OT: Possible NBA Team In Edmonton

[Arpeggio]

Edmonton does not get behind teams that aren't the Oilers. We lose our baseball teams, our lacrosse teams, our soccer teams. There's just not enough people to support multiple major teams, especially during the same season.

The NBA would expand to Europe before they would consider Edmonton.

 

[bone]

To be honest, I wasn't listening to 1260 at all. But, you don't think they'd be successful if they had players like Kyrie, K.D, and Steph?

Any city in the world could be successful with players like that and a decent bench. Unfortunately, getting players like that is hard, and ultimately it would fail in Edmonton miserably.

 

[rboomercat90]

I disagree. Vancouver tends to be a fairly fair weather city in terms of it's support of a team. Edmonton tends to get behind a lot of teams (depending on the situation) and I could see an NBA team doing well here.

Aside from the Oilers, Eskimos and Trappers, fans in Edmonton don’t get behind their sports teams. Trappers are gone and what replaced them couldn’t draw flies. Even the Eskimos have seen a dramatic drop in attendance from where they were in the eighties to where they are now. We’ve also seen countless teams from other leagues fail here most recently, FC Edmonton and the Rush. There have been many others over the years too.

There is a mountain of evidence, Jimmi, that says you’re wrong. Edmonton fans love the Oilers and that’s really it. I recognize a big part of that love is that the Oilers are big league and the others weren’t and the NBA is also big league. Fans fell in love with the Oilers at a time when ticket prices were affordable and everybody could go. That isn’t the case with the NHL or the NBA anymore. The Oilers were able to grow into the community before the ticket prices got ridiculous. The NBA would be charging those prices from day 1. There would never be enough people willing to keep an NBA team afloat here like what’s happened with the Oilers. It would have to be the same people or the same companies buying the seats and it’s doubtful many would take that on.

 

[oXo Cube]

Yeah and it’s starting to include the Eskimos too.

I'm a big CFL fan but the Eskimos have held out longer than anything else because they're backed up by 70 years of history and that's about it.

I'm not sure a CFL expansion team slapped into Commonwealth for next season would draw 20k.

 

[Spirit of 67]

Assuming they had good players and a decent team.

We can't get good players to come to TO. Why would they go to a city they've likely never heard of, that far north?

Not meaning to be disrespectful but.......

 

[EchoesoftheEighties]

I'd absolutely love it but no way in hell. As others have said, basically every team that isn't the Oilers dies in this city.

NBA would pick like 20 cities before Edmonton.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Aside from the Oilers, Eskimos and Trappers, fans in Edmonton don’t get behind their sports teams. Trappers are gone and what replaced them couldn’t draw flies. Even the Eskimos have seen a dramatic drop in attendance from where they were in the eighties to where they are now. We’ve also seen countless teams from other leagues fail here most recently, FC Edmonton and the Rush. There have been many others over the years too.

There is a mountain of evidence, Jimmi, that says you’re wrong. Edmonton fans love the Oilers and that’s really it. I recognize a big part of that love is that the Oilers are big league and the others weren’t and the NBA is also big league. Fans fell in love with the Oilers at a time when ticket prices were affordable and everybody could go. That isn’t the case with the NHL or the NBA anymore. The Oilers were able to grow into the community before the ticket prices got ridiculous. The NBA would be charging those prices from day 1. There would never be enough people willing to keep an NBA team afloat here like what’s happened with the Oilers. It would have to be the same people or the same companies buying the seats and it’s doubtful many would take that on.

Ok then

Edit: The city has barely be presented with anything else at the level of the Oilers, the city also is actually quite diverse, I could see it working financially, I could see people and businesses getting onboard, especially in the case where the Oilers owned the team, but the issue with it is the remoteness of the city and likely inability to attract talent. This city/province has gone through a depression, but lets not pretend it's devoid disposable income.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

What if there were NBA players the caliber of KD, The Black Mamba, D-Wade, and LBJ?

I am not a basketball fan and have zero interest in the game. LeBron could be on our team starting and it wouldn’t matter. I’d rather rearrange my sock drawer than see a basketball game. I also don’t know whoever or whatever a Black Mamba is.

Either way it will never happen in our lifetimes so it’s a moot point.

 

[McGoMcD]

The only other professional sports franchise that would do well in Edmonton is NFL. that is not very likely, but I think it would do good. Just not a basketball town, wouldn't work.

 

[The Head Crusher]

To be honest, I wasn't listening to 1260 at all. But, you don't think they'd be successful if they had players like Kyrie, K.D, and Steph?

Seattle didn't.

 

[The Head Crusher]

I am not a basketball fan and have zero interest in the game. LeBron could be on our team starting and it wouldn’t matter. I’d rather rearrange my sock drawer than see a basketball game. I also don’t know whoever or whatever a Black Mamba is.

Either way it will never happen in our lifetimes so it’s a moot point.

Kobe Bryant.

 

[TB12]

NBA game would never transcend here. I find the games boring until the end anyway, and then the last two minutes takes an hour to play which sucks the life out of that too. Though I'm only one small voice, I know very few people that would even entertain going to a game.

We can argue in the other forum, but I'm 100% with you on this one haha. The end of game timeout situation drives me nuts.

 

[voxel]

Even a large city like Toronto (where I lived off and on for 10 years) didn't even support the Raptors during the down years (post Vince Carter). Tickets were cheap but the team was garbage. NBA will head to many other US cities before Canada.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Aside from the Oilers, Eskimos and Trappers, fans in Edmonton don’t get behind their sports teams. Trappers are gone and what replaced them couldn’t draw flies. Even the Eskimos have seen a dramatic drop in attendance from where they were in the eighties to where they are now. We’ve also seen countless teams from other leagues fail here most recently, FC Edmonton and the Rush. There have been many others over the years too.

There is a mountain of evidence, Jimmi, that says you’re wrong. Edmonton fans love the Oilers and that’s really it. I recognize a big part of that love is that the Oilers are big league and the others weren’t and the NBA is also big league. Fans fell in love with the Oilers at a time when ticket prices were affordable and everybody could go. That isn’t the case with the NHL or the NBA anymore. The Oilers were able to grow into the community before the ticket prices got ridiculous. The NBA would be charging those prices from day 1. There would never be enough people willing to keep an NBA team afloat here like what’s happened with the Oilers. It would have to be the same people or the same companies buying the seats and it’s doubtful many would take that on.

I think a contending NBA Team would be just as, if not more, popular than a losing Oilers squad.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I think a contending NBA Team would be just as, if not more, popular than a losing Oilers squad.

A contending team! How about a struggling team. It is easy to supports a contending team. But one that sucks?

 

[JetsOilersfan]

We can argue in the other forum, but I'm 100% with you on this one haha. The end of game timeout situation drives me nuts.

Yep - forgot to add, the Raptors can't draw flies in the US (for tv audience) no way the NBA owners would want Edmonton in there. TV rules and no one down there cares about Canada or Canadian teams - very short sighted on their part but that's their culture, and their loss

 

[Hockeyholic]

A contending team! How about a struggling team. It is easy to supports a contending team. But one that sucks?

Let's assume the NBA team was championship caliber immediately. And the Oilers stunk up the joint. Isn't it fair to wonder if said basketball team would be more popular?

 

[Jumptheshark]

Let's assume the NBA team was championship caliber immediately. And the Oilers stunk up the joint. Isn't it fair to wonder if said basketball team would be more popular?

I reject your assumption. If a team wins they will get support. The question is how long would Edmonton a bad basketball team.

You never judge the true fan when a team is winning you judge by how they support it when they are losing. And as for Edmonton...it is a hockey town first and it is year round.

Saying we would support a WINNING team? No shit really. You should march in any uni in the world with that ground breaking business paradigm and you would get tenure on the spot and be allowed to sleep with as many sophomores you like.

Supporting a winning team is easy 99% of the time. Didn't the rush leave after having a winning season?


Edmonton is a hockey town and all other sports are a distant 5 th

 

[rboomercat90]

The only other professional sports franchise that would do well in Edmonton is NFL. that is not very likely, but I think it would do good. Just not a basketball town, wouldn't work.

This is the only one that might have a shot because there are only eight games a year. Even still they’d have their hurdles. Is the stadium big enough? Probably, but I think most NFL stadiums are bigger. The biggest issue to me would be the weather. People aren’t thrilled about sitting outside to watch a football game here in November. The NFL season could go until the end of January if you’re going deep in the post season. I would have done that in my younger days, I wouldn’t do it now. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

 

[McKappa]

Edmonton's too white for it

 

[ekcut]

It would be a complete embarrassment here.

Just like the hockey team.

 

[rboomercat90]

Ok then

Edit: The city has barely be presented with anything else at the level of the Oilers, the city also is actually quite diverse, I could see it working financially, I could see people and businesses getting onboard, especially in the case where the Oilers owned the team, but the issue with it is the remoteness of the city and likely inability to attract talent. This city/province has gone through a depression, but lets not pretend it's devoid disposable income.

Pro sports has gone nuts in the last twenty years. The average fans aren’t the ones supporting the teams anymore. They may love their teams but they aren’t the ones paying the bills and those bills are big. That falls to the well off and the corporate community.

The corporate community supports the Oilers because the Oilers have been a part of the community since the seventies. Season tickets are a status symbol but I also think there is pressure on business to do their part. There were companies called out publicly in the nineties when the team held ticket drives for a few years to qualify for a league subsidy. I don’t think there’d be that same pressure for a new NBA team. There isn’t the connection to the city the Oilers have and they can say they’ve done their part.

As for regular fans, who knows how many would buy season tickets. My guess in this city most that would be hardcore NBA fans would be younger than the crowd that purchases Oilers season tickets. Are there enough that can afford to fill the building every night?

 

[rboomercat90]

Yep - forgot to add, the Raptors can't draw flies in the US (for tv audience) no way the NBA owners would want Edmonton in there. TV rules and no one down there cares about Canada or Canadian teams - very short sighted on their part but that's their culture, and their loss

The Raptors and the Jays have been treated terribly by the US networks. Both got the worst possible time slots for their playoff games. I was shocked this year that the Raptors didn’t have to play the noon game to open their series so maybe things are changing a little for them.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Kobe Bryant.

Whose that.

Just kidding....

 

[Hockeyholic]

People are crazy for dismissing the idea that an NBA Team could survive.