Game Over?

The Bee has a story in this morning's paper about the possible impact of the departure of the Sacramento Kings - arguably the most incompetently run franchise in the NBA.  They have a picture of a billboard put up by one firm which says - GAME OVER - If the Kings leave we all lose.  Mayor Kevin Johnson says that the arena generates about (one wonders how close about is) $1 million in property taxes annually.  Based on the loan that is owed the city, that hole could be covered for more than 70 years when the current owners are required to pay Sacramento back for the loan they got a couple of years ago. If they leave us the current loan accelerates and they also owe us a prepayment penalty.  Clearly the region would event revenues and salaries but based on recent attendance to the games they would not lose a lot of event revenue.   With a bit of creative thinking they could provide some other amenities for the city that would be less of a joke.   Perhaps they could use half of the proceeds from the loan repayment to get the city to think about how to attract a better franchise or even to think about some non-professional sports options.


But then there is the speculation about the loss of the prestige of 13-41 Kings (the second worst record in the NBA) leaving.  "The loss to Sacramento would be devastating. There's no doubt about it," said Michael Meczka who is described as an "economic consultant" but seems to be in the business of chatting up the value of sports franchises to cities. Some people might call his operation sports pimping. 


If the existing arena were shaped up a bit, it might attract all sorts of shows and concerts.   The head of the Chamber of Commerce says when you do not have a professional sports franchise you are a second tier city.  What absolute nonsense.  Is Las Vegas second tier?   Conversely, is Charlotte or Houston first tier simply because they have sports franchises?


The NBA owners are greedy.  The franchises offer profits to the owners and lousy salaries to all but the NBA stars and a few of the managers.  They do very little for economic development except for this fanciful notion of "prestige."   When did it become mandatory to have a professional sports franchise to be a major city?    There is a second problem here also. Big time sports keeps claiming that they deserve a piece of the public fisc.  Why?  In Europe the large soccer teams are all private enterprises.  Many are even publicly traded companies.  


We should be brave enough not to take the bait of the NBA threats or the phony analysis of people like Meczka and wish them great luck in Anaheim or wherever they end up.  But first get them to pay us back the money they owe.