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Thursday, March 15, 2001
Heisley confers with Louisville officials
Associated Press
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – City and state officials have a plan to
finance construction of a $200 million downtown arena. Whether the
Vancouver Grizzlies make it their new home remains to be seen.
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley met with leaders in Louisville
Wednesday and Thursday to hear their pitch for luring his
struggling franchise.
Heisley, a Chicago businessman, expects to lose more than $40
million this season and Louisville is one of four cities he's
considering for relocation. Memphis, Tenn.; Anaheim, Calif. and New
Orleans are the others.
Heisley also was in Memphis on Thursday. He eliminated St. Louis
because moving there would involve either selling the team to St.
Louis Blues owner Bill Laurie or being second tenant behind the
Blues in a new arena there.
In Louisville, Heisley was noncommittal
"I'm not going to get into this offer or what the other cities
are offering," Heisley said. "I will say this -- no one else has
offered me free Kentucky Fried Chicken."
The Louisville plan calls for the city to issue $200 million in
bonds to cover arena costs. Louisville-based Kentucky Fried Chicken
would be the key corporate player, contributing millions for naming
rights.
Company officials said the proposed name of the arena is the KFC
Bucket. The name of the team would be changed to the Kentucky
Colonels, the name of Louisville's former ABA franchise.
Louisville mayor Dave Armstrong called the city's share of the
arena cost "very affordable," but would not give details.
Armstrong said earlier plans put too much burden on the city.
The newest package would also include a new basketball practice
facility for the University of Louisville as an incentive for the
Cardinals to play games in the downtown arena.
About 20 demonstrators protested the plan Wednesday night
outside the restaurant where Heisley met with Louisville business
leaders. The protesters said the Grizzlies should pay for the
arena.
Heisley called Louisville's proposal "a very attractive
offer," but said he would not make a decision until late next
week, at the earliest. The NBA imposed a March 26 deadline for
Heisley to apply for relocation for next season.
Louisville, with a population of 1.1 million, would be the
smallest city with an NBA franchise. Heisley said the area's
enthusiasm for basketball is a plus.
"I'm very cognizant of the fact that out of those 1,100,000
people, I have more basketball fans here than some places that have
2 or 3 million people," Heisley said. "The greatest asset
Kentucky has is the long tradition of basketball. It's sort of the
fiber of the community."
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