http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12096009p-12966068c.html
Ailene Voisin: Even though he isn't here, Stern's presence is felt
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, January 21, 2005
David Stern dropped into Sacramento for a few hours back in November, essentially to evaluate the viability of the privately financed arena proposal, and though he immediately returned to New York, he never really left.
His powerful palm prints remain all over the place. He knows he needs to make this happen.
With everything that has transpired of late - the brawl in Detroit, initial discussions for a new collective bargaining agreement, ownership issues in Cleveland and New Orleans - the NBA commissioner probably would have preferred to extricate himself from the latest, potentially messy situation, leaving the parties to engage in the sort of vile behavior that typically characterizes undertakings of this magnitude.
But Stern did nothing of the sort. Though he remained in his office Back East, he dispatched an emissary, senior vice president Harvey Benjamin, to monitor the opening of formal negotiations and deftly insinuate his presence into the guts of the discussion. Stern basically forced the parties to set another plate at the table. His.
"We're determined to do whatever is necessary to keep this going," Stern said Thursday. "We know the city wants it to happen and that the Maloofs want it, and by being at the scene, it lets folks know that that's our preference. We also found it to be constructive to be deeply involved when Charlotte was building their new arena (for fall 2005) and buying a team (Bobcats), so I think we're going to continue lending our expertise a little more than in the past."
Benjamin, an attorney who has spent considerable time in Northern California, has worked with Stern on arena issues for almost three decades. The two were once rookies in the same law firm. The league also has tacitly approved the arena experts hired by the landowners' group: Denver land use attorney Paul Jacobs, who is credited with driving that city's bid to acquire a major-league baseball franchise, and Manhattan Beach consultant Dan Barrett, whose extensive sports background includes dealings for Raley Field.
If not a radical departure from the NBA's previous approach, intimate league involvement certainly represents a significant change. Stern appears to be rewriting the rules to fit the times. The man is a pragmatist. The days of governing from afar are over; he has to look to the Far West to find an arena that is packed to capacity.
His is a league with an image problem, and not unlike the early 1980s, a handful of questionable markets. After the rousing success that began two decades ago and persisted until the past few seasons, anchored by engaging, attentive superstars and a fiscal stability secured in part by few franchise relocations, the NBA opened wide and ate itself.
It became too massive, too greedy. The entire culture changed. It became all about entertainment and bad behavior and less about the grace of the game. The season-ticket base was transformed, becoming more corporate and less emotionally committed.
Suggesting that Stern is confronting his greatest challenge in 20 years is not a stretch; somehow he has to pull it all back together, both by reconnecting players with fans and establishing some sort of fiscal sanity. And all those half-empty arenas out there?
It looks bad. It is much worse in small markets. The wealth of corporate revenue streams and regional television contracts enable big-city franchises such as the perennially irrelevant Atlanta Hawks to remain in existence, while organizations in the small-market cluster of New Orleans, Orlando, Memphis, San Antonio, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Sacramento have to work harder for their living.
In the smaller locations, state-of-the-art arenas are deemed essential for economic survival: Studies suggest that organizations derive 90 percent of their arena revenue from ticket sales, suites, club seats and sponsorships, with the theory being that the more appealing amenities make it easier to attract business.
Yet while the Kings continue to rank near the bottom of 30 franchises in corporate base, there remains much to recommend this one-team town, including projected regional growth figures and that legendary captive audience. The league needs the Kings, if for nothing else, as a throwback to the days when people truly cherished their teams and showed up for tipoff.
If an arena deal can't be struck here - and a privately funded facility is almost unheard of these days in the NBA - then where?
The new-building boom of the 1990s - when arenas were constructed in Los Angeles, Denver, Indiana, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Toronto, Houston and San Antonio - is ancient history. Public money no longer flows. League officials can no longer just sit back and view the highlights.
No, Stern needs to stick around, and if necessary, micromanage, as he has been known to do on other league matters. He needs his Kings.
Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or [email="avoisin@sacbee.com."]avoisin@sacbee.com.[/email]
Ailene Voisin: Even though he isn't here, Stern's presence is felt
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, January 21, 2005
David Stern dropped into Sacramento for a few hours back in November, essentially to evaluate the viability of the privately financed arena proposal, and though he immediately returned to New York, he never really left.
His powerful palm prints remain all over the place. He knows he needs to make this happen.
With everything that has transpired of late - the brawl in Detroit, initial discussions for a new collective bargaining agreement, ownership issues in Cleveland and New Orleans - the NBA commissioner probably would have preferred to extricate himself from the latest, potentially messy situation, leaving the parties to engage in the sort of vile behavior that typically characterizes undertakings of this magnitude.
But Stern did nothing of the sort. Though he remained in his office Back East, he dispatched an emissary, senior vice president Harvey Benjamin, to monitor the opening of formal negotiations and deftly insinuate his presence into the guts of the discussion. Stern basically forced the parties to set another plate at the table. His.
"We're determined to do whatever is necessary to keep this going," Stern said Thursday. "We know the city wants it to happen and that the Maloofs want it, and by being at the scene, it lets folks know that that's our preference. We also found it to be constructive to be deeply involved when Charlotte was building their new arena (for fall 2005) and buying a team (Bobcats), so I think we're going to continue lending our expertise a little more than in the past."
Benjamin, an attorney who has spent considerable time in Northern California, has worked with Stern on arena issues for almost three decades. The two were once rookies in the same law firm. The league also has tacitly approved the arena experts hired by the landowners' group: Denver land use attorney Paul Jacobs, who is credited with driving that city's bid to acquire a major-league baseball franchise, and Manhattan Beach consultant Dan Barrett, whose extensive sports background includes dealings for Raley Field.
If not a radical departure from the NBA's previous approach, intimate league involvement certainly represents a significant change. Stern appears to be rewriting the rules to fit the times. The man is a pragmatist. The days of governing from afar are over; he has to look to the Far West to find an arena that is packed to capacity.
His is a league with an image problem, and not unlike the early 1980s, a handful of questionable markets. After the rousing success that began two decades ago and persisted until the past few seasons, anchored by engaging, attentive superstars and a fiscal stability secured in part by few franchise relocations, the NBA opened wide and ate itself.
It became too massive, too greedy. The entire culture changed. It became all about entertainment and bad behavior and less about the grace of the game. The season-ticket base was transformed, becoming more corporate and less emotionally committed.
Suggesting that Stern is confronting his greatest challenge in 20 years is not a stretch; somehow he has to pull it all back together, both by reconnecting players with fans and establishing some sort of fiscal sanity. And all those half-empty arenas out there?
It looks bad. It is much worse in small markets. The wealth of corporate revenue streams and regional television contracts enable big-city franchises such as the perennially irrelevant Atlanta Hawks to remain in existence, while organizations in the small-market cluster of New Orleans, Orlando, Memphis, San Antonio, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Sacramento have to work harder for their living.
In the smaller locations, state-of-the-art arenas are deemed essential for economic survival: Studies suggest that organizations derive 90 percent of their arena revenue from ticket sales, suites, club seats and sponsorships, with the theory being that the more appealing amenities make it easier to attract business.
Yet while the Kings continue to rank near the bottom of 30 franchises in corporate base, there remains much to recommend this one-team town, including projected regional growth figures and that legendary captive audience. The league needs the Kings, if for nothing else, as a throwback to the days when people truly cherished their teams and showed up for tipoff.
If an arena deal can't be struck here - and a privately funded facility is almost unheard of these days in the NBA - then where?
The new-building boom of the 1990s - when arenas were constructed in Los Angeles, Denver, Indiana, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Toronto, Houston and San Antonio - is ancient history. Public money no longer flows. League officials can no longer just sit back and view the highlights.
No, Stern needs to stick around, and if necessary, micromanage, as he has been known to do on other league matters. He needs his Kings.
Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or [email="avoisin@sacbee.com."]avoisin@sacbee.com.[/email]
