Afaik (living in PDX) the city is already on board for the cost. They just want accountability with the funds, which is apparently a non-starter. 

I thought the same of the Chicago Bears but look where that brought me.

Right, he’s not going to pay for renovations but he’s going to pay to move?

Yeah the Nets basically have no fans in New York over the age of 30. Maybe you’ve got some old heads who loved Dr. J back in the day but that’s about it. NYC is a Knicks town, it was the one major sport where they only had one team and everyone rallied around the Knicks. In Jersey they had their own kingdom, I’m sure there were still plenty of Knicks and Sixers fans in Jersey too due to proximity, but overall the Swamp Dragons were Jersey’s team along with the Devils.

Memphis is a basketball-obsessed city and Nashville is very much not. When the Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Memphis was the bigger city, but that’s no longer the case.

Nashville was like half the size it is now when the Grizzlies moved 20+ years ago.

Memphis has no pro sports competition so they’re the major player in town aside from NCAA.

Nashville was much smaller then, the population of Memphis lives and breathes basketball unlike Nashville demographically, and the business and cultural decisions that made these moves changed from the 90s to the 2020s now

Well Nashville was actually smaller at the time. Its population has surged in the last 25 years, whereas Memphis has actually gone backwards slightly.

Nashville got the Titans because they paid up for a stadium.

At the time the populations were very different.

Memphis population has been plummeting since and Nashville’s has completely boomed

Like if they knew the future they pick Nashville ten out of ten times. But they didn’t.

Did you just equate the Clippers moving 10 miles within the same metro to moving halfway across a state lol

It’s totally fine cos the comments responding to these articles are also just people spewing out shit and seeing what sticks 

Worse
Than amico

Exactly. Nashville is a cultural desert that wears cowboys hats and boots as a facade

It’s not Memphis

It has the cultural identity of a strip mall chipotle

What’s right with Nashville.

I guess. The difference is one guy just bought the team and stands to make a shitload of money from them whether he stays or moves, and has no proverbial gun at his head forcing him to list the team for sale if he does move.

Pera does. One guy stands to make billions, the other guy stands to lose billions. It’s a huge difference.

Does Tom Dundon have to offer the Blazers for sale at ~10% of what he just bought them for if he tries to move the team?

Tell that to the Baltimore Colts.

The poison pill was in the 2012 purchase agreement, it has nothing to do with the lease. They would have to have a full amendment of the purchase agreement and all of the minority owners would have to sign off on it if he wants out of that clause.

You think the minority owners are gonna be ok with that?

uh, pretty sure memphis is roughly the same size as OKC

Weird that Memphis has a culture around a sport mostly played by black players at the highest level and Nashville wants a sport that has a much higher percentage of white athletes. Wonder why?

TBF, I don’t think Nashville was dying for an MLS team, but Nashville SC has been pretty popular since it started.

Our attendance numbers and ticket prices tell otherwise

Agree 100%. Went to a game to see the Grizzlies a few years ago. Loved the arena, surrounding area, the fans, and city.

Great bball city for the NBA.

The Memphis metro is the 41st largest population in the nation lol. You’re acting like it’s Gary Indiana or something…

Smallest in the entire league below OKC and New Orleans.

Nashville is literally double the size of Memphis

Fair, but that’s really an NBA thing.

True, “big-name” free-agents historically sign with the same ~10 teams. It is what it is, not really a knock on Memphis in particular

Agreed, not sure New Orleans is an NBA city at this point. The old school “Jazz” history makes me wish I felt differently. The city itself is awesome and the fans clearly support many things, including sports. Just not sure the Pelicans make the cut there.

Saw a season opener years ago and the crowd was pretty apathetic overall. They had some signage up for Zion’s arrival, but it was kind of disappointing from a bball perspective (got to see a Luka triple-double, so there was that at least lol).

Please. Nashville doesn’t give a crap about basketball.  Memphis is a basketball city through and through.  The numbers are fine.

If anything stinks in Memphis it’s the owner’s company selling communication equipment / weapons to Iran and Russia (violating US sanctions). People focus on the wrong things way too often.

Painful? They’re in the same state

Memphis is the only market that doesn’t even have a 5 star hotel for the players to stay in. Like, I get that Utah and Indiana aren’t exactly markets NBA free agents are dying to play in, but both Indianapolis and Salt Lake are well equipped with hotels and all the stuff you need for events, hence why they get stuff like the Final Four and the Winter Olympics there. Memphis lacks the facilities needed to host large events in town, let alone an NBA team.

It is 100% a shithole unfortunately

If you like strip malls and bachelorette parties sure lmao

Don’t know why people get so offended

They’d probably try to tell you Aleppo Syria is safe and world class

I don’t know the markers very well.

Always thought it was funny that ye NBA moved two franchises from big metropolis areas to Oklahoma City and Memphis.

Just find it odd that they’re talking about Memphis moving in not even 4 years time, like it’s a foregone conclusion.

The NBA has known Memphis is a terrible market forever, what’s changed?

Seems odd, with expansion and that other stuff on the horizon.

Would them playing in Nashville really change much for team revenues do you feel?

Not to mention the tourist infrastructure is significantly better in Nashville.

Eh Memphis is a bit more than just the grizzlies tbh, the Memphis zoo is pretty world class and it contains some of the only pandas in the US, not to mention a lot of really good BBQ joints and the pyramid bass pro shop.

It’s just economically it’s on the decline, but the city itself still has a good amount of places to go.

Chapel Hill is a part of the Research Triangle - an area that has a larger population than Metro Nashville. This example doesn’t fit your argument. 

Objectively, it’s a huge win for basically all involved. Memphis residents would take a hit of course, but Nashville is a drivable distance at least.

I mean that does make sense, I’m just operating under the assumption that two expansion teams in Vegas/Seattle are inevitable at this point and if that’s the case, Minny or Memphis would move to the East.

Edit: Yeah typing all of that out, moving Memphis to Nashville and becoming an East team is plausible.

If we’re a lock for both Seattle and Vegas expansion teams, Memphis relocating to Nashville and being the team that switches over to the Eastern conference makes a lot of sense (even if I don’t like the idea of Memphis losing the Grizzlies).

People say this, and I understand the reasoning, but Nashville is east of Chicago and Milwaukee and basically right in line with Indianapolis. It would be weird for a clearly eastern team to be in the west.

Minneapolis is a pain in the ass no matter what. They are off all by themselves. Nashville is easy driving distance to Charlotte, Atlanta, and Indianapolis

I mean. I’m a day one Vancouver grizzlies fan.

What I want is a team that can actually win a title. We aren’t winning it when players refuse to be traded here and NBA stars openly say they hate playing here.

It’s not the total attendance numbers I’m going off of, it’s the percentage of seats they fill at every game. Memphis is already one of the smallest markets in the league and is growing smaller year after year.

They also have the lowest ticket prices.

No