NBA back to Seattle? NHL too?

[jgladding]

Sacramento is finally getting its act together and seem to have the pieces in place to secure an arena. Mayor Kevin Johnson (former NBA All Star) has been leading the way and we should know in the next few weeks if it's for real or not. It looks promising, finally. The city is going to lease city owned parking garages ( a dozen or so look to cough up a couple hundred million), and AEG is on board with managing. The Maloofs may be strapped, but Stern won't let them move if the city is able to step up.

If the arena falls through, it's definitely over. Seattle or Anaheim, whoever wants them.

Personally, I think Sactown should at least secure a minor league hockey franchise too if they get an arena. The minor league River Cats have led the league in attendance forever. The city is seriously starved for entertainment.

[pmoehrin]

The minor league River Cats have led the league in attendance forever. The city is seriously starved for entertainment.

That's why I'm kind of surprised the A's haven't looked more into moving there.

They would only be moving 90 miles or so from their current home so I can't see them losing many fans. Your also going to a market that hasn't utilized to a great extent by the Giants who I think have clearly become the team of the Bay Area since moving to Phone Company Park.

They're still trying to keep the Bay Area, but I think the Giants already won and I would just move on to a market where you have a chance to be the dominant team.

[njmeadowlanders]

If one team is likely to move to Seattle, the Raptors would be a good candidate. The NBA in Canada has never been relevant, and this most likely the final season for the Raptors at the ACC.

I was wondering when they would become extinct.

Um, why exactly?

And Hornets/Coyotes. 2 birds with one stone.

Raptors are a type of dinosaur. He was making a joke.

And your idea is simple, and near perfect. Therefore it will never happen.

No, I know extinct = dinosaur. I meant with respect to the ACC.

[jgladding]

Couldn't agree with you more. Honestly, it really shocks me they haven't looked here either. I'll tell you one thing, if we lost the Kings, I would not be surprised if the city made a serious push for them.

[tp49]

The minor league River Cats have led the league in attendance forever. The city is seriously starved for entertainment.

That's why I'm kind of surprised the A's haven't looked more into moving there.

They would only be moving 90 miles or so from their current home so I can't see them losing many fans. Your also going to a market that hasn't utilized to a great extent by the Giants who I think have clearly become the team of the Bay Area since moving to Phone Company Park.

They're still trying to keep the Bay Area, but I think the Giants already won and I would just move on to a market where you have a chance to be the dominant team.

Other than lack of a corporate base here and a stadium to play in since Raley Field is not easily expandable to Major League capacity. Also, just because they would be moving in this scenario only 90 miles does not mean they would lose many fans. I don't think the majority of their existing Bay Area fans would want to make the drive up to Sacramento on a weeknight for a game facing a potentially two hour drive up when factoring in Bay Area rush hour traffic. I also don't believe there is enough interest in Sacramento yet to consistently draw a major league sized crowd.

[jgladding]

Disagree. Some nights the Cats outdraw the A's. With a minor league team. Corporations are here, they just haven't stepped up yet.

Riley could expand with enough money.

It's a long shot, yes... But I think the town could support it.

[waltere]

Fair enough, I missed that. And yeah, them moving out of the ACC would be news to me too.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

The Raptors are going nowhere.

I think the NBA back to Seattle is inevitable. It's just a matter of having an arena deal in place. As soon as the dotted line is signed, a team will be packing it's bags.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I definitely think the NHL would thrive in Seattle. There's a big void of pro hockey in the American Pacific Northwest. They seem to love minor league hockey in Washington, Oregon, Utah and Northern Cali.

They'd develop an automatic rivalry with the Canucks.

I know it's just a matter of time before the NBA makes it way back. I hope the Kings stay in Sactown because I have a soft spot for pro teams being the lone team in a small market (Kings, Jazz, Blazers).

It's also inevitable that the Hornets are not going to stay in New Orleans for the long haul. To me, they should be the ones in OKC and the Sonics should still be in Seattle.

[nwtrailtrekker]

screw the NBA...lets bring the NHL to Seattle!

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I know this has been said over and over and over...but... if the Hornets move to Seattle as the Sonics, should the Bobcats look at snatching up the Hornets name? To me it seems that they still haven't planted their feet into the market that is still bleeding Hornets' teal and purple.

[bosrs1]

Disagree. Some nights the Cats outdraw the A's. With a minor league team. Corporations are here, they just haven't stepped up yet.

Riley could expand with enough money.

It's a long shot, yes... But I think the town could support it.

Not a chance. Raley Field would have to be leveled to be "expanded" to support MLB. It's not capable of being expanded in its current form which will require the full 400+ million for a new ballpark.

[bosrs1]

I know this has been said over and over and over...but... if the Hornets move to Seattle as the Sonics, should the Bobcats look at snatching up the Hornets name? To me it seems that they still haven't planted their feet into the market that is still bleeding Hornets' teal and purple.

Might be worth exploring. Particularly given that the Bobcats have almost no history, and that the Hornets' (or whomever moves to Seattle) history is going to be all but forgotten once they arrive in Seattle and replaced officially and unofficially with the Sonics history. Might as well send the Hornets legacy back to where it was born and replace the failure they have today in the Bobcats rather than just let it vanish into thin air.

[pmoehrin]

Disagree. Some nights the Cats outdraw the A's. With a minor league team. Corporations are here, they just haven't stepped up yet.

Riley could expand with enough money.

It's a long shot, yes... But I think the town could support it.

Not a chance. Raley Field would have to be leveled to be "expanded" to support MLB. It's not capable of being expanded in its current form which will require the full 400+ million for a new ballpark.

So then build a new ballpark.

They can expand Raley Field for a couple of years or just stay in Oakland until a new stadium is built in Sacramento. They're looking into building a new stadium already. Its not like Fremont or San Jose have any current ballpark options either. (And yes I know Fremont is dead before three different people jump on it.)

[The_Admiral]

Move the Bobcats to Seattle, the Hornets to Charlotte, and then move the Hornets to Utah and then move the Jazz to New Orleans and then move them back to Utah and then make an origami swan

[FiddySicks]

I've been pushing for the Sacramento A's for years, but IMO there's no way they could support both the Kings AND A's. It would be my ultimate sports dream coming true, but it's just not feasible.

[pmoehrin]

I've been pushing for the Sacramento A's for years, but IMO there's no way they could support both the Kings AND A's. It would be my ultimate sports dream coming true, but it's just not feasible.

My whole thing is they haven't even explored it. I could see if they looked into in and decided against it, but I haven't even seen it be put on the table.

Sacramento's also a pretty booming town from what I understand. They've had double digit growth rates almost every decade with the exception of the 70's when pretty much every city lost people. It has a metro population of around 2.5 million. That's larger then Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Nashville and New Orleans which are all cities with multiple pro sports teams. I fail to see why this would be just flat out impossible to pull it off, but by not even looking at it that's basically what the A's are saying.

I think the A's are just too headstrong with staying in the Bay Area.

[ninersdd]

One problem is that Sacramento is definitely a Giants city. It's not hard to find A's fans, but there are way more Giants fans here.

[RedSox44]

It's perfect: Hornets move to Seattle and then you flip the Sonics to the Northwest and the Thunder to the Southwest.

That makes perfect sense, therefore it could never happen.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Move the Bobcats to Seattle, the Hornets to Charlotte, and then move the Hornets to Utah and then move the Jazz to New Orleans and then move them back to Utah and then make an origami swan

Let's get the Dodgers back to Brooklyn and the Colts to Baltimore while we're at it.