Okay, we now know way more about the Virginia Beach arena proposal that was first rumored last week:
- The official announcement will be at a city council hearing tomorrow at 3 pm, where Comcast-Spectacor will present plans for an 18,000-seat arena across the street from the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Comcast-Spectacor subsidiary Global Spectrum, which manages sports venues, and arena booking agent Live Nation will also be on hand.
- The estimated cost of the arena would be between $275 million and $400 million, according to Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessions, who added, “This is something Virginia Beach cannot take on on its own.” While Sessions said that Comcast-Spectacor indicated that “revenue generated by the arena” (which as we’ve seen before, could mean either actual arena revenue or kicked-back arena taxes) would help pay off any arena bonds, but also indicated he’d be asked for help from the state and the NBA as well.
- A Virginia Beach spokesperson said that Comcast was “guaranteeing” a pro sports team as part of the deal, but wouldn’t name the team.
- Even without naming names, this has been enough to get some people in Seattle panicked that someone else will steal the Sacramento Kings before they do.
- Former Heritage Foundation economist Ronald Utt makes the should-be-obvious point that basketball arenas aren’t big economic boosts to cities.
- The Kings owners the Maloof brothers aren’t expected to be at tomorrow’s council hearing, and say they haven’t spoken with Virginia Beach about its plans, but sports owners lie like eight-year-olds.
More tomorrow. You can tune in here, if you can tear yourself away from the Republican convention or the drowning of New Orleans.
Is this a harbinger of a “new arena and entertainment zone” model whereby the costs of a facility are repaid if enough arena and associated “entertainment district” TV revenue, naming rights, meal taxes (5.5% to the city, 5% by the state), admissions taxes (10% in virginia beach), and the portion of sales taxes (5% state, no local) are pledged towards it ? Time will tell if giving 30 years of projected revenue to a private company in a loan actually works out for the public.
On the face of it, it almost seems like the VB proposal is pretty similar to the Seattle proposal. Not that we have volumes of information yet.
Yeah, if it can be said that team owners lie like 8 year-olds, then it can also be said that each Maloof lies like four 8 year olds. They said they wouldn’t be in Virginia Beach; that just means they’ll teleconference in.
But as you imply, this smells like leverage. I just don’t think the demographics of VB will support this. I doubt my theory will ever be tested, though. “Sacramento is too small a market, so let’s move to a smaller one.” That doesn’t seem like a great concept to me.
I think if I’m Seattle, I ratchet back the offer due to the bad faith of the Maloofs and make the new owners pay more.
Tough position to be in–move to a new arena in a sizable city with an above-average educated population and above-average income (not to mention a large corporate presence). Or move to a horribly split and spread out metropolitan area with lower than average income whose major employer is the US Navy–not a noted purchaser of season tickets.
Why anyone in Seattle would take offer this seriously is beyond me. Its a recipe for an NBA business disaster.
If you’re a team as perennially not-awesome the Kings maybe having a bunch of sailors come off on shore leave with a hankering to spend some money to see any sporting event could do wonders for ticket sales compared to Sacramento. The second fleet is like 60,000 people and an NBA team would instantly be the highest profile sports franchise in the state of Virginia.
“…an NBA team would instantly be the highest profile sports franchise in the state of Virginia.”
Frank Beamer and company might disagree with you. But if you mean pro, then, yeah, sure. The AAA Norfolk Tides are the biggest pro team in the state at the moment, so the bar isn’t set very high.
Virginia Beach Kings??
Virginia Squires
NBA teams don’t make much selling bleacher tickets to sailors. They make money from TV deals and premium seats. Bless the fleet, but as a service member myself I doubt many have the cash for courtside seats or luxury boxes, and the Navy’s not going to buy that. There are some local contractor offices, but again, Federal gift rules for military folks would make even using those often problematic.
The market is not large enough or affluent enough to make for a TV deal big enough to justify the move or to make the team competitive. If Virginia Beach wanted to pay the team to be there, that might be enough to ensure a Bobcats-like existence.
I don’t know if this market is too small. Oklahoma City, people.
But I’d still prefer Seattle.
It isn’t size. Its wealth and corporate strength. Oklahoma City (at least in the good oil years) has both. Norfolk has neither.
This isnt 1970s baseball. Nobody makes money having a 65,000 seat ballpark. Keep it small and expensive and focused on the well-heeled corporate client.