Seattle NBA / NHL arena Special on KING-5 tomorrow

It looks like KING 5 is going full-blown WEATHERBLAST 2012 with the new Seattle sports arena story, dedicating an entire hour of prime-time to a special news report:

Seattle, WA – KING 5 is producing a one-hour 10:00 PM special airing Thursday, February 23rd, titled “Seattle Arena: Billion Dollar Hat Trick.” KING 5’s Jean Enersen and Sports Director Paul Silvi will report on the plans for a world class sports arena to be built in Seattle as home for professional basketball and hockey franchises. 

The three-part hat trick Jean and Paul explore:

• the financing and building of a state-of-the-art sports arena to be built in Seattle’s Sodo district

• what it’s going to take for this billion dollar arena to be the new home for an NBA team 

• what it’s going to take to bring an NHL team to the Puget Sound. 

 KING 5 examines details of the arena plan including the private financing proposed and its potential impact on taxpayers as well as the future of Key Arena.   Jean and Paul will also report on the personalities involved, from Seattle and King County politicians to the Seattle native and self-made multi-millionaire Chris Hansen who’s behind the mega deal.   

KING 5’s Chris Daniels reports from Orlando, where the NBA All-Star game is taking place this weekend.  The NBA and Sacramento must make a decision soon about the future of the Sacramento Kings franchise.  The special will also feature reports from Phoenix and New Orleans, two areas where sports franchises face uncertain futures.    

“Seattle Arena: Billion Dollar Hat Trick” will also be simulcast on 710 ESPN Seattle radio.  It replays on NWCN on Friday, February 24th at 8:30 PM. 

Damn. If Jean Enersen is involved, you know Shit Just Got Real ™.

Jersey Logos: Thank You, But No

Have you ever had a friend who saw the value of his home skyrocket, so much so that if he sold his place, he could move to Cannes, settle in, and never have to work again for the rest of his life?

I’m sure we all know that guy … got average grades in school, not particularly bright, but bought a house at the right time and the right place, and now he’s got it made.

Now imagine if that friend, let’s call him Joe, came to your house for dinner, and spent the entire evening whining about how he has to put a new roof in on his $7 million shack, the new tennis court he put in has a bump on one of the sidelines, and his spa’s been acting up. You’d want to smack him in the head, right?

Now imagine further that the reason that Joe’s house appreciated so much was because of the new park the city put in down the street from his home, with a swimming pool, pitch and putt golf course, and dog park.

And, befitting his lack of hubris, Joe decides the best way to raise funds for his refurbishments is to place a huge billboard on top of his house, so that all the folks at the park will see it. Sure, he’s nominally rich, but that’s in book money only, not in cold, hard cash.

I’ve just explained to you how much it burns me up when other folks bring up the idea of placing advertising on NBA jerseys.

I shouldn’t pick on Henry Abbott, and to be completely fair, he’s not the only who believes that a jersey logo is an express train headed directly for our station. Let’s set aside for a moment the validity of his argument that advertising revenues will subsidize lower ticket prices (okay, one quibble: think of how many ways in which the NBA has introduced advertising in our lifetimes: rotating half-court signs, signs around the center of the arena, signs on backboard stands, signs on concourses, ads on team websites … has anyone else noticed a decrease in ticket prices after all these advertising revenues were introduced? I didn’t think so.)

Instead let’s focus on just how much value a team receives every year simply by being in existence. Shown below is a chart detailing the return per year for each team in the league, based upon the price paid for the franchise, the year bought, and the total estimated value of the team based on figures created by Forbes magazine in 2008 (and, yes, I am aware that there are those who dispute Forbes’ figures; they are, however, a reasonably close approximation).



As you will notice, the average NBA team returns a value to its owner of $15,589,404 every year. This isn’t direct revenue from ticket sales, or popcorn, or luxury suites, any more than Joe receives a check in the mail because his house is now worth 7 million bucks. It is entirely possible that many of those teams lost money last year, or the year before, just as it is entirely possible that Joe spent too much on jetskis last year and his VISA bill is through the roof.

But put yourself in the position of being the friend of the newly-minted millionaire at that barbecue. When Joe complains to you about his sad lot in life, about how his $17 million house is killing him, about how he needs to put up that ridiculous billboard regardless of how offensive it is to everyone around him, what is your response?

If you’re anything like me, it’s something along the lines of, “Um, Joe, if it’s such a crappy deal, why don’t you just sell the damned thing already?”

David Stern: Keeping the Faith

David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA, speaking after it is revealed that the league is borrowing $200 million to help teams meet their operating expenses:

“ This is the opposite of a bailout. This was a show of strength in the credit worthiness of the NBA’s teams. It’s a great sign of confidence in us and that’s wonderful that the market is opening up, so we’ll take it.”


David Stern, as Mayor of New Orleans:

“This is not a disaster. The presence of the Army Corps of Engineers is merely a show of confidence they have in our failing levee system.”

David Stern, as Captain of the Titanic:

“This is not a sinking ship. The water coming on-board this vessel is merely a demonstration of the ocean’s faith in our ability to withstand icebergs.”

David Stern, as Naval Captain at Pearl Harbor:

“This is not a bloodbath. The fact the Japanese are bombing us is only an indication of their belief in our capability of building new ships to replace the ones which are sinking.”

David Stern, as Noah’s neighbor:

“This is not a flood. The fact water is now rising above my head is merely a sign of God’s faith in my ability to breath underwater.”

Supersonicsoultoon: Vertical Stripes are Thinning

I'm sure Clay is just giving his buddy Dave a hearty pat on the back.

Stern

With this medal, I thee wed. You may now kiss my ass.

What can you say about this man?

'His Royal Smugness,' Steve Kelley at the Times calls him, and it's not an inappropriate moniker. David Stern, the man who seemingly revels in every ounce of good publicity for his league, has once again stomped his foot and tried to belittle the efforts of those who are working to keep the Sonics in Seattle.

"There's not going to be a new arena," Stern says. "There's not going to be a public contribution, and that's everyone's right. I mean that sincerely."

Stern went on to comment that he had read "in the newspaper" that Speaker of the House Frank Chopp had offered his support to the University of Washington's plans for a new athletic facility, but that Chopp had denied such support to the Sonics, further illustrating Seattle's ambivalence about losing their NBA team.

Which would make for a great soundbite, if it contained any kernel of truth, which, like most things out of Stern's mouth, it does not.

Reading Stern's comments, it is easy to become riled up and toss out invectives like a drunken fan, but, honestly, he's not worth the effort.

Remember, Stern is the man who publicly admonished Tim Hardaway for his disrespectful comments about homosexuality last year, because, don't you know, the NBA is all about cultural inclusiveness. David Stern, it seemed, would not stand for homophobes, not in his NBA, dammit.

Well, as we all know, that level of understanding doesn't have to extend to the owners. And that should tell you everything need to know about the Commish, a man who never met an idea he couldn't spin, a city he couldn't blackmail, or an emotion he couldn't twist.

You can keep talking, David, but we're done listening.