It was yet another one of those weeks, where you finally look up from the news that’s obsessing everybody only to find that while you weren’t looking, monarch butterflies had moved to the verge of extinction. There doesn’t seem to be an end to this anytime soon — which is pretty much the motto of this website, so let’s get on with it:
- Japan was reported to have decided to cancel the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo because the pandemic won’t be over by July, then doubled down and declared that the games are definitely still on. All this is still subject to change, especially since the coronavirus itself is still subject to change, so expect the rumors and counterrumors to continue right up until the torch is lit, if a torch relay is something that can even be pulled off with social distancing.
- The NFL is planning to sell 14,500 tickets to next month’s Super Bowl in Tampa, plus allow in 7,500 vaccinated health care workers for free, because as we all know, once you’re vaccinated you no longer pose a contagion risk and so are the equivalent of an empty seat in terms of viral spread. Wait, what’s that? We don’t know that at all? Oh well, I’m sure it’s safe, surely the NFL would never do anything to put anyone at risk.
- Speaking of hygiene theater, the Arizona Coyotes are allowing up to 3,450 fans to attend their games, but say it’s fine because fans must be masked and socially distanced and are required to “download an app to answer a series of health survey questions” first, which pretty much comes down to “promise you don’t have the ‘rona first, okay?” The Coyotes have still only drawn an average of 2,329 fans for their first two home games, which is either a sign that Phoenix-area hockey fans still aren’t comfortable going to games at an indoor venue in the middle of a communicable disease spike, or that there are no Phoenix-area hockey fans, make your own joke.
- And speaking of Arizona and deadly diseases, officials of the spring-training Cactus League would like to see exhibition games put off past March so they have a better chance of actually being able to sell tickets, with Glendale city manager Kevin Phelps adding, “Without those fans staying in your hotel rooms and eating in your restaurants and shopping in your stores, spring training quickly becomes one of the worst business decisions you can make.” Actually, even with them, Kevin! Not that it matters, since spring training is going on full speed ahead on schedule after owners failed to get players to agree to be paid less for a shortened season.
- The Double-A Jackson Generals, who were booted out of the affiliated minor leagues last month despite somehow not showing up on USA Today’s master list, have now been evicted by the city of Jackson, Tennessee, though mayor Scott Conger says the team will be allowed to bid on using the stadium site along with anybody else who wants it. Team owner David Freeman has retorted that since the team is still technically a member of the Southern League, even without any players to play in it, it’s meeting the terms of its lease. This lawsuit is going to be by far the most interesting thing ever to involve the Jackson Generals, very much including the time when the team was for inexplicable reasons renamed the Diamond Jaxx.
- Here’s a Jacksonville Business Journal article asking “What do the Jaguars need to be financially viable in Jacksonville?” while noting that the city is now only the 43rd largest TV market in the U.S. Not mentioned in the article: that local TV revenue doesn’t matter at all in the NFL since all TV contracts are national and revenue is shared among all the teams, and Jaguars owner Shad Khan is still raking in almost $100 million a year in profits regardless. Surely it is mere coincidence that this article, which mostly quotes only Jags officials and longtime NFL consultant Marc Ganis, is appearing just as Khan is preparing to again ask Jacksonville for $200 million in development subsidies; to think otherwise would imply that news outlets are willing to serve as mouthpieces for billionaires’ subsidy demands, and what kind of world would that be to live in?
- NBA commissioner Adam Silver has clarified that the league isn’t necessarily going to expand right away despite a Covid-spawned cash crunch, because “in essence at the end of the day we’re selling equity in our league by virtue of expansion” and “ultimately, the main driver for expansion should be the ability to grow the pie, not necessarily to bring in, you know, to sell equity, to bring in cash now, you know, as opposed to generating the money later.” That’s all very reasonable, and simultaneously a way to say, Hey, Seattle, we’re not going to let you in our little club just to raise quick cash, you gotta make this worth our while, capisce?
- Hey, did you know that the current Busch Stadium, and also the Busch Stadium before that but not the one before that, was built on or at least near the site of a pen where African American slaves were imprisoned? (Also that the original Busch Stadium was named that because league rules prohibited naming a stadium after a beer like Budweiser, so instead St. Louis Cardinals owner Gussie Busch named it after himself then created Busch beer to get around the rule? But I digress, damn you, Wikipedia rabbit holes.) Two state representatives would like to see the Cardinals erect a plaque at the stadium noting this fact, which seems reasonable enough, especially since the pen apparently wasn’t torn down until 1963 — though according to St. Louis Public Radio, it was “well hidden even before it was demolished. It was located in a subbasement, so that the screaming, wailing, and corporal punishment would happen out of sight and hearing range of the people who lived nearby.”
- And finally, let’s all bask in Las Vegas tourism authority chair Steve Hill saying that the new Las Vegas Raiders stadium has been a hit for the city despite not being able to host fans because: “It’s been a great representation of Las Vegas. We’ve all seen games on television where you get that just great backdrop of Las Vegas, both during the day and at night. It’s a spectacular shot from the stadium and of the stadium.” Spending $750 million in public money on a football stadium was totally worth it because now TV viewers will finally know what Las Vegas looks like, stop looking at me like that and definitely don’t ask me why I said it was a good idea for the Raiders not to pay rent, okay?
And on a tangent about Tokyo “2020,” I think it’s fair to wonder whether the Japanese government’s hopeless commitment to the Olympics last year also had a negative impact on its covid response, some of which is still being felt today. Shinzo Abe and co only postponed the Games last year after it became blatantly obvious to everyone but themselves that they couldn’t be held as scheduled (and even then, they stubbornly waited it out for days and weeks before they finally announced the postponement).
Even though Japan’s covid numbers aren’t nearly as bad as those in Merica or in much of the West, seeing more than a few Asian countries more or less eradicate the virus within their own turf will have led to a lot of questions being asked of the government’s priorities. There’s a reason why pretty much every poll showed the majority of respondents expressing disapproval over their leaders’ covid response…
Seattle seems like a slam dunk for expansion, with their potential ownership group, market share, and arena. I think the NBA would more likely proceed with expansion if they had a strong 2nd team to come in along with Seattle, to make an even 32 teams in the league. The list of US cities without a NBA team include Las Vegas, San Diego, Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Tampa. No slam dunk here, like Seattle. Why not look across the border instead. Montreal has the largest metro area (>4M) in USA/Canada without a NBA team. Montreal has been connected in talks with MLB for an expansion Expos team or relocation of the Rays, but why not redirect the interest to an NBA team. NBA has been successful in Toronto, and basketball is a very international sport. Seattle and Montreal would grow the pie and add equity to the NBA.
Not sure how successful the NBA would be in a French speaking, die-hard hockey city.
Keep in mind the NBA failed in Vancouver, a city with more US transplants than Montreal.
Of the cities you listed, Las Vegas would seem most likely. With the heavy economic impact on the hospitality industry as a result of Covid, there might be some trepidation on adding a 3rd sports franchise in such a short window.
I agree with you on LV Steve… every sports league seems to have fallen in love with this particular toy after just a couple of years of NHL experience. Let’s see how popular hockey still is ten years out (or if the Raiders ever manage to become popular there).
Vancouver failed as an NBA market because it had a woefully undercapitalised owner (Griffiths) for the first three seasons and an utterly incompetent GM (who, among many failures, publicly said he would not draft Steve Nash “just to draft a Canadian”, did draft Bryant Reeves, and also took Steve Francis despite the latter telling him outright “Do not draft me I will not play there”).
Jackson fired his coach one season after posting just 8 wins in the first half, taking over himself and posting only 6 wins in the second half of the season. Naturally he retained his GM job for another three years after that…
In six NBA seasons the franchise posted 60 or more losses four times (the only seasons in which they did not lose at least 60 games were their final season, in which they lost 59 games, and the lockout shortened 50 game season of ’99… in which they managed to lose 42 of their 50 games).
This was less a market failure than a case study in organizational incompetence.
That said, no-one has stepped forward to bring the NBA back to Vancouver, so…
I’ve been mulling the possibility of an NBA team in Montreal for a while (not as owner, don’t worry…). Basketball is arguably the second most popular professional sport worldwide (at least in the northern hemisphere). And there’s also tremendous growth in basketball in native french speaking nations (the Raptors had a couple of players on their championship team who are francophones).
It’s possible. And it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if there are a couple of rich families from Montreal who have already spoken to Adam Silver about expansion (or relocation, which seems less likely).
Montreal would certainly be behind Seattle on the list of preferences the NBA has, but I’m not sure any of the other cities listed would necessarily be ahead of a prospective Montreal bid.
While San Diego and St. Louis would seem to be front runners after Seattle (for market size if no other reason), both have had professional teams that moved/failed. Ditto several of the other cities mentioned. The NBA is obviously in a different place today than it was when the previous franchises left, and the Spirits/Colonels/Royals/Kings would not be indicative of a new franchise’s success or failure.
What about Raleigh. It has high disposable income. I think MLB should look at this market. The NBA should too
It may well have high disposable income. However, it is a relatively small city at roughly 500,000. The CSA is around 2M, which puts it in KC/Cincinnati territory. Charlotte’s CSA is about 25% larger than Raleighs. Raleigh already has a professional team resident.
Cleveland and Pittsburgh, for comparison, have CSAs significantly larger.
I’m not saying it couldn’t work… the NBA is already in several markets smaller than Raleigh (Milwaukee, Memphis, New Orleans…). But wouldn’t you want to tap the biggest available markets first, all things being equal?
Can’t the Jackson Generals owner just ignore the contract like when the Houston Astros did when the Astros changed to an American League team despite a dusty contract requiring them to be a National League team so that Harris County would pony up money for the franchise back in the 60s?
[Shared Post] Allegiant Stadium room tax revenue lagging behind needed amount
https://www.reviewjournal.com/post/2259135
Not a good way to come out of the chute.
The NFL over the weekend was basically being disingenuous over the weekend where they were playing up the 7,500 health care workers, but then refusing to mention at all the other 14,500 people they were letting through the gate. It’s almost as if they were using the health care workers as shield against the fact they’re being horrible people in the middle of a rising pandemic.
Yeah, they seem to be pretending that the vaccinated health care workers will be like nuclear control rods or something, absorbing excess virus without passing it along. Which, that’s almost certainly not how these vaccines work.