Sam Amick is about to talk about Kings moving on 95.5 http://www.955thegame.com/pages/8435695.php.
Sam Amick on radio
- Thread starter =LarryLegend=
- Start date
As I mentioned in the other thread, Sam's premise is just not correct.
He basically said that the Clippers have the best young star in the game in Griffen, and that both the Clippers and Lakers are not only better teams right now, they have existing fan bases. (Now I'm not actually going to dispute any of the above.)
But what I am going to dispute was the follow-up to his logic:
He said that the Clippers right now can't sell-out their games. So if an NBA fan was going to choose to buy a ticket to go the game, they'd choose the Lakers 1st, then the Clippers 2nd, and finally the Kings as the 3rd option. So if the Clippers can't sell out, it's going to be difficult for the Kings to sell-out.
This is just not an accurate statement with it comes to the LA/Orange County dynamic.
It's impossible to buy a ticket to an event in Staples and get to the arena in time for the event after leaving work.
When my wife and I go to Kings/Clipper games we have to leave 3 hours prior to the event in order to ensure that we don't hit traffic and can make it in time. So that means we've got to leave work early if the game happens to fall on a work-day.
If there is no traffic we can get to Staples in about 35-45 minutes. (This is how long it takes us to get back home after an event when traffic is light.) If we leave for Staples at 3:30 we can usually get there around 5pm. If we leave at 5pm it can be 8pm before we arrive.
This is why there are no Clipper fans in Orange County, because a fan can't realistically get to games at Staples on a consistent basis.
So a casual NBA fan in Orange County will most certainly buy a ticket to a Kings game playing at the Honda center, because you can get to the Honda center from just about anywhere in Orange County in 30-40 minutes.
I'll say this as well. If somehow the Kings wanted to move to Anaheim, and Donald Stirling works something out so that the Clippers move to Anaheim and the Kings move to Staples, then the Kings will certainly fail, because in that case they'd be competing against the Lakers, and that's a losing battle.
But if the Kings move to Orange County, they'll get the Orange County regional support that Stirling and the Clippers are unable to get while playing in the Staples Center.
He basically said that the Clippers have the best young star in the game in Griffen, and that both the Clippers and Lakers are not only better teams right now, they have existing fan bases. (Now I'm not actually going to dispute any of the above.)
But what I am going to dispute was the follow-up to his logic:
He said that the Clippers right now can't sell-out their games. So if an NBA fan was going to choose to buy a ticket to go the game, they'd choose the Lakers 1st, then the Clippers 2nd, and finally the Kings as the 3rd option. So if the Clippers can't sell out, it's going to be difficult for the Kings to sell-out.
This is just not an accurate statement with it comes to the LA/Orange County dynamic.
It's impossible to buy a ticket to an event in Staples and get to the arena in time for the event after leaving work.
When my wife and I go to Kings/Clipper games we have to leave 3 hours prior to the event in order to ensure that we don't hit traffic and can make it in time. So that means we've got to leave work early if the game happens to fall on a work-day.
If there is no traffic we can get to Staples in about 35-45 minutes. (This is how long it takes us to get back home after an event when traffic is light.) If we leave for Staples at 3:30 we can usually get there around 5pm. If we leave at 5pm it can be 8pm before we arrive.
This is why there are no Clipper fans in Orange County, because a fan can't realistically get to games at Staples on a consistent basis.
So a casual NBA fan in Orange County will most certainly buy a ticket to a Kings game playing at the Honda center, because you can get to the Honda center from just about anywhere in Orange County in 30-40 minutes.
I'll say this as well. If somehow the Kings wanted to move to Anaheim, and Donald Stirling works something out so that the Clippers move to Anaheim and the Kings move to Staples, then the Kings will certainly fail, because in that case they'd be competing against the Lakers, and that's a losing battle.
But if the Kings move to Orange County, they'll get the Orange County regional support that Stirling and the Clippers are unable to get while playing in the Staples Center.
I moved from the Sacramento area down to Orange County about 7 years ago. I have yet to meet a single Clippers fan down here.
There are a lot of people who hate the lakers and are fans of other teams. (Boston, NY, Chicago, Indiana) But they aren't Clipper fans because you can't easily buy tickets to watch the games, and the Clipper product has been horrible.
Clipper fans are primarily LA residents who hate the Lakers or aren't in a financial position to be able to afford Laker tickets.
So if the Kings were to move to Anaheim, I don't expect there to be much of a boost of support from turning the Clipper fanbase to a Kings fanbase, as there isn't much of a Clipper fan base down here.
There are a lot of people who hate the lakers and are fans of other teams. (Boston, NY, Chicago, Indiana) But they aren't Clipper fans because you can't easily buy tickets to watch the games, and the Clipper product has been horrible.
Clipper fans are primarily LA residents who hate the Lakers or aren't in a financial position to be able to afford Laker tickets.
So if the Kings were to move to Anaheim, I don't expect there to be much of a boost of support from turning the Clipper fanbase to a Kings fanbase, as there isn't much of a Clipper fan base down here.
I agree 100%. Also what Orange County/Honda Center has going for it is there's about 1,000,000+ potential fans on the sidelines in nearby Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. I live in Fontana (San Bernardino County) and when I go to Angels games (right across the street from Honda Center) I make it in 40 minutes. I leave my house at 5:30pm and take the 15 to the 91, then to the 55 and off on Katella. I would have to leave at noon to make it to a game on time at Staples.
I can say with absolute confidence that the LA Kings are completely irrelevant in Orange County. 90% of the hockey fans in Orange County are Ducks fans.
Orange County is not LA, and that is why a move by the Maloofs could work if they made the jump.
With that being said, I'd still expect there to be a name change if the team were to move.
Orange County is not LA, and that is why a move by the Maloofs could work if they made the jump.
With that being said, I'd still expect there to be a name change if the team were to move.
I used to live off of Katella and Euclid. I know Anaheim and the OC. The Kings are #1 in the Sacramento Valley. Sure there are 49ers, Raiders, Giants and A's fans, but this town has just AAA baseball and very minor college sports attention. The Kings are "the" sports here in this town.
Down there is no way the Kings will be relevant in SoCal. The Lakers, Angels, Dodgers, UCLA, USC, Ducks... all will be favored over Anaheim Maloofs (I bet they would name them that if they got approval). There is no history there for the team. Once the initial shiny new team and name wears off, they will be be a poor man's version of the Clippers. I can see where it's nice a extra offering on top of all the other attractions and sports, but it's just another topping choice in the frozen yogurt of OC. In Sacramento, they are the whole cake. There is a whole lot of special history here that won't move with the team.
Down there is no way the Kings will be relevant in SoCal. The Lakers, Angels, Dodgers, UCLA, USC, Ducks... all will be favored over Anaheim Maloofs (I bet they would name them that if they got approval). There is no history there for the team. Once the initial shiny new team and name wears off, they will be be a poor man's version of the Clippers. I can see where it's nice a extra offering on top of all the other attractions and sports, but it's just another topping choice in the frozen yogurt of OC. In Sacramento, they are the whole cake. There is a whole lot of special history here that won't move with the team.
How many times did you drive down to LA to make a UCLA/USC/LA Kings/LA Laker/Dodger game?
That just doesn't happen for residents in Orange County.
Now I can tell you that the Angels and Ducks are hugely popular in the OC. The Ducks were founded in Anaheim in 1993 the year after the LA Kings made it to the Stanley cup and had the most popular player in the league in Gretzky.
The Ducks have completely taken over the OC hockey market from the LA Kings and did it even though the LA Kings were at their peak.
I don't know why you'd expect it to be different if the Sacramento Kings came to town.
As you know, there aren't any Dodger fans around here, as the vast majority of baseball fans are Angel fans even after the pathetic name change. (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...how horrible of a name is that?)
Here's the deal. I've been to a lot of Angels games though I'm not particularly a fan of baseball. A lot of the tickets I've gotten have been corporate sponsered seats.
The Maloofs will be counting on this sort of sponsor support to sell tickets, and here in the OC that won't be hard to do.
You say that in Sacramento the Kings are the whole cake, but the reality is that they have one of the poorest attendances in the league, leadership who have not wanted to get an arena built, and citizens who are unwilling to spend a few pennies in taxes to keep the team.
If that's the community treating the Kings as the whole cake, I'm surprised the Maloofs have waited this long to consider the move.
I can understand people wanting a venture to Anaheim to fail so that they can say to the Maloof's "I told you so. You shouldn't have left Sacramento."
But the reality of the situation is that if Taylor cannot get an arena deal done, the Maloofs are better off in just about any location other than Sacramento.
But saying that residents in Orange County aren't going to go to Kings games because they have the option of UCLA/USC/Dodger/Laker/Clipper/LA Kings games is just not being realistic.
Orange County residents aren't going to these LA based games right now.
Orange County residents have the opportunity to see professional hockey and professional baseball with no more than a 30 minute drive, and they come out in droves.
Currently there isn't the same opportunity for professional basketball.
If you provide the opportunity to see professional basketball with a 30 minute drive you're going to get a lot of takers, even if it to just see the visiting team. And if you give it enough time, with a young team on the rise, you're going to begin to grow a fanbase which will have a huge rivalry with their northern LA residents.
That just doesn't happen for residents in Orange County.
Now I can tell you that the Angels and Ducks are hugely popular in the OC. The Ducks were founded in Anaheim in 1993 the year after the LA Kings made it to the Stanley cup and had the most popular player in the league in Gretzky.
The Ducks have completely taken over the OC hockey market from the LA Kings and did it even though the LA Kings were at their peak.
I don't know why you'd expect it to be different if the Sacramento Kings came to town.
As you know, there aren't any Dodger fans around here, as the vast majority of baseball fans are Angel fans even after the pathetic name change. (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...how horrible of a name is that?)
Here's the deal. I've been to a lot of Angels games though I'm not particularly a fan of baseball. A lot of the tickets I've gotten have been corporate sponsered seats.
The Maloofs will be counting on this sort of sponsor support to sell tickets, and here in the OC that won't be hard to do.
You say that in Sacramento the Kings are the whole cake, but the reality is that they have one of the poorest attendances in the league, leadership who have not wanted to get an arena built, and citizens who are unwilling to spend a few pennies in taxes to keep the team.
If that's the community treating the Kings as the whole cake, I'm surprised the Maloofs have waited this long to consider the move.
I can understand people wanting a venture to Anaheim to fail so that they can say to the Maloof's "I told you so. You shouldn't have left Sacramento."
But the reality of the situation is that if Taylor cannot get an arena deal done, the Maloofs are better off in just about any location other than Sacramento.
But saying that residents in Orange County aren't going to go to Kings games because they have the option of UCLA/USC/Dodger/Laker/Clipper/LA Kings games is just not being realistic.
Orange County residents aren't going to these LA based games right now.
Orange County residents have the opportunity to see professional hockey and professional baseball with no more than a 30 minute drive, and they come out in droves.
Currently there isn't the same opportunity for professional basketball.
If you provide the opportunity to see professional basketball with a 30 minute drive you're going to get a lot of takers, even if it to just see the visiting team. And if you give it enough time, with a young team on the rise, you're going to begin to grow a fanbase which will have a huge rivalry with their northern LA residents.
Bit premature for grave dancing isn't it? I really could care less if our team happens to move and make life easier on you. The reality is that you get a small gain at our big loss. I happen to be one of those rare people that was at the first game back in October 1985. I have spent most of my adult life being a Kings fan. This isn't going to go down very well here around town depsite your impression that we all don't really care. So maybe chill a bit and not be so smug about the turn of events, ok?
I'm not certain if this is directed towards me or not, but in the event that it is, I want to make one thing perfectly clear.
If I had my way, I'd prefer that the Kings remain in Sacramento. Though I currently live in Orange County, I lived in the Sacramento area for longer than I've been down here.
The loyal Sacramento fans deserve both a team and an NBA championship. The fact that I'm still a completely die-hard and rabid fan of this team despite being gone from the area for 7+ years should indicate how much I want the team to succeed, and having to relocate from Sacramento can only be perceived as a massive failure.
I'm not certain why you think that I don't believe that people don't care about this issue. Just look at the number of posts today regarding this news. The loyal fans who have been patient with this rebuild deserve to see the upswing for this team, rather than a potential team departure.
I do think there are a lot of citizens in Sacramento who will be just happy to see the Kings leave town, and it's common knowledge that the leadership in Sacramento played a huge role in getting us to this point, but it's also very apparant that a move of this nature will be devastating to the majority of the fan-base.
Having said all of that, I'd be lying if I indicated that my first choice for a re-location wasn't Anaheim. If the Kings have to move (and if Taylor can't get something done then the Maloofs will have to even if they don't file this March 1st), my first choice would be to an area where I could get season tickets.
As for being smug, I think that you're mis-interpreting what I'm saying.
People are saying that the Maloofs would be idiots to move to Anaheim and be 3rd fiddle. They say that they won't be able to fill the seats in Anaheim.
I'm just trying to add a bit of perspective here, because I understand it first hand.
The only way the Kings would be 3rd fiddle down here is if the Clippers moved to Anaheim and the Kings shared Staples with the Lakers. That would make them 3rd fiddle.
If the way for me to not sound smug is to join in with what people are saying and indicate that it's doomed to failure then I'll have to pass, because I think the Maloofs would do well in the OC.
Once again, my preference would be for the Kings to stay in Sacramento, but if they have to move, I'd rather them move to a place where I'd have an opportunity to see them play more then a couple times a year.
If I had my way, I'd prefer that the Kings remain in Sacramento. Though I currently live in Orange County, I lived in the Sacramento area for longer than I've been down here.
The loyal Sacramento fans deserve both a team and an NBA championship. The fact that I'm still a completely die-hard and rabid fan of this team despite being gone from the area for 7+ years should indicate how much I want the team to succeed, and having to relocate from Sacramento can only be perceived as a massive failure.
I'm not certain why you think that I don't believe that people don't care about this issue. Just look at the number of posts today regarding this news. The loyal fans who have been patient with this rebuild deserve to see the upswing for this team, rather than a potential team departure.
I do think there are a lot of citizens in Sacramento who will be just happy to see the Kings leave town, and it's common knowledge that the leadership in Sacramento played a huge role in getting us to this point, but it's also very apparant that a move of this nature will be devastating to the majority of the fan-base.
Having said all of that, I'd be lying if I indicated that my first choice for a re-location wasn't Anaheim. If the Kings have to move (and if Taylor can't get something done then the Maloofs will have to even if they don't file this March 1st), my first choice would be to an area where I could get season tickets.
As for being smug, I think that you're mis-interpreting what I'm saying.
People are saying that the Maloofs would be idiots to move to Anaheim and be 3rd fiddle. They say that they won't be able to fill the seats in Anaheim.
I'm just trying to add a bit of perspective here, because I understand it first hand.
The only way the Kings would be 3rd fiddle down here is if the Clippers moved to Anaheim and the Kings shared Staples with the Lakers. That would make them 3rd fiddle.
If the way for me to not sound smug is to join in with what people are saying and indicate that it's doomed to failure then I'll have to pass, because I think the Maloofs would do well in the OC.
Once again, my preference would be for the Kings to stay in Sacramento, but if they have to move, I'd rather them move to a place where I'd have an opportunity to see them play more then a couple times a year.
The Anaheim Kings?
http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2011/02/the_anaheim_kings.php
"The Lakers are clearly the No. 1 team in Orange County, and it's hard to imagine a wide swath of people suddenly changing their affiliation and rooting for one of the Purple and Gold's biggest rivals from a few years ago. The Clippers are also rapidly gaining in stature with the rise of Blake Griffin to stardom."
http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2011/02/the_anaheim_kings.php
"The Lakers are clearly the No. 1 team in Orange County, and it's hard to imagine a wide swath of people suddenly changing their affiliation and rooting for one of the Purple and Gold's biggest rivals from a few years ago. The Clippers are also rapidly gaining in stature with the rise of Blake Griffin to stardom."
The future of the @SacramentoKings has never been brighter w/ 2 of the best young stars in the league @boogiecousins & @thetyrekeevans. #NBA
http://twitter.com/#!/Joe_Maloof/status/39849222765420545
I know it's not much but I really hope they don't file for relocation.
http://twitter.com/#!/Joe_Maloof/status/39849222765420545
I know it's not much but I really hope they don't file for relocation.
yeah i was thinking the same thing. he also said "At the beginning of March, we will place a new name on our building the @PowerBalance Pavilion. #NBA #KINGSFANS"
http://twitter.com/#!/Joe_Maloof
http://twitter.com/#!/Joe_Maloof