![Vancouver-gmplace3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Vancouver-gmplace3.jpg)
The Vancouver Grizzlies relocation to Memphis was a successful effort by the ownership group of the
Vancouver Grizzlies
The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...
to
move
Move may refer to:
People
*Daniil Move (born 1985), a Russian auto racing driver
Brands and enterprises
* Move (company), an online real estate company
* Move (electronics store), a defunct Australian electronics retailer
* Daihatsu Move
Gov ...
the team from
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
to
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The team began play as the
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
in the
2001–02 season. It was the first of three
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) franchise moves between 2001 and 2008, and the third of four major league teams to relocate from
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
between 1995 and 2005.
The Grizzlies had been created as an
expansion team
An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
along with the
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
in 1995. For the six seasons in Vancouver, the Grizzlies performed poorly; they only once finished better than last in the
Midwest Division and never reached the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. The Grizzlies were owned by
Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment
Canucks Sports & Entertainment, previously known as Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment, is a Canadian sports and entertainment company in Vancouver, British Columbia that owns and operates the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League, the Van ...
, who also owned the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL). In 1999,
Bill Laurie
Bill Laurie is an American former basketball player and coach, and current business executive and philanthropist. He is the former owner of the St. Louis Blues and is the co-chairman of Paige Sports Entertainment.
Early life
Laurie grew up in ru ...
, owner of the NHL's
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...
, attempted to buy the Grizzlies, with the intent to move it to
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. After interference by the NBA, the Grizzlies were sold to
Michael Heisley
Michael E. Heisley (March 13, 1937 – April 26, 2014) was an American businessman and former majority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Biography
A computer salesman by trade, Heisley used $150,000 from selling his home and $10 million in bank lo ...
. He immediately started the process to relocate the team, and eight U.S. cities were candidates for the team—
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
;
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
;
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
;
;
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
;
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
;
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
; and
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
—before settling on the move to Memphis at the end of the season.
The first four Grizzlies seasons had given average attendance in the top third of the league to the middle of the league. However, the last two seasons saw a reduction to among the league's lowest attendances; participating reasons were the team's poor performance and the
1998–99 NBA lockout
The 1998–99 NBA lockout was the third lockout of four in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It lasted from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999, and forced the 1998–99 regular season to be shortened to 50 games per team a ...
. Contributing to the conditions for relocation were a weak
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar ( symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style ...
, unwillingness of some U.S. players to live in Canada, and deal with the weather.
Background
Memphis has previously hosted a major professional basketball team in the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
(ABA). Founded as the
New Orleans Buccaneers
The New Orleans Buccaneers were a charter member of the American Basketball Association. After three seasons in New Orleans, Louisiana the franchise moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where it became the Pros, Tams and Sounds for four years before a ...
in 1967, the franchise moved to Memphis in 1970, becoming known as the Pros. The team changed its name to the Tams and then the
Sounds
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
, before folding in 1975 prior to the
ABA–NBA merger in 1976.
The Grizzlies were created as an expansion team for the
1995–96 season which, along with the creation of the Toronto Raptors, saw the NBA expand into Canada. The Grizzlies were owned by
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
owner
Arthur Griffiths. His company was in the process of building
General Motors Place
Rogers Arena is a multi-purpose arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place (GM Place) from its opening until July 6, 2010, when Ge ...
(GM Place) for the Canucks, and saw the Grizzlies as an additional tenant.
Both Canadian teams (the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors) were hampered by the NBA's decision to deny them one of the top five picks in the
first draft
In the context of written composition, "drafting" refers to any process of generating preliminary versions of a written work. Drafting happens at any stage of the writing process as writers generate trial versions of the text they're developing. ...
, and the teams would not be allowed a top draft pick in the following three seasons, even if they should win
the lottery
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
. The teams were also hindered from using their full
salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...
the first two seasons. For all six seasons in Vancouver, the Grizzlies had a terrible record. They finished seventh of seven in five seasons, and claimed one sixth place in the Midwest Division, never close to reaching the playoffs. The team won 101 games and lost 359, giving a
winning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
of .220.
Change of ownership
On March 7, 1995, six months before the Grizzlies began play, the majority of the holding company was sold from Griffiths to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
-based
John McCaw, Jr.
John McCaw Jr. (c. 1951) is a businessman who formerly partly owned McCaw Cellular in Seattle, Washington and a former part-owner of the Vancouver Canucks NHL franchise, with Francesco Aquilini.
Education
A graduate of the Lakeside School, he ...
On November 12, 1996, McCaw bought the rest of company. He stated that he was committed to retaining the team in Vancouver. Griffiths was forced to sell the Canucks and Grizzlies following the
cost overrun
A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...
s that occurred on GM Place, and the expansion fees to start the Grizzlies had made his company illiquid.
In 1999, McCaw started attempts to sell either Orca Bay or the Grizzlies, and at first negotiated an agreement with
Dennis Washington
Dennis R. Washington (born 1934) is an American billionaire industrialist who owns, or co-owns controlling interests in, a large consortium of privately held companies collectively known as the Washington Companies and, in Canada, another collec ...
, owner of
Seaspan
Seaspan ULC (formerly Seaspan Marine Corporation) provides marine-related services to the Pacific Northwest. Within the Group are three shipyards, an intermodal ferry and car float business, and also a tug and barge transportation company that ...
, who had a large portion of his operations in Vancouver. Washington initially agreed to purchase 50% of Orca Bay, with the intent of keeping the teams in Vancouver. Instead, McCaw used Washington's bid to leverage a higher sales price with Bill Laurie, who offered US$148 million for the Grizzlies, and a US$52 million bonus if the team ultimately relocated to St. Louis. The announcement was made in September 1999, one month after Laurie had bought the NHL team
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...
and their home venue Kiel Center (now the
Enterprise Center
The Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, but it is also used for other functions, such as NCAA basketball, NC ...
). St. Louis had not been the home of an NBA franchise since the
Hawks
Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...
franchise relocated to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
in 1968.
Kiel Center had annual sell-out for 15 to 17 basketball games for the
Saint Louis University Billikens.
After the deal was announced,
NBA Commissioner
The Commissioner of the NBA is the chief executive of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The current commissioner is Adam Silver, who succeeded David Stern on February 1, 2014.
List of NBA commissioners
Maurice Podoloff (1946–1963) ...
David Stern
David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of ...
stated that he was opposed to a relocation, as no NBA franchise had moved since 1985, when the Kansas City Kings relocated to
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
. He stated that his goal was that the Grizzlies remain in Vancouver and succeed there. The NBA Board of Governors' Finance Committee also made negative statements, as the purchase agreement was structured with incentives to move the team. The deal was then renegotiated before the board could vote on the issue. On January 21, 2001, Laurie announced that he had paid McCaw an undisclosed amount to walk away from the deal.
Four days later, on January 25, it was announced that the Grizzlies were sold to Chicago-based
Michael Heisley
Michael E. Heisley (March 13, 1937 – April 26, 2014) was an American businessman and former majority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Biography
A computer salesman by trade, Heisley used $150,000 from selling his home and $10 million in bank lo ...
for US$160 million. At a press conference, he stated that he had the support of Stern, that he was committed to keeping the franchise in Vancouver, to making it a winning team, and that he was an owner that was committed to the market.
Reasons for relocation
Dick Versace
Richard Patrick Versace (April 16, 1940 – February 25, 2022) was an American basketball coach and executive. He was also the first American of Puerto Rican descent to have coached a National Basketball Association (NBA) team.
Early life
Versace ...
, the Grizzlies' president of basketball operations, stated in the final Vancouver season that the company was losing US$40 million per season. These numbers were questioned by Richard Peddie, CEO of the Raptors, as the Grizzlies had a
salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...
of US$48 million.
Retrospectively, Heisley stated that he lost US$87 million on owning the Grizzlies, although that included a US$30 million relocation fee to the NBA.
Versace stated that he felt that the team did not get sufficient support from the business community. Colin Jones,
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
professor in sports economics, stated that it was difficult to attract corporate sponsors as long as the team was losing so many games; the Grizzlies' lack of good draft picks led to the team failing to win, thus losing revenue. He also noted that the team never sought help in the general business community regarding management issues.
Stu Jackson
Stuart Wayne Jackson (born December 11, 1955) is an American basketball executive and former basketball coach. He currently serves as the director of basketball operations for the French professional club Élan Béarnais based in Pau. Jackson ...
, general manager for the first five seasons, made several non-optimal player selection decisions. This included selecting
Bryant Reeves
Bryant Reeves (born June 8, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Reeves spent his entire career with the National Basketball Association's Vancouver Grizzlies, playing with the team from 1995 until 2001. He was nicknamed "B ...
in the
1995 draft, and signing him to a US$65 million six-year contract extension in 1997, putting the Grizzlies in a salary cap squeeze. From then he consequently drafted point guards, including
Antonio Daniels
Antonio Robert Daniels (born March 19, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the television color analyst for the New Orleans Pelicans on B ...
, who failed to develop. Jackson traded a 2003 first-round pick for
Otis Thorpe
Otis Henry Thorpe (born August 5, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an NBA All-Star in 1992 and won an NBA championship with the Houston ...
, who "hated Vancouver". He signed free agent
Tony Massenburg
Tony Arnel Massenburg (born July 31, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He shares a National Basketball Association (NBA) record with Chucky Brown, Joe Smith & Jim Jackson for having played with twelve different teams ov ...
for US$1.5 million, just to sign
Isaac Austin
Isaac Edward "Ike" Austin (born August 18, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several different teams in the National Basketball Association between 1991 and 2002. He is the uncle of former Baylor University b ...
for US$5.5 million and leave Massenburg on the bench.
Griffiths retrospectively stated that the draft conditions from the NBA did not allow the franchise to build a winning team in years, and that the NBA had asked too high a price for not providing the means of a suitable income. However, he did draft
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Julius Shareef Abdur-Rahim (born December 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who is the president of the NBA G League. Nicknamed Reef, he previously served as the director of player personnel for the Sacramento Kings ...
and his hands were tied when top pick
Steve Francis
Steven D'Shawn Francis (born February 21, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected with the second overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft and was named co-NBA Rookie of the Year (along with Elton Brand) in his fi ...
refused to play for Vancouver.
On the other hand, the Raptors succeeded in drafting
Vince Carter
Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who serves as a basketball analyst for ESPN. He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, but occasionally played Powe ...
, reached the playoffs in the
1999–2000 season and played consistently in front of sell-out crowds.
The location of the team in Canada was a major contributor; at the time the
exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of ...
was 67
U.S. cents to the Canadian dollar. Because revenue was collected in Canadian dollars but player and coach salaries were paid in U.S. dollars, the team ended up spending an undue amount of its revenue on salaries.
The 1998–99 lockout was the pivoting point for home game attendance. While the whole league experienced a drop in attendance after the lockout, Vancouver experienced an even larger fall. The average attendance in
1997–98 was 16,108, ranking 16th in the league, while it fell to 13,899 in
1999–00, ranking 27th.
Retrospectively, Griffiths stated that Heisley intentionally ran the team financially aground by alienating people, running insufficient marketing, and claiming basketball did not work in Vancouver. While running the team, Griffiths had not lost "millions and millions" and he stated that Vancouver had a better fan base than most NBA teams. The statements were denied by Heisley.
Proposed cities
![Memphis Pyramid HDR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Memphis_Pyramid_HDR.jpg)
With the public announcement in mid-February of the possible relocation of the team, Heisley and representatives for the Grizzlies set out on a road trip to consider several U.S. cities which wanted to have the franchise relocate to their city.
Originally Heisley had until March 1 to apply to the NBA for a relocation,
but the deadline was later extended to March 26. A similar deadline was also awarded to the
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...
, who was also considering a relocation.
In February 2001, the Louisville Board of Aldermen contacted the Grizzlies in an attempt to relocate the team to
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. The city lacked a suitable venue, but state and local officials agreed to build a new US$200 million arena if the NBA franchise relocated to the city. In addition, Tricon Global Restaurants (now
Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc. (or Yum!), formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., is an American fast food corporation listed on the Fortune 1000. Yum! operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill, except in China, where the br ...
) would offer Heisley US$5 million per year for 20 years to locate the team in Louisville. (Ultimately, while the Grizzlies did not move there, the city built its own NBA-suitable arena in 2010 called the
KFC Yum! Center
The KFC Yum! Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is named after the KFC restaurant chain and Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC. Adjacent to the Ohio River waterfront, it is located on Ma ...
;
It houses the
University of Louisville's basketball program.)
The Memphis relocation effort was led by
AutoZone
AutoZone, Inc. is an American retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, the largest in the United States. Founded in 1979, AutoZone has over 6,400 stores across the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the US Virgin Is ...
founder
Pitt Hyde
Joseph Reeves Hyde III (born 1942), known as Pitt Hyde, is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist in Memphis, Tennessee. He is best known for founding AutoZone as a spinoff of his family's grocery business, Malone and Hyde, in 1979. Hyde is al ...
, who promised to purchase 50% of the team. The city had a venue
Pyramid Arena
The Memphis Pyramid, formerly known as the Great American Pyramid and the Pyramid Arena, is a building located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States, at the banks of the Mississippi River. Built in 1991 as a 20,142-seat arena, the facilit ...
, completed in 1991, which could be used as a temporary home until a new US$250 million venue was ready for use in 2004. The venue would be publicly financed through sales tax rebates, government-backed bonds and hotel and car rental taxes. The Memphis efforts to get an NBA team had started in 1997, following the relocation of the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
to
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
.
mayor
Marc Morial
Marc Haydel Morial (born January 3, 1958) is an American political and civic leader and the current president of the National Urban League. Morial served as Mayor of New Orleans from 1994 to 2002 as the city's youngest Mayor, President of the ...
stated that he had approached Heisley in an attempt to attract the Grizzlies to his city. The city had opened the US$114 million New Orleans Arena (now
Smoothie King Center
Smoothie King Center (locally referred to as SKC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to Caesars Superdome. The arena opened in 1999 as New Orleans Arena and ...
) in 1999, and offered it as a home to the franchise. Metrovision, the area's economic development chamber, stated that they had secured guarantees for purchasing
suites,
season ticket
A season ticket, or season pass, is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time.
History
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the United States in 1820 ...
s and club seating from businesses to the extent that there was a waiting list for suites. Also a relocation to St. Louis, under the same conditions as with Laurie, was considered.
![Honda Center in Anaheim California on 22-03-2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Honda_Center_in_Anaheim_California_on_22-03-2008.jpg)
Another option was to relocate to
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
, in the
Greater Los Angeles area
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
. The
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
had looked into relocation to Anaheim the previous season, with Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now
Honda Center
The Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League.
Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, ...
), home arena of the
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Mighty may refer to:
* ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album)
* ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album)
* ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film
*''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film
* ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title
*Th ...
, as the home venue. However, the Mighty Ducks had an agreement that any other tenant at the Pond should share revenues with their then-owner,
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, although Disney stated they were willing to negotiate the terms. Additionally, the Grizzlies would have had to share the market with two established teams, the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
and
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...
, thereby limiting revenue.
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, announced interest in attracting the Grizzlies. The city had an appropriate venue in HSBC Arena (now
KeyBank Center
KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey Leagu ...
), home of the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
ice hockey franchise. Mayor
Anthony Masiello
Anthony M. Masiello (born April 28, 1947) is an American politician and former basketball player who served as Mayor of Buffalo, New York from 1994 to 2005. Prior to being mayor, he served as a member of the New York State Senate. He is currently ...
, a former college basketball star, stated that the attempt was "a long shot", but worth the try. The city previously hosted an NBA franchise in the
Buffalo Braves
The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...
, from 1970 to 1978, which was only dismantled because
Paul Snyder, who owned the team from 1971 to 1976, was feuding with other teams that used Buffalo's only arena at the time (
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons ( AHL), the Buffalo Biso ...
); some of those conflicts were no longer issues with the new arena, and Snyder was still active in business at the time of the Grizzlies bid. The Braves became the San Diego Clippers in 1978 and moved to Los Angeles in 1984; San Diego was also mentioned as a potential site for the Grizzlies, although the city lacked a suitable venue.
[ Heisley visited Las Vegas, Nevada, where he negotiated with Mayor ]Oscar Goodman
Oscar Baylin Goodman (born July 26, 1939) is an American attorney and politician. A Democrat-turned-independent, Goodman was the mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1999 to 2011. His wife, Carolyn Goodman, succeeded him as mayor in 2011.
Early lif ...
. The city offered the team free land for a new arena, but would not pay for construction. The other issue was Stern's demand that casinos stop accepting bets on NBA games as a precondition of placing a team in Las Vegas.
The strongest bids were Memphis, Louisville, Anaheim, and New Orleans. As the latter two had venues in place, they were seen as having an edge on the other two. Both Memphis and Louisville needed public funding for a new venue, and in either city, the team would have to play in a sub-optimal location for several seasons. However, the construction of a new venue was seen as an advantage by the Grizzlies, as it could be tailor-made for basketball, and the team would be able to control all revenue. The team also expected the highest local radio and television broadcasting rights in Louisville and Memphis, and that the two cities lacked other Big Four major league teams, granting the team preferred air times and increased attention from fans and media. A 2000 report from PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
concluded that small cities often had higher attendance than larger cities because of team's professional league exclusivity. It also pointed to the strong support for college basketball in Tennessee and Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
.
Relocation
In Vancouver, the organization Save the Grizzlies was established to find a local investor to purchase the team. Led by among others Peter Ufford, they had a plan to create a public entity which could take over ownership of the team. Ufford retrospectively stated that had the attempt been given more time, they may have been able to secure a deal to keep the team in town, but that the relocation decision came too quickly for any plan to be finalized. Heisley stated that he had been willing to sell the team with a 30% discount to a Vancouver investor if he could secure a guarantee that the team would remain in town.
On March 26, 2001, Heisley announced that he had selected Memphis. Memphis and Louisville were the most promising cities, with Heisley selecting Memphis because it offered a better deal and because of poor local executive leadership in Louisville. The choice would still have to be studied by a five-member NBA group before permission was granted from the league.
The night before Heisley's announcement concerning Memphis' selection, the Grizzlies had lost 102-92 to the Raptors in Toronto in what would turn out to be the final NBA game between two Canadian teams. The team's final game at GM Place was a 100–95 loss against the Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
on April 14; the team's final game as a Vancouver-based franchise was a road 95–81 win against the Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
on April 18.
The NBA relocation committee gave its approval for the move to Memphis in late June, and on July 3 the Board of Governors unanimously approved the relocation. This also permitted Hyde to purchase a minority share of the franchise. By then, the team administration had already relocated, and the day before the final decision, the team set up its rookie camp at Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges a ...
. A relocation party was held on July 7. A week before the move, the Grizzlies traded away two of the top players, Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Julius Shareef Abdur-Rahim (born December 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who is the president of the NBA G League. Nicknamed Reef, he previously served as the director of player personnel for the Sacramento Kings ...
and guard Mike Bibby
Michael Bibby (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played professionally for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last served as the head coach for Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, ...
, who therefore never played for Memphis.
Unlike all other major professional sports teams that moved from Canada to the U.S., the Grizzlies did not adopt a new nickname. A factor in this decision was that Memphis already had a history with the "Grizzlies" name, and one which had a Canadian connection. The Toronto Northmen of the ill-fated World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...
, who had faced legal obstacles in their bid to play American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
in Canada, moved to Memphis before playing a game and were officially rebranded the Memphis Southmen
The Memphis Southmen, also known as the Memphis Grizzlies, were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. They played in the World Football League (WFL), which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl M ...
. The Southmen name was so unpopular with fans that the team, whose logo prominently featured a grizzly bear
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
, became known during its brief existence as the "Grizzlies" on a semi-official basis.
Aftermath
The move to Memphis did not solve the Grizzlies' financial problems, and as of 2011 the team's cumulative loss was US$100 million. The team did manage a 50-win season and reach the playoffs four times, but failed to advance in the playoffs until the 2010–11 season. As of 2011, the Grizzlies remain, according to ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', the third least-valuable NBA franchise, at US$266 million. Attendance did not exceed Vancouver levels for more than a decade after the move. The Grizzlies averaged 13,737 spectators in their first season in Memphis; the first season in which they exceeded Vancouver attendance levels was 2012–13, when they averaged 16,624.
The Grizzlies were the first NBA relocation since the Kansas City Kings relocated to Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
and became the Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
in 1985. It was followed by two others in the same decade. The first was the relocation of the original Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...
to New Orleans in 2002, with the team becoming the New Orleans Hornets
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
(now Pelicans). (That relocation is no longer treated by the league as such; after the 2013–14 season, the franchise then known as the Charlotte Bobcats reclaimed the Hornets name and also received sole rights to the history of the Hornets in Charlotte.) The second was in 2008, when the Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
relocated to become the Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...
. In the NHL, two teams were moved from Canada to the U.S. during the mid-1990s: the Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...
became the Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...
in 1995, and the Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996 and were rebranded as the Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...
in 2014 (a new Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
team returned to the city by relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...
in 2011). In 2005, one of Canada's two Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
teams (the Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
) relocated to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
. The failure of the Vancouver franchise was part of the reason the NBA changed the expansion drafting rules following the return of Charlotte to the league as the Bobcats
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
in 2004. The Bobcats were allowed to pick fourth in their first draft, and were later not restricted from first picks.
In a major change from 2001—when one unnamed former NBA executive stated that a franchise would not return to Vancouver in his lifetime—Stern revealed in February 2011 that Vancouver was being considered along with Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
and Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
. Reasons for considering Vancouver are the strengthening of the Canadian dollar, which for several years in the early 2010s was roughly at par with the U.S. dollar; the influx of international players who would be more willing to play in Canada; sell-outs for pre-season exhibition game
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
s at Rogers Arena (the current name of what was once General Motors Place); Vancouver having a state-of-the-art venue; and an increased realization among NBA executives that the Vancouver failure was not predominantly because of lack of interest for basketball in Vancouver. The city has also been through a resurrection in professional sports, with the creation of the Vancouver Giants
The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in th ...
in junior hockey, the 2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...
joining Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
. However, the location of the city also allows for more varied sports experiences, such as skiing, hunting, fishing and golf, which could partially limit the interest for spectator sports. In addition, the Canadian dollar dramatically weakened against its U.S. counterpart later in the decade, dropping as low as 68 U.S. cents during 2016. NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
commissioner Gary Bettman
Gary Bruce Bettman (born June 2, 1952) is an American sports executive who serves as the commissioner of the National Hockey League (NHL), a post he has held since February 1, 1993. Previously, Bettman was a senior vice president and general cou ...
cited this as a major reason why the league deferred Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
's bid to rejoin the NHL.
In 2011, the ownership group of the Canucks, now owned by Francesco Aquilini Francesco Weasel Aquilini (born 1969) is a Canadian businessman, investor, and philanthropist and is the current chairman of the Vancouver Canucks. He is a managing director of Vancouver-based Aquilini Investment Group, , announced they were considering purchasing the Hornets. In December 2010, the Hornets were bought by the league, and there was potential for relocation due to the club's financial difficulties. However, a Hornets move was effectively taken off the table in 2012 when Tom Benson
Thomas Milton Benson (July 12, 1927 – March 15, 2018) was an American businessman, philanthropist and sports franchise owner. He was the owner of several automobile dealerships before buying the New Orleans Saints of the National Football Leagu ...
, a New Orleans native who already owned the NFL's New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, purchased the team. One year later, Aquilini denied rumours that he wanted to purchase the Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
from the Maloof family
The Maloof family is a prominent American family based in Las Vegas, Nevada, who are owners of numerous business properties in the Western United States. The original spelling of the family name is Maalouf. The family is of Lebanese descent via th ...
. Aquilini expressed that while Rogers Arena is ready for basketball, having the NBA in Vancouver comes down to market support, which his company assesses to see if it has improved since the Grizzlies left.
See also
*Relocation of professional sports teams
Relocation of professional sports teams occurs when a team owner moves a team, generally from one metropolitan area to another, but occasionally between municipalities in the same conurbation. The practice is most common in North America, where ...
*List of relocated National Basketball Association teams The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men's basketball league, consisting of 30 teams in North America—29 in the United States and one in Canada. The NBA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Associ ...
References
{{NBArelocated
Relocation
Relocation
National Basketball Association controversies
Relocated National Basketball Association teams
2000–01 in Canadian basketball
2000–01 NBA season
2001–02 NBA season
2001 in sports in Tennessee