City of Pgh conducting feasibility study for pro basketball team

[HailToPitt725]

The city’s Sports & Exhibition Authority is hiring an outside consulting firm to conduct a study on whether Pittsburgh could support, and should pursue, an NBA or WNBA team.

The timing is interesting given that both leagues will most likely be expanding in the near future. The NBA will look at expanding by two teams to 32 after they secure their next media rights contract. Meanwhile, The W is exploring expansion beyond its current 12 teams following an uptick in women’s basketball popularity, which culminated in a 36% increase in TV ratings this past season.

If Pittsburgh wanted to land a team in either league, they’d face stiff competition:
• The front-runners for NBA expansion are Seattle and Las Vegas followed by interest in Mexico City, Montreal, and Vancouver
• Groups from several cities have shown interest in pursuing a WNBA expansion franchise. These include Austin, Charlotte, Denver, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Toronto

Of course, any realistic bid would have to be led by an ownership group of our own. I don’t recall anyone from Pittsburgh showing interest in either league, but perhaps potential buyers will be part of this study.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Of course, any realistic bid would have to be led by an ownership group of our own.

I'm not sure there is any such thing as a realistic Pittsburgh bid, especially for an NBA team. Maybe if you found someone with a lot of money who didn't care about losing a bunch of it you could convince them to put a WNBA team here. But I can't imagine it would be successful.

 

[HailToPitt725]

I'm not sure there is any such thing as a realistic Pittsburgh bid, especially for an NBA team. Maybe if you found someone with a lot of money who didn't care about losing a bunch of it you could convince them to put a WNBA team here. But I can't imagine it would be successful.

And even if you did find someone with a lot of money who didn't care about losing it, why would the NBA or WNBA choose Pittsburgh when there are many other candidates in much more lucrative markets?

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

And even if you did find someone with a lot of money who didn't care about losing it, why would the NBA or WNBA choose Pittsburgh when there are many other candidates in much more lucrative markets?

Yeah, there's no chance the NBA is coming here. Like I said, maybe you could convince them to put a WNBA team here with the right owner, but that would be more about the owner than the city. And I'm not sure who a potential owner that the WNBA would really want that would insist on their team being in Pittsburgh would be.

 

[HOF Coach]

The city’s Sports & Exhibition Authority is hiring an outside consulting firm to conduct a study on whether Pittsburgh could support, and should pursue, an NBA or WNBA team.

View embedded media

The timing is interesting given that both leagues will most likely be expanding in the near future. The NBA will look at expanding by two teams to 32 after they secure their next media rights contract. Meanwhile, The W is exploring expansion beyond its current 12 teams following an uptick in women’s basketball popularity, which culminated in a 36% increase in TV ratings this past season.

If Pittsburgh wanted to land a team in either league, they’d face stiff competition:
• The front-runners for NBA expansion are Seattle and Las Vegas followed by interest in Mexico City, Montreal, and Vancouver
• Groups from several cities have shown interest in pursuing a WNBA expansion franchise. These include Austin, Charlotte, Denver, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Toronto

Of course, any realistic bid would have to be led by an ownership group of our own. I don’t recall anyone from Pittsburgh showing interest in either league, but perhaps potential buyers will be part of this study.

Can't wait to hear SMF's take on this...

 

[Franb]

I'm not sure there is any such thing as a realistic Pittsburgh bid, especially for an NBA team. Maybe if you found someone with a lot of money who didn't care about losing a bunch of it you could convince them to put a WNBA team here. But I can't imagine it would be successful.

Someone is getting paid $90k to tell the City this. I'm sure you would have happily done it for half that much, since you said it to us for free!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Someone is getting paid $90k to tell the City this. I'm sure you would have happily done it for half that much, since you said it to us for free!

Damn! I missed my calling!

 

[Saboteur II]

Ol

The city’s Sports & Exhibition Authority is hiring an outside consulting firm to conduct a study on whether Pittsburgh could support, and should pursue, an NBA or WNBA team.

View embedded media

The timing is interesting given that both leagues will most likely be expanding in the near future. The NBA will look at expanding by two teams to 32 after they secure their next media rights contract. Meanwhile, The W is exploring expansion beyond its current 12 teams following an uptick in women’s basketball popularity, which culminated in a 36% increase in TV ratings this past season.

If Pittsburgh wanted to land a team in either league, they’d face stiff competition:
• The front-runners for NBA expansion are Seattle and Las Vegas followed by interest in Mexico City, Montreal, and Vancouver
• Groups from several cities have shown interest in pursuing a WNBA expansion franchise. These include Austin, Charlotte, Denver, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Toronto

Of course, any realistic bid would have to be led by an ownership group of our own. I don’t recall anyone from Pittsburgh showing interest in either league, but perhaps potential buyers will be part of this study.

Old folks don’t go to NBA games and that’s that.

 

[HailToPitt725]

Can't wait to hear SMF's take on this...

You didn’t ask for it, but here’s my take:

I hope the NBA never comes to Pittsburgh for my own self-interests. Pitt Basketball has a unique opportunity to fill that basketball void for the city, especially if we ever return to our 2000s form. They want an NBA team? Pack the Pete when we play Duke or Syracuse.

 

[GaryMcgheeForThree]

Zero chance. Aren’t we already the smallest 3 pro team market in the US?

The fact that anyone is pursuing time and energy towards this is a complete waste of time.

Although if it happened, the Cavs wouldn’t be blacked out on NBA league pass, even though there’s no local carrier.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

 

[DT_PITT]

Someone is getting paid $90k to tell the City this. I'm sure you would have happily done it for half that much, since you said it to us for free!

I’ve been saying it for years … “ this just isn’t a hoops town!”

Still haven’t gotten any money for this though.

 

[MorningCoffee13]

I was hoping there would be an exploratory committee for bringing Major League Baseball here.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

We can barely handle the teams we have. We'll lose a major pro team before we gain one.

 

[Franb]

I’ve been saying it for years … “ this just isn’t a hoops town!”

Still haven’t gotten any money for this though.

You need a sponsor for the Dribbles - too bad Fuel and Fuddle is no longer around!

 

[pittchagg]

Someone is getting paid $90k to tell the City this. I'm sure you would have happily done it for half that much, since you said it to us for free!

I think the $90k is more to package together a plan that says, “here’s what it would look like, here’s how much money it would take and how much money it can make,” and then they take that plan and try to sell it to investors. Obviously to put together a bid you need a group of investors who can go to the league and sell their plan. This is putting together the plan to find the investors to sell it.

 

[DT_PITT]

You need a sponsor for the Dribbles - too bad Fuel and Fuddle is no longer around!

And make no mistake- I’d sell out in a heartbeat. Wouldn’t even cost much.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

They would have been better off donating the money to Pitt BB's NIL fund rather than flushing it down the toilet.

Any real investor would have already done this on their own, and wouldn't put any credence in a study commissioned by the city.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I'd put more money on either the Pirates or Penguins not being here in 25 years.

 

[HOF Coach]

I'd put more money on either the Pirates or Penguins not being here in 25 years.

I'd bet you, however, I won't be still alive in 25 years to collect.

RIP me...

 

[Upg bobcat]

I'd rather see MLS in Pittsburgh before NBA (or WNBA). NBA pretty much directly overlaps with NHL/Penguins. Plus the city has Pitt basketball. the MLS season would help fill void between when the Pirates are eliminated from the postseason by the all-star break, and when the Steelers season starts. Plus I think the investment necessary for a competitive MLS franchise is much less than NBA (salary cap I think is like $5 million so small market like Pittsburgh should have a better chance).

 

[seafoxgo]

I think it could work if they only signed players born between February 19th and March 20th

 

[ratking17]

Cuban no longer owns the mavs....that's the type of extremely unique circumstance it would require but he would be losing so much money I doubt he would invest. Plus buying the O has already set him back

 

[Pitt2009]

Seattle and Vegas will get teams. I’m almost 100% certain of that.

The one to keep an eye on is Mexico City. They already have a G League team and is the largest untapped market that logistically makes sense. I think they get an NBA team by the end of the decade.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I'd bet you, however, I won't be still alive in 25 years to collect.

RIP me...

Don't head to the portal too soon!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

The one to keep an eye on is Mexico City. They already have a G League team and is the largest untapped market that logistically makes sense. I think they get an NBA team by the end of the decade.

The problem with a Mexico City team is that they would have a heck of a time attracting free agents. And if you can't attract the top free agents you have a very hard time winning.

 

[Pitt2009]

The problem with a Mexico City team is that they would have a heck of a time attracting free agents. And if you can't attract the top free agents you have a very hard time winning.

I respectfully disagree. A majority of the NBA’s best players are not from the United States and Mexico City is a more desirable location than most.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I respectfully disagree. A majority of the NBA’s best players are not from the United States and Mexico City is a more desirable location than most.

Two things. The only way those guys are going to Mexico City is if they build or use an existing arena right next to a completely closed, gated community, and the players would basically go from their gated home to the arena and back again without ever going anywhere else. And most people don't want to live like that.

Secondly, their shortest road trip is over a two hour flight. The travel, which NBA players hate, would be much worse than anyone else's.

All things being equal, the Mexico City team isn't getting any top free agents who have options elsewhere without Mexico City overpaying them. And in a salary cap league, having to overpay for players is a recipe for disaster.

 

[bayardstreet]

$90,000 for a study. They could have paid a family of chimpanzees $500 worth of bananas to produce the same study although much shorter ( as in one page ) that says we aren’t a viable option.

 

[Pitt2009]

Two things. The only way those guys are going to Mexico City is if they build or use an existing arena right next to a completely closed, gated community, and the players would basically go from their gated home to the arena and back again without ever going anywhere else. And most people don't want to live like that.

Secondly, their shortest road trip is over a two hour flight. The travel, which NBA players hate, would be much worse than anyone else's.

All things being equal, the Mexico City team isn't getting any top free agents who have options elsewhere without Mexico City overpaying them. And in a salary cap league, having to overpay for players is a recipe for disaster.

I’ll assume you aren’t familiar with Mexico City. Yes, there are bad areas, but most crime is isolated to those areas. Plenty of American cities have higher crime rates than Mexico City.

 

[PittPanther44]

There is zero doubt that if Pgh landed an NBA team, got 2 super stars, and won 60 games, we would all be wearing black n gold and going nuts. If we kept winning, it would become part of the culture. That’s just Pittsburgh.

Realistically though, there would be growing pains. And things such as market size and demographics play into how it catches on.

Obviously, old white people like basketball too. But when you need more of the fringe sports fans, you are going to have to get more rural fans that didn’t necessarily grow up with basketball, and are skeptical of the league already. We don’t have a lot of middle class diversity where you have a large chunk of people where basketball is already part of their life.

Like I said…Winning and putting Pgh in the sports spotlight will cure A LOT. But not sure how fast you get there.

 

[PittPanther44]

And WNBA…no way. Minor league sports never work well here. So with the challenges stated above, you wouldn’t have that star power/national sports limelight to build it into the culture.

 

[gilligan 3]

Two things. The only way those guys are going to Mexico City is if they build or use an existing arena right next to a completely closed, gated community, and the players would basically go from their gated home to the arena and back again without ever going anywhere else. And most people don't want to live like that.

Secondly, their shortest road trip is over a two hour flight. The travel, which NBA players hate, would be much worse than anyone else's.

All things being equal, the Mexico City team isn't getting any top free agents who have options elsewhere without Mexico City overpaying them. And in a salary cap league, having to overpay for players is a recipe for disaster.

I’m curious, have you ever been to Mexico City?

 

[Pitt2009]

And WNBA…no way. Minor league sports never work well here. So with the challenges stated above, you wouldn’t have that star power/national sports limelight to build it into the culture.

I think Pittsburgh could support minor league sports but it usually comes from “grass roots” success. The Riverhounds fan base grew this way. They sell out every game.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I’m curious, have you ever been to Mexico City?

In the DF, no, but I used to go to Mexico four or five times a year for work.

 

[Upg bobcat]

Obviously, old white people like basketball too. But when you need more of the fringe sports fans, you are going to have to get more rural fans that didn’t necessarily grow up with basketball, and are skeptical of the league already.

I think by this point, everyone who grew up in the the late 70s or later (so folks that are 45+) grew up with basketball, even ones from rural areas.

You are absolutely correct that if the team wins, it would attract plenty of fans. I do think the fact that the Pens are having trouble selling out is a bad sign that an NBA also would have trouble putting fans in the seats the second the team starts being less competitive or the product becomes even a little bit stale.

One thing arguably working against a Pittsburgh NBA team is that the NBA is more a star-driven league, not a franchise/city based league. I have a feeling that kids growing up idolizing Lebron aren't Cavalier fans even though he spent the majority of his career playing for the team. Kids that love Giannis aren't going to remain Milwaukee fans if he doesn't spend his whole career with the Bucks. Plus Pittsburgh has a lot of transplants in other cities, but none of those grew up with a Pittsburgh NBA team. So I could see a Pittsburgh NBA team not picking up fans in cities all across the country like the Steelers or maybe even Pens have done.

 

[ratking17]

I don't know the answer because I am too lazy to look it up, but the cities that have both NBA and NHL have to be larger cities in the USA because you need a fan base with quite a disposable income to support two winter sports at the same time. My guess is the average Pittsburgher goes to only a handful of pens games because of the price, never mind taking the entire family. It's probably once a year and you make it a special occasion. NBA prices for games are similar. I don't think it's lack of interest for NBA, is just lack of enough population in Pittsburgh that has that type of disposable income.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Two things. The only way those guys are going to Mexico City is if they build or use an existing arena right next to a completely closed, gated community, and the players would basically go from their gated home to the arena and back again without ever going anywhere else. And most people don't want to live like that.

Secondly, their shortest road trip is over a two hour flight. The travel, which NBA players hate, would be much worse than anyone else's.

All things being equal, the Mexico City team isn't getting any top free agents who have options elsewhere without Mexico City overpaying them. And in a salary cap league, having to overpay for players is a recipe for disaster.

Mexico City is one of the safest cities in North America. They make sure there is no drug crime there. Its never going to get an NBA team though. They'd go to Europe first

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Mexico City is one of the safest cities in North America. They make sure there is no drug crime there.

Tell that to my former colleague who grew up there, and was the happiest man on earth when he finally got transferred to another office in Dallas. It was after a ransom kidnapping of his wife and children was thwarted by police on their way to the local mall. Apparently it happens a lot.

This was a dude who made decent money and lived in a good area. I remember him telling me "it's still Mexico no matter where you live."

So, I'd say your assessment is pretty ridiculous.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I'd bet you, however, I won't be still alive in 25 years to collect.

RIP me...

Hey, a bet's a bet. I'll honor it, even if it means decorating your tombstone with a modern King Tut twist.