Va. Gov. McDonnell's budget proposal to exclude funding to lure NBA team to Va. Beach
- Thread starter Mike0476
- Start date
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Gee shocker that they would not want to include that in the state budget in the current climate, a motnh after a hurricane came blowing through. What a pipedream over there. All the fuss has actually been annoying me. Its like me announcing a plan on how I'm going to woo Mila Kunis, and everybody taking it seriously and constantly begging me for twitter updates on my prgoress.
you hit that yet?
Mike0476
Starter
Same story, different VA source...
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/12/va-beach-officials-attend-arena-meeting-dallas
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/12/va-beach-officials-attend-arena-meeting-dallas
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Oddly, no.
I'm pulling for you Brickie!
bajaden
Hall of Famer
Your odd's are better than Virginia Beach's!
It's worse than that. They would be throwing over half the 150 million into the Maloofs pockets and the smaller amount into the arena construction.
Little known tidbit, the relocation fee can be paid over time. Typically about 3 years. So that whole 80 million would go into propping up the Maloofs bank account and the relocation fees paid using something like the revenue sharing they are getting over three years.
Section 101
All-Star
That depends on the relocation committee. There is nothing preventing them from wanting the whole check at once. And with the Maloofs owing the league $100 million or so on the books already do you think they want to add to it?
Ryan
I like turtles
Trust me, from experience, don't. She snores. It's really annoying.
kennadog
Dog On It!
Trueblood
Bench
These guys just lost whatever leverage they had left against potential Sacramento and out of town buyers. Assuming they really are going to sell the team, you would think that they would take the best offer available before getting the bad news out of Virginia unless they were really naive enough to think that this would pass through the state.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Not sure why Sac fans are so insistent on this being their strategy. I don't think they have EVER wanted to sell the team. EVER. Financially they may get forced into it, but I think people have consistently underestimated how important the Kings are to the Maloofs psyche. You're probably stuck with them.
Trueblood
Bench
Key word is boldfaced. They don't WANT to sell the team but have been backed into a corner so deep that it may be their last and best option. The revenue sharing can only help so much. Attendance is going to be bad as long as they're in charge so that isn't going to put money in their pockets. They'd be better off selling whether they want to or not.
As far as VB is concerned, I have to think that even George isn't naive enough to think this has a shot. One has to think that it was all a leverage ploy. With said leverage gone, they're really backed into a worse corner than before.
Looks to me like selling the team is the corner George keeps pushing his own family into. Maybe along with the rest of us, George is doing a long con on his own family. Burning bridges and laying waste to the Sacramento market so that they can never succeed here. Then a number of failed relocation attempts.
You win.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Give me a shot at this thought. The Maloofs want their face in front of the camera. When Vegas, the TV show, was on, they showed up periodically on the show and the Palms was frequently in the outside shots. Their sister is on a TV show, right? None of this would happen if they were merely owners of a liquor distributorship. They are not satisfied with being rich but want to be known. They give up their cash cow, liquor distributing, so they can get a basketball team and schmooze with pro players, etc. Ownership is central to them.
Heck look at this offshoot, the Maloof series of skateboarding or whatever it is. This gives them a chance to be seen. It's for their ego. Too bad for all of us that they forgot that this pursuit of notoriety could be destroyed with their risky Palms adventure. I am sure they envisioned the Palms being the NBA watering hole.
The Maloofs are now in a position of mere survival and without the sale of the one object that gets their mugs in front of the TV camera, they are screwed. What we underestimated is how far they would go to hang on to this pro team or maybe how central it was to their egos. Since their father died, they not only have accomplished nothing, they have destroyed what they had. It is difficult to comprehend how a family could value face time in front of the camera better than an absolutely comfortable life as filthy rich. Although I have spent far too many words on this, Brick is right.
Look at this team. It has mismatched parts but it has enough skilled athletes that a few trades could straighten that out. A good coach would be a nice addition and the Kings would no longer be a joke. I'd like to be famous and run with famous people like the Khardasians but I would settle for having my share of a $Billion. We live is a weird society where simply being a personality is seen as fascinating like Paris Hilton, the Khardasians, etc., etc. You don't have to achieve anything but you are a star of sorts. The Maloofs wanted it both and we are the victims.
How many are continuing to bust their ***? I am waiting for the NBA to start the legal process of trying to take the Kings from the Maloofs. As the article intimated, whether the NBA sides with Sacramento or the Maloofs may have an ever widening ripple effect that may effect all pro sports. If they side with the Maloofs, the entire pro sports industry may begin to find fewer and fewer cities eager for a franchise and CERTAINLY, public money will dry up killing a huge revenue stream.
Maybe now is the time for that battle and Stern is burned out. We may have to wait until he retires. Stern has accomplished a lot if only to make grown men in short pants very rich. It has been a glorious run but now the dirty stuff needs to happen and at the center of the argument is Sacramento and the Maloofs. Heck, maybe the economy has already made the decision.
kennadog
Dog On It!
I sure as hell hope not. They may not want to sell, but I think they may be forced to sell.
Great post, Glenn. I do think there's an alternative to the last paragraph, however. I think Stern may be looking to the Sacramento situation as an opportunity to ensure his legacy. IF - and I admit it's a big IF - he can get this problem resolved before he steps down, it would define his tenure as NBA Commissioner and put his name in the record books forever. Heck, he gets this done somehow and I can see us watching the Kings in the brand-new STERN ARENA!
bajaden
Hall of Famer
Great post, Glenn. I do think there's an alternative to the last paragraph, however. I think Stern may be looking to the Sacramento situation as an opportunity to ensure his legacy. IF - and I admit it's a big IF - he can get this problem resolved before he steps down, it would define his tenure as NBA Commissioner and put his name in the record books forever. Heck, he gets this done somehow and I can see us watching the Kings in the brand-new STERN ARENA!
The Stern arena! I like the sound of that. Perhaps we can have a statue of Stern holding over his head, instead of a basketball, the world! And below his right and mighty foot, a wiggling snake with George Maloof's head on it. Life is good!
Chupacabra
Starter
This i like.
This whole virginia beach thing has been like accidentally reading the front cover of tabloid newspapers while in line at the grocery store. It was all nothing but annoying background noise. Fodder.
Padrino
All-Star
Great post, Glenn. I do think there's an alternative to the last paragraph, however. I think Stern may be looking to the Sacramento situation as an opportunity to ensure his legacy. IF - and I admit it's a big IF - he can get this problem resolved before he steps down, it would define his tenure as NBA Commissioner and put his name in the record books forever. Heck, he gets this done somehow and I can see us watching the Kings in the brand-new STERN ARENA!
when it's all said and done, david stern's legacy as nba commissioner will be a messy affair to sift through, but it will also be tremendously accomplished, overall. i hate to be debbie-downer, but i'm quite certain that stern will be much more proud to have elevated the nba brand to the global stage than he would be if he was able to keep the lowly kings in sacramento. i mean, honestly, this team had an excellent run there in the early 00's. they were the talk of the league for a few years, and the fans in sacramento were as rabid as any in the nba. however, many of those fans didn't show up before '98-'99, and many of those same fans abandoned the team around '06-'07. sacramento has the potential to be a great basketball city again, but i imagine the bad years have far outweighed the good, as far as the league's evaluation of this franchise is concerned. is it worth it to them? is it worth it to david stern, who has already poured a considerable amount of money and effort into getting a fair arena proposal on the table, just to see the maloofs turn about-face on their handshake agreement? i'm not so sure anymore. that said, the maloofs have already shot themselves in the foot on multiple occasions throughout these proceedings. they are their own worst enemy, and may very well be forced to sell before getting the bailout they're seeking, after burning a healthy number of bridges here and elsewhere around the league...
xyrin
Bench
Why are so many of you convinced that the Maloofs will be forced to sell the Kings? You guys are all assuming a hypothetical "terrible financial situation" for the Maloofs. Yes, they lost most of the Palms, but don't they actually turn a yearly profit on the Kings because they keep the operating costs so low? They can continue to just milk this for as long as they want and can leisurely look for new cities to swoop in with offers in the meantime for relocation. Don't just assume they will be forced to sell and expect there to be a certain deadline where they'll need to sell before this "hypothetical financial collapse."
Believe me, I wish they would sell, but it is a bit delusional to make claims they will be forced to sell when every action they've taken so far shows they are not ready to sell this team now or at any point in the foreseeable future.
Believe me, I wish they would sell, but it is a bit delusional to make claims they will be forced to sell when every action they've taken so far shows they are not ready to sell this team now or at any point in the foreseeable future.
George? Is that you?
There is nothing hypothetical about their terrible financial situation. The franchise has 100 million in debt owed to the league and another 70 million owed on Arco/Sleep Train. The Maloofs were unable to pay more than a few million in the handshake deal on the new arena. If they had agreed to the arena deal, the NBA would have had to front most of the cash for it on behalf of the Maloofs. The Maloofs were forced to sell their beer distributorship and most of their stake in the Palms. The only significant asset they have left is the team and some shares of Wells Fargo stock. Both the Anaheim and VB deals would have had to cover all moving costs for the team and a signifigant amount more into the Maloofs pockets. There is zero evidence that the Maloofs are doing anything other than trying to leverage the team to save themselves. The Maloofs have no significant liquid assets right now. Likely, the only reason they have not sold the team yet is that no one has offered them enough money. The only way they even break even on owning the team is to sell it at significantly above market value.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Or...to wait aorudn another 20 years whiel team valuations triple again and be able to walk away wiht their fortune restored.
What revenue sharing did is stop the Maloofs from bleeding wiht the Kings. I think it now may be entirely possible for them to break even with money coming from richer owners, so pressure to sell for them is minimized.
K
Kingsguy881
Guest
Well ain't that a pisser.
I could easily be mistaken, but isn't there a proviso with the revenue sharing whereby team owners who receive the funds can have it yanked if they do not use it for the team?
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