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Thursday, March 22, 2001
New Orleans tries to keep up with bidding



NEW ORLEANS – Trying to keep pace with competitors who want to nab the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies, New Orleans officials have talked with prospective naming rights sponsors to enhance the city's bid for the team.

Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley was expected to update NBA commissioner David Stern on Thursday about his search for a new home for the financially troubled team.

Major corporate sponsors have stepped forward in Louisville and Memphis during the past week, while Anaheim also is making an offer for the team.

"We haven't been told that we need a naming rights deal in place," said Doug Thornton, manager of the New Orleans Arena. "You always want to improve your position."

Mayor Marc Morial said there were limits on what could be offered.

"We're not going to get into an open-ended bidding war, and we're not going to overcommit," Morial said Wednesday. "We do feel like we have already presented a good package and we will continue to put our best foot forward."

Heisley has until Monday to tell the league where he wants to move.

The Grizzlies are expected to become the first NBA franchise to relocate since the Clippers moved from San Diego to Los Angeles in 1984.

Vancouver entered the league along with the Toronto Raptors in 1995 when the NBA expanded internationally, but the Grizzlies have had little success financially or on the court.

The team, which never has won more than 22 games, already has had three owners. The current owner, Heisley, built the team a new practice facility after purchasing it in a deal that costs the team $5 million in rent at GM Place and provides no revenue from concessions, arena advertising or parking.

While there has been little corporate support for the Grizzlies in Vancouver, Heisley has been courted heavily by all four of the leading prospective cities.

  • Louisville officials told the Courier-Journal that Tricon Global Restaurants, the parent company of Kentucky Fried Chicken, has offered Heisley $100 million – $5 million annually for 20 years – to move the team there, rename it the Kentucky Colonels and have them play in a new arena called the KFC Bucket.

  • Anaheim's bid has been enhanced by the Walt Disney Corporation's offer of financial assistance for terminating the team's lease in Vancouver and enhancements for a sublease the Grizzlies would have at The Pond, where the Disney-owned Mighty Ducks of the NHL control the lease.

  • Memphis is the smallest market of the potential new cities, although there is corporate support from AutoZone and FedEx, the promise of a new $200 million arena and the allure of a captive market.

  • New Orleans has a new arena waiting for a major tenant like an NBA team, although there are concerns whether the city has a sufficient economic base to sustain an NBA team. There already are signs up at the Superdome advertising a number to call to order season tickets.

    Tulane sports law professor Gary Roberts said the Memphis and Louisville proposals highlight the weaknesses New Orleans faces in its pursuit.

    "We just don't have anyone here with the ability to step up to that level," Roberts said. "And any owner is going to be considering what's best for him in the long term."

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  • ALSO SEE
    FedEx joins effort to move Grizzlies to Memphis

    Vancouver group pleads to NBA: 'Save Our Grizzlies'

    St. Louis out of running in Grizzlies sweepstakes




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