Quote:Group meets to ensure Grizzlies stay in Memphis

MEMPHIS, TN -
(WMC-TV) – As the Grizzlies push to make the playoffs at FedExForum Tuesday night, Memphis leaders are fighting to make sure the team doesn't leave town.

The team's playoff run last year electrified all segments of the community.

The franchise also caught the eyes of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, one of the richest men in the world. He wants to buy an NBA team and move them to California.

"The Grizzlies are not going to be sold to Larry Ellison," said Kevin Kane, president of the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau. "There's no deal in the works."

Kane is also head of a new advisory board designed to keep the Grizzlies in Memphis. His advisory board met for four hours with team executives over the weekend.

"Markets have to do certain things to unlock shared revenue streams which could be up to $20 million dollars," Kane said.

The advisory board has three goals: increase season ticket sales by 3,000, advise the Grizzlies on involvement in certain local activities and, when owner Michael Heisley sells the team, be ready with an ownership group committed to Memphis.

http://www.wmctv.com/story/17267964/grou...in-memphis

It's good that the City is being pro active instead of reactive on this. The team just needs to keep winning and slid into the top 18 in ticket sales. The downtown community needs the Griz to continue to grow, a healthy NBA team keeps a lot of mortgages paid for downtown business owners.

Hopeful.

Hey. I like it.

Quote:Memphis probably doesn’t have to worry about losing its Grizzlies

When word leaked that Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison was in talks to purchase the Memphis Grizzlies, the immediate reaction was a positive one, considering that decade-long Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has been sometimes hesitant to spend huge gobs of cash on his team; though he has gone into luxury tax territory a few times. Then the follow-up hit: Ellison is from Northern California, and after his attempts to buy the Golden State Warriors were outbid, he might be looking to take the Grizz to a waiting NBA-ready arena in San Jose. Uh oh.

Memphis residents needn't be worried, as it turns out. Ellison certainly has the cash in hand to buy the Grizzlies, but he'd have to toss out a whole lot more in order to purchase the team and move them to California, mainly because of rather strident lease laws the city of Memphis smartly put on the Grizzlies. Once you factor in the NBA's relocation fees, and the actual price of the team, it could cost Ellison up to $600 million to purchase and move the Grizz; and even with that there's no guarantee that a local court would allow the move, should Memphis put up a fight.

The rest of the article can be found here:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-d...50396.html

yea, F California ... oh wait.

Heisley was there tonight and gave a big thumbs up after the victory...

It was nice to see nearly 15K on a Tuesday night against a crappy team.

Grizz and Tigers = Hoop City

I like "Hoop City". Hope it sticks.

(03-27-2012 09:59 PM)k2tigers Wrote:  Grizz and Tigers = Hoop City

Let's not forget the large AAA high schools. 11 out of past 12 state titles have gone to area teams. 5 different Memphis teams have won the last 5 AAA Tennessee titles. Four of those years was 2 Memphis teams playing for the title. The year it wasn't the two Memphis schools 'somehow' ended up on the same side of the bracket. So adding in the high school scene Memphis truly is Hoop City. The basketball culture in this city is awesome.

Think you guys will like this:

Quote:Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley reiterated today his doubt that the franchise will be sold anytime soon.

How can Heisley be so sure?

He’s instructed his attorney, Stan Meadows, to stop negotiating with Oracle founder Larry Ellison because of Ellison’s repeated overtures about relocating the team.

“We’re not even considering Ellison,” Heisley said. “This team cannot be moved.”

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/201...ppeningnow

(03-29-2012 01:02 PM)TigersOhMy Wrote:  Think you guys will like this:

Quote:Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley reiterated today his doubt that the franchise will be sold anytime soon.

How can Heisley be so sure?

He’s instructed his attorney, Stan Meadows, to stop negotiating with Oracle founder Larry Ellison because of Ellison’s repeated overtures about relocating the team.

“We’re not even considering Ellison,” Heisley said. “This team cannot be moved.”

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/201...ppeningnow

Thanks for that.

Most of the people that complained about the FEF have gone silent years ago as the revenue streams that pay the bonds continue to exceed their projections, even in a weak economy. While the city/county don't always do everything right, the lease of the FEF isn't one of them. Here's one more tidbit that people tend to overlook:

http://blogs.commercialappeal.com/the_me...tract.html

Griz can leave tomorrow and not pay a dime. The city has violated the agreement with the Grizzlies on several occasions. If the team were sold and they wanted to push it we could do nothing to prevent them from moving. Without them paying a single red dime. The original deal was solid as long as the city held up to their part of the bargain. As soon as they violated that agreement then the agreement wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

(03-30-2012 05:37 PM)ncrdbl1 Wrote:  Griz can leave tomorrow and not pay a dime. The city has violated the agreement with the Grizzlies on several occasions. If the team were sold and they wanted to push it we could do nothing to prevent them from moving. Without them paying a single red dime. The original deal was solid as long as the city held up to their part of the bargain. As soon as they violated that agreement then the agreement wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

Bull$hit.

(03-30-2012 07:47 PM)TOGC Wrote:  

(03-30-2012 05:37 PM)ncrdbl1 Wrote:  Griz can leave tomorrow and not pay a dime. The city has violated the agreement with the Grizzlies on several occasions. If the team were sold and they wanted to push it we could do nothing to prevent them from moving. Without them paying a single red dime. The original deal was solid as long as the city held up to their part of the bargain. As soon as they violated that agreement then the agreement wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

Bull$hit.

For some reason people keep forgetting the provision that said that the pyramid MUST remain available in case the Forum is for some reason unusable.

(03-30-2012 05:37 PM)ncrdbl1 Wrote:  Griz can leave tomorrow and not pay a dime. The city has violated the agreement with the Grizzlies on several occasions. If the team were sold and they wanted to push it we could do nothing to prevent them from moving. Without them paying a single red dime. The original deal was solid as long as the city held up to their part of the bargain. As soon as they violated that agreement then the agreement wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

What do you think was violated?

I find it hard to believe this is the first time that issue has been raised. The question then is how has it been answered? If it's such a possibility then one of the media outlets would've pounced on it, with the sensationalistic, fearmongering tendencies that run through many of them.

(03-30-2012 08:16 PM)kabluey Wrote:  I find it hard to believe this is the first time that issue has been raised. The question then is how has it been answered? If it's such a possibility then one of the media outlets would've pounced on it, with the sensationalistic, fearmongering tendencies that run through many of them.

It's not an issue. It's bull$hit. ncrdbl1 is fishing.

http://smartcitymemphis.blogspot.com/200...er-to.html

Thanks for the info!