Anaheim Bid Faces Long Odds

The leaders of the bid to lure the Vancouver Grizzlies to Anaheim stopped short of conceding defeat Friday, leaving the door open for the Grizzlies to resume negotiations with the Arrowhead Pond should plans for a proposed new arena collapse in Louisville, Ky., or Memphis, Tenn.

The Grizzlies have not solicited another bid from Anaheim since rejecting the last offer Wednesday. While the Grizzlies’ staff has continued to exchange information with officials in Anaheim and New Orleans, sources confirmed team owner Michael Heisley plans to apply Monday for NBA permission to move to Louisville or Memphis.

“We recognize, based on the information we’re getting from their staff, certainly it’s going to be an uphill battle to get them to come to Anaheim at this point,” Anaheim City Manager James Ruth said.

The faint hope for Anaheim and New Orleans is this: Heisley and the NBA want a new arena, and proposals in Louisville and Memphis require public financing. Without assurances that funding would be approved, and without a strict construction timetable that would allow the Grizzlies to move quickly into a new arena, the NBA could reject Louisville or Memphis.

The eight-year-old Pond awaits Heisley. New Orleans has a new arena.