Location, Location, Location!

While it isn't official yet, it seems as if the Sacramento Kings are on their way to Seattle. The owners of the Kings yesterday reached an agreement to sell majority ownership of the team to a Seattle-based group (that includes the CEO of Microsoft) that will move the team to Seattle for the start of next season. The team will take on the name of the SuperSonics, which is the name of the team that formerly resided in Seattle before moving to Oklahoma City and becoming the Thunder.

While the re-location of teams is not a foreign concept in the sports world, I do find it somewhat puzzling to see teams moved to cities that have previously been the home to other teams in the same sport, and this is a perfect example. Before the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City, they were by no means a bad team. They had a nice run during the 1990's with players like Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, but they were never quite able to get over the championship hump. They were not perennial basement dwellers either though. After the Payton/Kemp era, the Sonics still had teams with good players like Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, and they were respectable. Despite that fact, they were sold and moved to Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder. While the move may have been questioned at the time, it has obviously worked out well for the franchise, because the Thunder now seem like they will be title contenders for the next decade. However, it left the people of Seattle feeling abandoned, and that is why this new ownership group has decided to move their new purchase back to Seattle; to bring the Sonics back to a city that has been yearning for professional basketball ever since the Thunder came into existence.

Now don't get me wrong, I know that there are countless reasons for the re-location of teams, and most of them do not have to do with the performance of the team. Finances is usually the biggest factor, but that can be influenced by a number of things. A team may be unable to generate enough fan support. A city may be unwilling or unable to allocate money to its team for the upkeep of its arena and facilities. Owners may just simply be unwilling to control a team anymore, and they might sell the team to a group intent on moving the franchise to a new city. There are all types of reasons that a franchise might be re-located. It's just that sometimes, re-locations seem to make no sense. This move is not necessarily one of those nonsensical cases, but it just made me think about the general idea of re-location, and how nonsensical it does seem to be sometimes.

The Sonics originally moved from Seattle because the city was unwilling to give money to the franchise to renovate the arena in which the team played, Key Arena. Oklahoma City had just been the temporary home for the New Orleans Hornets while New Orleans recovered from Hurricane Katrina, and the people of Oklahoma City came out in droves to support a team that they only had temporarily. In the eyes of the new owners of the Thunder, they saw Oklahoma City as a place that was craving a professional basketball team, and like I said before, they were proven correct. The Thunder have been extremely successful both on and off the court. For the new owners, the move made perfect sense.

In my eyes though, some moves that teams have made (not just NBA teams) have been somewhat puzzling. In 2002, the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans. The team was ranked last in attendance, so fan support was obviously minimal. However, when the NBA decided to add an expansion team in 2004 (only two years later), what city did they choose? Charlotte. Was the least supportive fan base in the NBA suddenly worthy of its own franchise again after just two seasons without one? The NBA obviously felt that way. How did Charlotte fans re-pay the league for its seemingly unfounded faith in the city? They have ranked an average of 24th (out of 30 teams) in the league in attendance since their inception, and they actually ranked 28th in the league in the first season of its existence. So much for a renewed enthusiasm for an expansion team in a city that was "starving" for a basketball team.

If we look at the National Hockey League, we can see similar circumstances with franchises like the Winnipeg Jets, Atlanta Thrashers, and Quebec Nordiques. During the 1990's, both Quebec and Winnipeg lost their NHL teams. The Nordiques re-located to Colorado to become the Avalanche, and the Jets re-located to Phoenix to become the Coyotes. Both of these moves were based largely upon financial troubles, as at the time the Canadian dollar was very weak, and Winnipeg and Quebec were very small markets in terms of professional American sports. Due to the declining value of the Canadian dollar and the inability of the teams to garner enough fan support, both of the teams were forced to re-locate.

So, with the loss of the Nordiques and Jets, Canada now could only claim to be the home of six NHL teams instead of eight. The Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Canucks, Oilers, Senators, and Flames. And while teams like the Maple Leafs, Canadiens, and Oilers are shrouded in historical significance, those other three teams are not quite the same. In fact, the Flames (who hail from Calgary) also play a role in yet another quizzical professional franchise re-location.

The Flames have not always been the Calgary Flames. Prior to playing in Calgary, they were known as the Atlanta Flames. From 1972 until 1980, the Flames were based in Atlanta. Following the 1980 season, due to poor attendance and a lack of fan support, the team moved from Atlanta to Calgary. This move seemed to make sense, as Calgary is seemingly a much more hockey-oriented city than Atlanta is. For years, Atlanta, because of the failure of the Flames, was without an NHL team. That was until 1999, when the Atlanta Thrashers played their first game in the NHL. Just like the NBA's Bobcats, Atlanta was not the destination of a re-located team, but it was the site of an expansion team. And just like the NBA, that terrible fan support for a team that a city showed previously meant that it was a perfect destination for a new team.

Therefore, in 1999, we had the Atlanta Thrashers. Just over a decade later though, a funny thing happened. The city of Atlanta once again demonstrated its lack of enthusiasm for hockey, and the Thrashers were sold to an ownership group that moved the team to Winnipeg, where they could again become the Winnipeg Jets.

Isn't history supposed to be used as a teacher? The NBA learned that Charlotte could not support a basketball team, and the NHL learned that Atlanta could not support a hockey team. Yet, despite the preponderance of evidence demonstrating those facts, both leagues ignored their historical lessons, and granted them another chance.

All I am trying to point out is that sometimes, we need to just face the reality of a situation and not get caught up in the enthusiasm of a few. There will always be people in cities without professional teams who believe that their city can change, and in some cases, maybe they are correct. However, if Seattle follows the same path of Charlotte and Atlanta, the NBA shouldn't be surprised. In 10 years, the Sonics might once again be lacking financial support and looking to re-locate. If they do, where would you suggest? Sacramento, maybe?

Daily Rangers Update: Well, the season could not have gotten off to a worse start. Two games and two losses. Obviously, it is still very early, but with a shortened season, we can't afford to lose too much ground early. I still have all of the confidence in the world in this team though. Next up is the Bruins on Wednesday.
Daily Nets Update: After thoroughly enjoying myself last Friday night in watching the Nets beat the Hawks, next up is a matinee at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks that is about to get underway. This is the 41st game of the season, meaning that it is officially the halfway point. Brooklyn is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, meaning that they would get home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The battle is still far from over, and if the team continues to click under P.J. Carlesimo, it might be possible to move even higher in the Eastern Conference standings.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Still no word of a Justin Upton trade, which means we are getting closer to Opening Day with our right fielder still on the roster. I feel like if we make it to Spring Training and he hasn't been traded, all will be safe. If that doesn't happen though, I will probably feel like getting on a plane, going to Arizona, and taking Kevin Towers' punishment into my own hands. Don't trade him Towers!
Daily Giants Update: Obviously, the focus of the NFL world is on the Super Bowl now, as it is official that the 49ers will face the Ravens in two weeks in New Orleans. The Ravens have seemingly defied all odds in their journey to the Super Bowl, but there is still one more game to play. Either way, this seems to be a good matchup, and I'm looking forward to it.