Vancouver Grizzlies memories

[mikecubs]

Portland Trail Blazers reportedly considering putting G-League team in Vancouver

Seventeen years after the Grizzlies left, Vancouver may be getting professional basketball back.

The Portland Trail Blazers are considering putting a G-League team in Vancouver, according to Sportsnet 650’s Adam Forsythe. If the move does happen, Forsythe also reports that the team would play its games at the Langley Events Centre.

The G-League, formerly the D-League, is the NBA’s development league that was founded in 2001. All teams are either affiliated with or owned by an NBA team.

The league has seen a growth of teams from eight in its first year to 27 teams in the upcoming 2018-19 season. Portland, along with the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans, is one of three NBA franchises without a G League team or with current reported plans of having one.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has made a push in making the G-League more prominent since he became commissioner in 2014. An ESPN report back in March said that Silver would like the G-League to serve as an alternative for amateurs who don’t want to play college basketball.

The Trail Blazers have had G League affiliations in the past. The first was the Fort Worth Flyers from 2005-07, and then with the Anaheim Arsenal from 2006-08. Both teams are now defunct.

To go along with their rumored interest of putting a G-League team in Vancouver, the Trail Blazers will also play the Toronto Raptors in Vancouver on September 29 as part of the NBA Canada Series.

Trail Blazer's all-star Damien Lillard heaped high-praise for the city in a press release of the announcement.

“Vancouver is cool, I’ve been there a few times and I’ve always really enjoyed it," Lillard said. "We’re looking forward to playing in front of fans from another great Pacific Northwest city.”

The Raptors are the lone NBA franchise with a G-League affiliate based in Canada, playing out of Mississauga.

www.sportingnews.com/nba/news/portland-trail-blazers-g-league-expansion-vancouver/1wmfkobeasloj13hie4o83jj4x

[mikecubs]

This is really a great move for the NBA! I've always said either Portland or a future Seattle Supersonics team should do this.

Vancouver's not big enough for another full time team at this point(only Pittsburgh and Milwaukee are smaller 2 full time team cities but they don't have a $76cent dollar and the cost of living issue Vancouver has) but there are enough minorities(Chinese/Phillipino etc...) to make this a success. Wish they were able to play in downtown Vancouver at Rogers Arena though instead of Langley.

The Raptors d-league team in Mississauga is a success. They hold the record for the biggest attendance in g-league history, plus the second biggest and the 5th biggest.

Highest Attendance, NBA G League Game
18,900 – Raptors 905 vs. RGV Vipers, 12/5/17
18,090 – Raptors 905 vs. Austin Spurs, 3/13/17
17,695 – Oklahoma City Blue vs. Long Island Nets, 3/8/17
17,497 – Santa Cruz Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Blue, 2/12/17
15,011 – Raptors 905 vs. Grand Rapids Drive, 12/20/16

gleague.nba.com/news/raptors-905-nba-gleague-attendance-record-fans-air-canada-centre/

Vancouver while obviously not big enough for another team is growing and that entire growth is coming from basketball countries. Long term don't rule out an NBA team. Minor leagues is a very nice stepping stone.

[iceland2018]

Curious as to why Montreal has never been considered when it comes to NBA expansion. The NBA is about to overtake the MLB in terms of viewship. The demograpics are far better for basketball. Baseball seems lie a dying sport, if compare it to 30 years ago, when the Mets-Red Sox series was shattering records.

[mikecubs]

Aug 1, 2018 19:51:05 GMT -6 iceland2018 said:

Curious as to why Montreal has never been considered when it comes to NBA expansion. The NBA is about to overtake the MLB in terms of viewship. The demograpics are far better for basketball. Baseball seems lie a dying sport, if compare it to 30 years ago, when the Mets-Red Sox series was shattering records.

Baseball is regionalizing NOT dying. Local ratings are great

www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2017/08/24/local-prime-time-numbers-for-each-of-the-29-u-s-teams-shows-mlb-rules-summer-tv/

participation is up including blacks coming back to the sport due to CTE in football,

www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2018/04/11/mlb-african-americans-opening-day-rosters/507685002/

revenue is at an all time high. Problem is people ONLY follow the local team due to 162 games. Baseball is NOT a sport that can be measured by national ratings anymore due to the rise of the local regional sports networks. National rating are declining and will continue to do so. When you can watch/go to 162 games the last thing you are going to do is watch some other team that isn't your own. I only watch the Cubs. 162 games are more than enough thank you! You are right about the NBA passing MLB though. The NBA is on FIRE!!!! Franchise values passed MLB this year by a hair though MLB leads in revenue yet. Still I wouldn't trade places with any sport other than basketball despite the sport being only regional. Consider the following

1. Football CAN'T be played without destroying the human brain. Ratings are way down, pee wee participation is down a third and might be banned in New York state, California, Illinois soon(there are bills pending). High school participation has lost 5% so far from football's peak and each year the hits are getting more violent as people learn more about CTE/brain injuries. High school participation dropped 25,528 from 2016 to 2017. The biggest drop before that was 12,389 from 2010 to 2011. Remember it's the sub concussive hits that cause it not just the monster hits. Only way to stop the sub concussive hits is make it flag. Unless they come up with a CTE pill the sport is doomed long term. It will drop off like smoking/big tobacco did.

www.cbsnews.com/news/us-smoking-rate-does-something-it-hasnt-in-years/(42% 50 years ago to 15% in 2016)

2. The NHL is a white nitch sport in a geographic civil war between north and south. White populations are declining in both Canada and the US. From this generation to the next Canada will lose a 3rd of it's white population, the US will lose 15%. While not as bad as football hockey has plenty of it's own CTE/head injury issues. Plus the cost of equipment issue.

3. MLS is a joke. It lost 20M last season. If it was an NHL team people would demand it be relocated to Quebec. The US team lost to Trinidad and Tobaggo and failed to qualify for the world cup. If any player gets good it's off to the premier league. Those teams are worth billions. Half of US soccer fans don't like MLS according to polling.

Soccer has become a white rich kids sport according to Hope Solo.

www.ajc.com/sports/hope-solo-says-soccer-america-now-rich-white-kid-sport/ji32MHwHqggMsnXprY1cvL/

youth soccer participation is also falling

www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/sports/world-cup/soccer-youth-decline.html

The whole problem is if you want to like quality teams/players you have to root for European cities/teams you have no connection to living in the US. If you root for an MLS team your are rooting for losers. I've heard that MLS's quality is similar to Bulgaria. LOL There's no way to overcome the "Europe problem" unless the premier league expanded here ala baseball expanding west or NHL expanding south and giving a bunch of revenue sharing until soccer caught on for real.

Long term basketball is going to 100% annihilate everything in it's path. It's cheap, easy to play, it's safe(unlike football and hockey), it has the best players in the world unlike MLS, there aren't too many games like baseball, it's world wide(300M people in China play) etc...

Part 2 on Montreal below.

[mikecubs]

Aug 1, 2018 19:51:05 GMT -6 iceland2018 said:

Curious as to why Montreal has never been considered when it comes to NBA expansion. The NBA is about to overtake the MLB in terms of viewship. The demograpics are far better for basketball. Baseball seems lie a dying sport, if compare it to 30 years ago, when the Mets-Red Sox series was shattering records.

Part 2

Montreal doesn't have enough minorities and rich minorities(Chinese etc..). Most white Canadians(excluding a few white Toronto liberal women) are 100% hostile to the NBA and HATE it. Whites in the US love basketball but not most Canadian whites. So because of that you need a LOT of rich asians(especially Chinese)/Indians to buy the expensive seats and have the less rich immigrants fill the higher up seats(Phillipinos/blacks). The Raptors and their minor league team games look like they take place in some Asian hybrid country NOT Canada. Last census Toronto metro became 51.37% minority. Now keep in mind Hamilton and Oshawa would qualify as part of metro Toronto but in Canada one metro can't swallow another metro unlike the US even if it qualifies to do so.

So overall here is how Toronto's demographics come out, keep in mind baskeball is the number 1 sport in China and the Philippines.

Metro Toronto

Total Population-5,862,855

White / Aboriginal 2,850,950 48.63%
Total visible minority population 3,011,905 51.37%

South Asian- 973,225 32.31%
Chinese- 631,050 20.95%
Black- 442,020 14.68%
Filipino- 254,475 8.45%
Latin American- 132,945 4.41%
West Asian- 123,760 4.11%
Southeast Asian- 83,535 2.77%
Arab- 105,610 3.51% (In the US the most popular sport among Muslims in the NBA so maybe I should have bolded this one too!)
Korean- 69,670 2.31%
Japanese- 20,655 0.69%
Multiple visible minorities- 97,190 3.23%
Visible minority, n.i.e- 77,780 2.58%

Hamilton

Total Population- 734,880


White / Aboriginal- 604,570 82.27%
Total visible minority population 130,305 17.73%


South Asian- 31,155 4.24%
Chinese - 13,790 1.88%
Black- 24,275 3.30%
Filipino- 10,935 1.49%
Latin American- 10,910 1.48%
West Asian- 12,825 1.75%
Southeast Asian- 7,445 1.01%
Arab- 5,885 0.80%
Korean- 3,245 0.44%
Japanese- 1,590 0.22%
Multiple visible minorities- 3,390 0.46%
Visible minority, n.i.e- 4,865 0.66%


Oshawa

Total Population 375,605

Not a visible minority 311,045 82.81%
Total visible minority 64,560 17.19%

South Asian 15,930 4.24%
Chinese 5,870 1.56%
Black 21,290 5.67%
Filipino 5,240 1.40%
Latin American 3,170 0.84%
Arab 2,210 0.59%
Southeast Asian 1,240 0.33%
West Asian 2,010 0.54%
Korean 605 0.16%
Japanese 805 0.21%
Visible minority, n.i.e. 2,770 0.74%
Multiple visible minorities 3,410 0.91%


Overall combined numbers for all 3

2016 White / Aboriginal 3,766,565 (-74,885 since 2011)
Total visible minority population 3,206,770 (+467,125 since 2011)


Gains by minority group for for all 3

South Asian +154,265
Chinese +103,615
Black +57,335
Filipino +27,600
Latin American +18,570
West Asian +32,175
Southeast Asian -6,225
Arab +32,370
Korean +8,645
Japanese +1,235
Multiple visible minorities +25,185
Visible minority, n.i.e +12,370


This is why Toronto is a baskeball hot bed.

Sources


www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CMACA&Code1=535&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=toronto&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1


www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CMACA&Code1=537&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=hamilton&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1


www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CMACA&Code1=532&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=oshawa&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1

[mikecubs]

Now Vancouver and Abbotsford plus Chilliwack

Vancouver

Total Population 2,426,235

Not a visible minority 1,240,555 51.13%
Total visible minority 1,185,680 48.87%

South Asian- 474,655 19.56%
Chinese- 291,005 11.99%
Black- 123,170 5.08%
Filipino- 52,980 2.18%
Latin American- 44,905 1.85%
Arab- 46,010 1.90%
Southeast Asian- 34,805 1.43%
West Asian- 30,110 1.24%
Korean- 35,295 1.45%
Japanese- 29,830 1.23%
Visible minority, n.i.e.- 16,430 0.68%
Multiple visible minorities- 6,490 0.27%

Abbotsford

Total Population 176,330

Not a visible minority 125,100 70.95%
Total visible minority 51,230 29.05%

South Asian 38,250 21.69%
Chinese 2,515 1.43%
Black 1,670 0.95%
Filipino 1,810 1.03%
Latin American 1,430 0.81%
Arab 375 0.21%
Southeast Asian 1,715 0.97%
West Asian 230 0.13%
Korean 1,515 0.86%
Japanese 630 0.36%
Visible minority, n.i.e. 270 0.15%
Multiple visible minorities 810 0.46%

Chilliwack

Total Population 98,855

Not a visible minority 92,400 93.47%
Total visible minority 6,445 6.52%

South Asian- 1,385 1.40%
Chinese- 1,045 1.06%
Black- 735 0.74%
Filipino- 820 0.83%
Latin American- 585 0.59%
Arab- 95 0.10%
Southeast Asian- 545 0.55%
West Asian- 130 0.13%
Korean- 540 0.55%
Japanese- 205 0.21%
Visible minority, n.i.e.- 120 0.12%
Multiple visible minorities- 255 0.26%

Total for all 3

White / Aboriginal- 1,458,055(-2,620 since 2011)
Total visible minority population- 1,243,355(+166,420)

Gains by minority group for all 3

South Asian +69,840
Chinese +39,465
Black +11,660
Filipino +5,675
Latin American +1,365
West Asian +9,140
Southeast Asian +6,455
Arab +1,805
Korean +7,880
Japanese +6,270
Multiple visible minorities +4,475
Visible minority, n.i.e +2,410


The minority/Asian growth is why long term I think it's possible for an NBA return. The city needs to get bigger though and needs more foreigners to make it work.


Sources

www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=5915&Geo2=PR&Code2=47&Data=Count&SearchText=Greater%20Vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&wbdisable=true



www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CMACA&Code1=932&Geo2=CD&Code2=5909&Data=Count&SearchText=Abbotsford&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1


www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CMACA&Code1=930&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&Data=Count&SearchText=Chilliwack&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=930&TABID=1

[mikecubs]

Now for Montreal

Total Population 4,009,795

Not a visible minority 3,104,955(This is up 114,805 from 2011 unlike Toronto and Vancouver)
Total visible minority 904,840 22.57%(This is up 142,515 from 2011)

South Asian 270,940 6.76%
Chinese 191,165 4.77%
Black 110,195 2.75%
Filipino 85,925 2.14%
Latin American 89,400 2.23%
Arab 55,705 1.39%
Southeast Asian 33,050 0.82%
West Asian 28,890 0.72%
Korean 20,420 0.51%
Japanese 8,290 0.21%
Visible minority, n.i.e. 7,055 0.18%
Multiple visible minorities 3,810 0.10%



Here is the population difference from 2011 to 2016 in each minority group

Black +54,630 (This is mostly from Hati since they speak french, Hati is the poorest country in the western hemisphere)
Arab +40,655
Latin American +12,185
South Asian +6,385
Chinese +15,025 (Not enough gain)
Southeast Asian -3,725
Filipino +2,835(Not enough gain)
West Asian +7,055
Multiple visible minorities +4,915
Visible minority, n.i.e. +735
Korean +1,145
Japanese +675

This is why Montreal besides the 36 year history(plus the Montreal Royals) will get MLB IF they ever get another team. The Canadiens owner a few years ago met with the NBA commissioner and said he'd be open to another owner(not him) to using the Bell Centre for NBA. No prospective owner ever showed up.

Keep in mind too Toronto itself isn't a free agent destination in this era of super teams. NBA players only want to team up for a few big US markets. With the language thing it would be a total disaster. Black stars would throw a fit if they got drafted by Montreal(Oh my god I don't understand what they are saying). Montreal and NBA is like Oil and water. Will NOT work. I myself once advocated for Montreal and NBA due to city size and only 1 team but once I learned of the above demographics I quickly realized why the NBA never came to Montreal.

[mikecubs]

Articles on the makeup of the Raptors fan base

torontoist.com/2016/05/raptors-fans-were-always-the-other/

learningenglish.voanews.com/a/diverse-toronto-raptors-image/3339466.html


Pics of Raptors games and Jurrasic Park(Maple Leafs square) where they watch playoff games. Not a lot of white Canadians. LOL













^^Famous Superfan Nav who's had the NY times write articles on him. LOL



G League

[wolfmannick]

If Vancouver has the demographics you suggested I dont know why the NBA isn't considering putting another team there. It must be big enough to support two teams now.

[mikecubs]

Aug 6, 2018 22:06:47 GMT -6 wolfmannick said:

If Vancouver has the demographics you suggested I dont know why the NBA isn't considering putting another team there. It must be big enough to support two teams now.

I and the stats from Stats Can suggested they are trending in the right direction with all the Chinese/Asians coming in and growing overall. I didn't say they have the demographics yet. Minor league ball is good for now. Still too small for 2 "full time"teams. Maybe around 2030ish something you can at least think of it for real. It right now would still would be the 3rd smallest market for 2 full time teams(MLB,NBA, NHL). Vancouver is collecting a Canadian dollar and the cost of living is the highest in North America. They have a Columbus per capita income rate though I haven't found an actual updated rate. The last I have is years old at $41,031. It's also impossible to compare American fortune 1000 companies with Canadian head offices because Canadian head offices are generally worth less/are smaller companies. Vancouver does come out smaller in that area too though best I can tell. Calgary has more head offices despite being much smaller. I think corporately Vancouver is a little bit better version of Portland. Given these factors Vancouver comes out smaller than it's population. It's got a much better shot than Montreal at least with more Chinese, more minorities overall and a great rate of minorities growth per year.

No guarantees they ever get a team. The NBA wants Mexico City I think along with Seattle. They don't ever seem to get sick of Memphis and New Orleans so who knows? Vegas is growing fast too and maybe someday they try for a 3rd team. The NBA can also just do a 1 team Seattle expansion if Mexico City don't work because it's too 3rd world/too poor/too much safety risk. The NBA went with 27 teams a long period of time just like NHL had 21 for a while.

I hope Van city could work someday. It is the most beautiful/best city anywhere. I love all the Pacific Northwest in general. I'm glad it looks like they are getting minor league ball at least. It's stupid to soon have 2 NBA teams near by and not have one of their minor league teams there. It's also would be stupid to leave Vancouver outright open after they did have the NBA for 6 years.

[mikecubs]

The population is accurate for AMERICAN cities, I'm a year behind on Canadian. I'm also a year behind on the per capita income and companies. Vancouver-Abbotsford-Chilliwak is probably about 2.8M now so take the Vancouver numbers below with a grain of salt.


Rank Cities that support 2+ "full time teams" (MLB,NBA,NHL) (2017 Pop) Fortune 1000 (Fortune 500) per capita income

1 New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA (23,876,155) 141 (85) $64,800
New York is over-inflated and take stuff that belongs to Philadelphia. They should be (22,299,278) (136) (82)

2 Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (18,788,800) 38 (18) $49,940
3 Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI (9,901,711) 63 (35) $53,304
4 Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA (9,764,315) 38 (15) $60,505
5 Toronto (9,245,438) NA
6 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA (8,837,789) 64 (30) $72,181
7 Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT (8,233,270) 40 (15) $61,480
8 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK (7,846,293) 41 21 $50,358
9 Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD (7,206,807) 26 (13) $54,980

New York takes stuff that belongs to Philly, they should be (8,422,090) (31) (16)

10 Houston-The Woodlands, TX (7,093,190) 51 24 $53,837
11 Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA (6,555,956) 27 (17) $43,995
12 Miami-Fort Lauderdale (6,158,824) 17 (7) $49,819 (metro-The CSA areas are an insane distance)

13 Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI (5,336,286) 19 (11) $46,050
Detroit should be 6,516,438 with 24 fortune 1000 companies and 14 fortune 500 but they don't count Windsor and other Canadian places and Toledo

14 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ MSA (4,737,270) 17 (4) $40,811
15 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI (3,946,533) 23 (16) $54,005
16 Denver-Aurora, CO (3,515,374) 21 (10) $55,271
Fort Collins(343,976) should be counted in the CSA, Colorado Springs(723,878) is too far to be but it must be considered

17 Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH (3,485,691) 20 (6) $45,610
18 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA (3,091,399) 7 (4) $43,008
Lakeland(686,483 ) is only 35 miles away and should be counted, Sarasota(804,690) should also be counted bringing the total to 4,582,572 and 2 extra fortune 1000 companies.

19 St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL (2,911,945) 18 (9) $48,419

Vancouver-Abbotsford-Chilliwak-Squamish(2,765,354)

20 Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV (2,623,639) 13 (6) $49,264

Pittsburgh has another 1,132,521 within 75 miles. You can't count it all because places like Youngstown are split with Cleveland in terms on interest.

21 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI (2,048,007) 14 (8) $48,756

Milwaukee gets screwed because they count Kenosha part as part of the Chicago metro even though it's 31 miles away. Sheboygan is also close and the Bucks thought of putting their minor league team there before they picked Oshkosh. Milwaukee should be at 2,434,082. You can't count Madison(654,230) because it's too far but the Bucks have their training camp there since the new owners took over and the Brewers draw a lot from there and also the area from Milwaukee to Green Bay.

All the bottom cities have teams that are grandfather in. The Bucks have been in Milwaukee since 1968. The Indians and Pirates have been around since the 1800s. The Blues since the late 60's. If the NBA was staring from scratch Milwaukee wouldn't get a NBA team. I doubt Cleveland or Pittsburgh would get baseball either without the history. Look where teams like the Bucks, Indians, Pirates, Blue rank within their respective leagues. Could any of these cities pay a modern expansion price for a team? The Bucks for example sold for $500M dollars a few years ago. Could they pay a billion today? Could St. Louis pay $500M for the Blues?

St. Louis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee are VERY cheap to live in and collect an American dollar.

The Canucks owner said an expansion price doesn't make sense ala Paul Allen and the NHL. I think to get a team they'd have to get a relocation like a New Orleans or Memphis once a lease runs out and IF the NBA gave up on them.

[mikecubs]

NBA overall

Rank Teams(30) (Population) (Fortune 1000) (Fortune 500) per capita income (Other competition)

1 New York Knicks/ (23,876,155) (141) (85) $64,800 (1 NBA, 2 NFL, 2 MLB, 3 NHL)
2 Brooklyn Nets

New York is over-inflated and take stuff that belongs to Philadelphia. They should be (22,299,278) (136) (82)

3 Los Angeles Lakers/ (18,788,800) (38) (18) $49,940 (1 NBA, 1 NFL, 2 MLB, 2 NHL)
4 Los Angeles Clippers

5 Chicago Bulls (9,901,711) (63) (35) $53,304 (1 NFL, 2 MLB, 1 NHL)
6 *Washington Wizards (9,764,315) (38) (15) $60,505 (2 NFL, 2 MLB, 1 NHL)
7 Toronto Raptors (9,245,438) (1 MLB, 1 NHL)
8 Golden State Warriors (8,837,789) (64) (300 $72,181 (1 NFL, 2 MLB, 1 NHL)
9 Boston Celtics (8,233,270) (40) (15) $61,480 (1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NHL)
10 Dallas Mavericks (7,846,293) (41) (21) $50,358 (1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NHL)
11 Philadelphia 76ers (7,206,807) (26) (13) $54,980 (1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NHL)

New York take stuff from Philly, they should be (8,422,090) (31) (16)

12 Houston Rockets (7,093,190) (51) (24) $53,837 (1 NFL, 1 MLB)
13 Atlanta Hawks (6,555,956) (27) (17) $43,995 (1 NFL, 1 MLB)
14 Miami Heat (6,158,824) (17) (7) $49,819 (1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NHL)
15 Detroit Pistons (5,336,286) (19) (11) $46,050 (1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NHL)
Detroit should be (6,516,438) with 24 fortune 1000 companies and 14 fortune 500 but they don't count Windsor and other Canadian places and Toledo

Seattle Supersonics (4,764,736) (15) (10) $57,918 (1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NHL???)

16 Phoenix Suns (4,737,270) (17) (4) $40,811 (1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NHL)
17 Minnesota Timberwolves (3,946,533) (23) (16) $54,005 (1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NHL)
18 Denver Nuggets (3,515,374) (21) (10) $55,271 (1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NHL)
Fort Collins(343,976) should be counted in the CSA, Colorado Springs(723,878) is too far to be but it must be considered

19 Cleveland Cavaliers (3,485,691) (20) (6) $45,610 (1 NFL, 1 MLB)

NOTICE BELOW 20 there are ONLY NFL teams to compete with OTHER than MLB in Milwaukee

20 Orlando Magic (3,284,198) (2) (1) $38,560 (ONLY TEAM)
21 Portland Trailblazers (3,201,058) (7) (2) $46,046 (ONLY TEAM)

Vancouver(2,765,354) (1 NHL)

22 Charlotte Hornets (2,684,121) (12) (7) $44,259 (1 NFL)
Charlotte should be (3,117,206) with an extra fortune 1000 company

23 Sacramento Kings (2,598,377) (0) (0) $49,160 (ONLY TEAM)
24 Utah Jazz (2,559,350) (3) (0) $41,029 (ONLY TEAM)
25 San Antonio Spurs (2,473,974) (8) (5) $43,535 (ONLY TEAM)

26 Indiana Pacers (2,411,086) (9) (4) $46,522 (1 NFL)
Indianapolis should be (2,936,039) with an extra fortune 1000 company

27 Milwaukee Bucks (2,048,007) (14) (8) $48,756 (1 MLB)
Milwaukee should be at (2,434,082) with Madison(654,230) lurking

28 New Orleans Pelicans (1,510,162) (2) (1) $45,804 (1 NFL)
29 Oklahoma City Thunder (1,455,963) (5) (2) $45,569 (ONLY TEAM)
30 Memphis Grizzlies (1,374,190) (7) (3) $41,987 (ONLY TEAM)


The NBA's model is to avoid other full time sports UNLIKE the NHL which has been very good to the NBA. In hockey culture it's considered cowardly to consider that, kind of like a person ducking a fight. Guys on HF boards complain about it and say stuff like "the only reason the NBA does well is the pick big cities and avoid competition in small cities". I do think Vancouver could reach a point where they get enough population(and right population) I wonder would 3.5/4Mish with a crappy dollar/cost of living work? Vancouver would only have to support 39 games. Seattle would take care of the 2 Sonics games.

[mikecubs]

Price tag for new Vancouver NBA team is too rich for Canucks owner

Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini is a rich man, but an NBA franchise looks like it might be out of his price range.

At least for now.

The billionaire, who grew up in East Vancouver and owns both the Canucks and Rogers Arena, spoke about the possibility of bringing an NBA team to Vancouver in an interview with Sportsnet 650 on Thursday.

“There’s been some discussions on [bringing an NBA franchise to Vancouver],” Aquilini said. “It’s obvious because we’ve got a building, it’s plug and play. We still have the hoops. We still have the floor. Everything’s there. The locker room and everything is there. We’ve discussed it.”

Vancouver has been without an NBA team since the Grizzlies left for Memphis in 2001.

Aquilini has been linked to the NBA before, reportedly expressing interest in the New Orleans Hornets before they were sold in 2011.

Then-commissioner David Stern confirmed as much, telling ESPN: “We’ve had visits from, believe it or not, Vancouver, where the Canucks are absolutely doing a spectacular job.”

While the NBA isn’t eyeing expansion in the near future, they have expressed an interest in adding teams outside of the United States.

“There are lots of terrific markets out there in the United States and some in countries attached to the United States who also have wonderful cities that could potentially house NBA teams,” current NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in June.

A report in January 2017 indicated that Vancouver was among five cities that the NBA had their eye on, along with Seattle, Las Vegas, Louisville, and Mexico City.

Enthusiastic sellout crowds for the Toronto Raptors’ near-annual visit to Vancouver should only help Vancouver’s cause.

The NBA has also been said to be interested in adding two franchises in the Western Conference, allowing Memphis to move to the East. With a newly renovated KeyArena in the works, Seattle is a clear favourite to get a team, so the race is likely for the second franchise.

We’ve outlined the reasons why Vancouver would make for a suitable NBA city in the past, but currently the biggest problem appears to be the price.

“Right now the entry cost is prohibitive, because it’s up to two billion [dollars] now,” Aquilini said. “Five years ago it was like $300 million, $350 million.”

When Aquilini was kicking tires on the New Orleans Hornets in 2011, they eventually sold for $338 million. The price has gone up since then, helped by a record-setting $24 billion television deal with ESPN and TNT.

The Houston Rockets were the last team to sell, purchased for $2.2 billion in September 2017.

If Aquilini’s pockets aren’t deep enough for that, he could bring on investors to help foot the bill. But until then, the price tag could be a major stumbling block.

dailyhive.com/vancouver/nba-team-cost-canucks-owner-2018

[mikecubs]

Canadian brewery launches beer dedicated to the Vancouver Grizzlies

Each month, Toronto-based brewery Henderson Brewing Co. releases a new beer, as part of its Ides Series, which often relates to a little-known part of Toronto’s history.

But this month, Henderson has extended the story-telling to include Vancouver, and is offering a beer brewed in collaboration with East Vancouver-based Bomber Brewing.

Henderson’s co-founder and vice president of sales, Adin Wener, originally hails from Vancouver. And after such an exciting year of sports in the city of Toronto, with the Raptors NBA Championship win, it seems only fitting that the athletic talents of the West Coast be brought into the spotlight too.

“[The Raptors win] got us reminiscing about the Vancouver Grizzlies, Canada’s other NBA team, too,” Wener said in a release.

Both Vancouver and Toronto were awarded NBA expansion teams in 1995. While the Vancouver Grizzlies finished last for five out of the six seasons they were in Vancouver, the Toronto Raptors were setting attendance records and signing greats like Damon Stoudamire and Vince Carter.

The Grizzlies ended up moving to Memphis in 2001, while the Raptors found themselves in the playoffs within their first five years of existence.

Thousands of fans in countless cities across Canada cheered on the Raptors this year, but Henderson wants to ensure that the country’s full NBA history isn’t forgotten. Enter: The Ides of November, Remember the Grizzlies — a dry-hopped lager.

Hazy and golden, with fruity and spicy aromas, this lager was dry-hopped with Styrian Wolf hops from Slovenia and Aramis hops from France. Remember the Grizzlies is a crisp, bitter lager with both a strong flavour and aroma of European hops.

“When we started planning this brew with Bomber, we knew we wanted to keep the West Coast spirit in the beer,” explains Henderson’s Head Brewer Brian O’Donnell. “We figured keeping the beer nice and hoppy would do the trick”.

Henderson Brewing

Remember the Grizzlies Dry Hopped Lager will be available on draught in Henderson’s tap room, in 473ml cans in their Bottle Shop, and at select bars and restaurants around Toronto.

Like all of Henderson’s Ides beers, it’s brewed in limited quantities, and won’t be around for long. So if you’re in the city, whether you’re a local or just passing through, get it while you can.

dailyhive.com/toronto/henderson-brewery-vancouver-grizzlies-canada

[mikecubs]

Blast from the past



Beginning of the end^^^



^^Steve Francis rejects the Grizzlies

Grizzlies 1st game. They win in ot on a last sec tip in!



Grizzlies 1st home game. They win to start 2-0. That's is as good as it would get. It was all down hill from there.






^^^ The only famous moment in Vancouver Grizzlies history. They are winning against the 72-10 Michael Jordan Bulls who were the greatest team ever. Grizzlie Derrick Martin insults Michael Jordan and he scored 19 pts in the last 6 minutes leading the Bulls to the win.



^^Fast forward to 1:30. LOL Jordan tells Martin "shut up you little b!tch" afterward.