NEW ORLEANS – For now, Memphis, Tenn., has two NBA teams
and New Orleans has none.
Michael Heisley, owner of the Vancouver Grizzlies, the
financially troubled NBA team looking for a new home, notified New
Orleans and Superdome officials Monday morning that he had decided
to move his team to Memphis. But no sooner had those officials
announced the loss than an announcement by the Charlotte Hornets
came, saying they might have put the city back in the running as a place to relocate.
Both the Grizzlies and the Hornets filed applications to
relocate in Memphis for the 2001-2002 season. Each application
specified that the Pyramid would serve as the temporary arena while
the construction of a new stadium was completed.
"I would imagine it will get pretty crowded in there with two
teams playing," Superdome spokesman Bill Curl said.
The Hornets played an exhibition game in the New Orleans Arena
this year and were impressed by the facility, Curl said.
"We anticipate there will be some conversations with them," he
said.
Heisley chose Memphis over Louisville, Ky., Anaheim, Calif., and
New Orleans.
Although Heisley did not say why he picked Memphis, Doug
Thornton, manager of the Superdome, said it was not hard to figure
it out.
"It's hard to overcome the tremendous package Memphis has put
together," he said.
The Memphis bid for the team was led by AutoZone founder J.R.
"Pitt" Hyde III. The FedEx Corp. announced its support last week
with an offer to buy naming rights to the team and the new arena.
The involvement of FedEx was considered a major boost along with
Hyde's investment group ready to buy a minority stake in the
Grizzlies. Tricon Global Restaurants Inc., the corporate parent of
KFC, supported Louisville's efforts.
A relocation committee, which will be appointed by the NBA
commissioner within a week, will investigate each case and make a
recommendation to the board within 120 days.
"I don't know a lot about the Memphis proposal or what they've
committed to do, but I'm told there is going to have to be a
fulfillment of those promises and a way to secure those promises,"
Thornton said. "You could always take the position that if they
don't fulfill those promises we might get back in the game. And I
would have to think that New Orleans, because we have an arena
would be ahead of those other cities."
New Orleans could not offer a naming-rights package to match
those of other cities, but it does have an arena, already built and
debt-free, plus pledges to buy 12,000 season tickets and the 44
luxury boxes in the arena.
"He asked everybody to put their best offer on the table and
that's what we did," Thornton said.
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