ShoogarBear
04-15-2006, 10:39 PM
Terry Porter, that is.
I guess that one way to not get screwed over by ownership.
Link (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/04/15/blazers.buyers.ap/index.html)
Guard Play
Former Trail Blazer, Porter, launches shot to buy team
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Former Portland Trail Blazer guard Terry Porter says he is rounding potential investors interested in buying the Portland Trail Blazers and the Rose Garden Arena.
Owner Paul Allen told The Oregonian newspaper in Los Angeles Friday night that he has come to terms with selling the troubled team, which has the worst record this season in the NBA and which, he says, has been costing him multiple millions of dollars to keep afloat.
He said he planned to attend Portland's home game against Golden state Saturday night, and "that could be my last home game as Blazers owner.
"I've come to terms with it."
Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft and one of the worlds richest men, has lobbied for public funding for the team but hasn't found it in a city and state that are strapped for cash.
He said there are several scenarios that might unfold, and that he doesn't know yet how it will turn out.
He said any decision likely would be before the June 28 draft. He deflected questions on what the asking price might be.
Porter, who was one of the more popular players in the franchise, played for Portland 10 years beginning in 1985 and later coached the Milwaukee Bucks for two years. They fired him at the end of last season. He also was an assistant coach for a season for the Sacramento Kings.
Porter still holds some Portland franchise records. His time with the Blazers included the 1990 and 1992 seasons, when the team got to the NBA finals. They won their only championship in 1976-1977.
He said he will be in Portland soon to meet with wealthy prospects. Some of the richer Oregonians, including Nike Chairman Phil Knight already have said they want no part of it.
He said his group already has $100 million in debt financing lined up but would not say how much they hope to raise, or from whom.
Porter said he also will approach other former Blazers.
Paul Swangard, director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon said the problem is a relatively small pool of very rich prospects in the Portland area, a pool that gets smaller when those who don't much care about NBA basketball are winnowed out.
"There's probably money. There's just a question of whether the money's there for basketball," he said.
NBA Commissioner David Stern has said the franchise and the Rose Garden are worth at least $300 million.
Andy Brimmer, a spokesman for Allen's privately held investment company, Vulcan Capital, said the group is "open to any reasonable option that would fix the broken economic model."
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
I guess that one way to not get screwed over by ownership.
Link (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/04/15/blazers.buyers.ap/index.html)
Guard Play
Former Trail Blazer, Porter, launches shot to buy team
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Former Portland Trail Blazer guard Terry Porter says he is rounding potential investors interested in buying the Portland Trail Blazers and the Rose Garden Arena.
Owner Paul Allen told The Oregonian newspaper in Los Angeles Friday night that he has come to terms with selling the troubled team, which has the worst record this season in the NBA and which, he says, has been costing him multiple millions of dollars to keep afloat.
He said he planned to attend Portland's home game against Golden state Saturday night, and "that could be my last home game as Blazers owner.
"I've come to terms with it."
Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft and one of the worlds richest men, has lobbied for public funding for the team but hasn't found it in a city and state that are strapped for cash.
He said there are several scenarios that might unfold, and that he doesn't know yet how it will turn out.
He said any decision likely would be before the June 28 draft. He deflected questions on what the asking price might be.
Porter, who was one of the more popular players in the franchise, played for Portland 10 years beginning in 1985 and later coached the Milwaukee Bucks for two years. They fired him at the end of last season. He also was an assistant coach for a season for the Sacramento Kings.
Porter still holds some Portland franchise records. His time with the Blazers included the 1990 and 1992 seasons, when the team got to the NBA finals. They won their only championship in 1976-1977.
He said he will be in Portland soon to meet with wealthy prospects. Some of the richer Oregonians, including Nike Chairman Phil Knight already have said they want no part of it.
He said his group already has $100 million in debt financing lined up but would not say how much they hope to raise, or from whom.
Porter said he also will approach other former Blazers.
Paul Swangard, director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon said the problem is a relatively small pool of very rich prospects in the Portland area, a pool that gets smaller when those who don't much care about NBA basketball are winnowed out.
"There's probably money. There's just a question of whether the money's there for basketball," he said.
NBA Commissioner David Stern has said the franchise and the Rose Garden are worth at least $300 million.
Andy Brimmer, a spokesman for Allen's privately held investment company, Vulcan Capital, said the group is "open to any reasonable option that would fix the broken economic model."
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.