Pond’s Chances of Landing NBA Team Are on Thin Ice

With the Vancouver Grizzlies reportedly headed to Memphis, Tenn., the Arrowhead Pond might have lost out on its last, best chance to attract an NBA team.

The Grizzlies are expected to apply Monday for NBA permission to move to Memphis, the New York Times reported. Although the Grizzlies would become the first NBA team to relocate since the Kings moved from Kansas City to Sacramento in 1985, the decision is not likely to trigger a wave of franchise moves.

The Clippers rejected overtures from the Pond in 1996 and are unlikely to exercise a one-time escape clause this year in their lease at Staples Center. The NBA has no plans for expansion.

And, for those few teams looking for new homes, moving into the Pond presents a financial hurdle, because of the Mighty Ducks’ lease that allows Disney to control revenue from advertising, naming rights, luxury suites and club seats.

“Disney’s got a hell of a deal in that place,” said a source close to Grizzly owner Michael Heisley. “That’s the kind of deal we’re going to have.”

Although Disney offered lease concessions, and although Orange County offered by far the wealthiest market considered by the Grizzlies, Memphis and Louisville, Ky., apparently became the finalists 10 days ago, when each city proposed a new arena in which Heisley would control all revenue. The conclusion is a sobering one for the Pond: Heisley believes he can make more money by moving to what would be the smallest market in the NBA rather than by moving to Anaheim and tapping the second-largest media market in the country.

“Most of the successful teams in the NBA control their own buildings,” Houston Rocket Chief Operating Officer George Postolos said last year after declining an invitation to visit the Pond. The Rockets toured Louisville before reaching an agreement with the city of Houston on a new arena.

Once the New Jersey Nets settle on whether to locate their new arena in New Jersey or New York, every NBA team will be playing in or committed to an arena either built or renovated since 1988.

Staples Center President Tim Leiweke suggested last year that the Clippers might not be able to afford to stay in his arena if the team did not improve. Now, with a young, dynamic team drawing more than 14,000 fans per game--up 5% from last season--Leiweke said he did not expect Clipper owner Donald Sterling to exercise his escape clause in the team’s six-year lease. The Clippers can opt out of the final three years of their lease by giving notice by Dec. 31, Leiweke said.

“They made money last year. My guess is, they’re making more money this year,” Leiweke said. “They continue to improve on and off the court.

“I think [Sterling] is happy in this building. I think the building has been good to him. We have no reason to believe it’s not in anyone’s best interest to continue the relationship.”

The Clippers declined comment.

Monday’s NBA deadline to apply for relocation applies to the Charlotte Hornets as well as the Grizzlies. The Hornets are believed to have talked with officials in Louisville, but Pond General Manager Tim Ryan said he has not talked with any representative of the Hornets. And, with a referendum on financing a new Charlotte arena scheduled for June, it is unlikely the Hornets would apply.

The Orlando Magic wants a new arena, but Anaheim Sports President Tony Tavares has indicated Disney would oppose an Anaheim effort to lure the Magic from Orlando, where four theme parks mark the hub of the company’s amusement empire. The Milwaukee Bucks want a renovated arena, but U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, the team’s owner, said even if he sells, the condition to keep the Bucks in Milwaukee would be “non-negotiable.”

Ogden Corp. has lost an estimated $34 million in its seven years managing the Pond. The city agreed to pay Ogden $1.5 million per year for five years so long as the Pond did not have an NBA team, with the final payment due later this year.

“We continue to believe in this market and in this facility,” Anaheim City Manager James Ruth said. “At some point in time, we’ll have our opportunity.”