena sold, etc.... they always fall back on "but New Orleans is a small market!". hmmm, the Saints have sold out every year and they damn near always suck .... the Hornets have been selling out for over a year now .... yet you have cities in the NBA that have markets that are 4, 5, 6, or even 10+ times larger than New Orleans and they still can't put asses in the seats.

Sure before Katrina the Hornets attendance was always near the bottom of the league, but look at the piss poor teams they put on the court during those years. That doesn't help build a fan base and teams like the Pacers are having the same problem right now with attendance. If you put a piss poor team on the court, its not easy to fill the arena every night no matter how "good" your fan base is or how large or small your market is ..... it will be funny if this message board is still around 10 years from now looking back on these threads while the Hornets are still in New Orleans. I am sure even then we will see post like ... "but but this sports writer says New Orleans is too small for the Hornets! I don't care if they are selling out every game! they have to move now!!"

[BRHornet45]

That and they are spending about 40% of their payroll on white guys.

LMAO son ... they are trying to be the Jazz

[Laker-fan-in-SanAnto]

How about Las Vegas Sinners, or the Idaho Potatoes, maybe the Montana Wranglers

[pauls931]

Austin Pacers. Then I won't have to suffer the biggest atrocity in this nation. I35....

[Cry Havoc]

Get the facts straight bub, the Hornets already reached their attendance clause this week due to high season ticket sales and attendance throughout the year. The Hornets lease is now extended to 2014.

Ticket sales != a money making franchise.

You could have a team that sells out a lot of games which is still losing money.

[sananspursfan21]

The St. Louis Pacers!!!

[sook]

Houston pacers? I'm really feelin it:D

[Pelicans78]

Ticket sales != a money making franchise.

You could have a team that sells out a lot of games which is still losing money.

Perhaps, but we are selling alot of tickets. The team is making a profit. The owner just doesn't want to pay the luxury tax which he will have to next season since Chandler wasn't traded. Shinn is a small market owner. The team may lose money next season due to CP3's new contract unless they make a deep run in the playoffs allowing more home games.

[manufor3]

portland (maine) pacers

[ChumpDumper]

portland (maine) pacersThey just got a D-League team.