OT: Would The NBA Work In Montreal ?

[JianYang]

By the metric of Gary Bettman and the NHL expansion, an NBA team in Montréal would open up a whole new market. Expanding the NBA to Seattle or Vancouver is the equivalant of expanding the NHL to Québec city, you don't create a new fan base by doing so. If you expand the NBA to Montréal it is like expanding the NHL to Arizona, you create a brand new fan base. According to the rules of the NHL expansion, having an NBA team in Montréal before Seattle or Vancouver actually makes sense.

Seattle is a tremendously affluent market. It's crazy to say montreal before Seattle.

Seattle coming back is not a question of if... It's only a when.

 

[OG6ix]

The Grizzlies left due to a historically bad management team, a weak dollar, and a general perception of Vancouver being a siberian outpost.

Since the Grizzlies left, the league has become more cultured, and international, with a stronger econonic model that dwarfs the nhl.

Canadian teams will never be big players in the UFA market, but the raptors are a clear example that if you are managed well, you can make it work. The climate isn't as daunting as the late 90s when the Grizzlies died.

UFAs generally stay with their teams these days unless the team is badly managed. Durant played in Oklahoma for years not a destination city, Giannis in Milwaukee, and Boston has not been a UFA destination but they draft well and trade well. The raptors are in the Durant sweepstakes - something that would not have been remotely possible if this was the 90s.

 

[dcyhabs]

If Montreal kept the expos for a couple more season it would be a completely different story. The media revenues sky rocketed in 2006 and the league became less ticket gate driven. NBA, unlike the MLB, transcends sport into entertainment. I think one really surprisingly good story out of Montreal is the amount of good basketball players they have coming out of Montreal given it does not have the infrastructure that Ontario and BC has for basketball.

The expos were sold cheap with the understanding the new owners would take cate of the team. The ownership group put no money in and sold as quickly as they could to a scammer who put no money in but got ghe league to buy him two teams.

Sports teams mostly work if owners are rich enough to blow money out of pride or if cities are dumb enough to subsidize rich owners who don’t need the money.

Some cities, including Montreal, can do at least one sport based on fan numbers and passion. Huge cities like New York can do multiple teams. Most smaller US cities give teams way more than they should and have little chance of winning with the financial and other advantages bigger more popular cities have over them.

If some rich guy wants to bring a team here, fine, let him, and attendance will be decent, but don’t give public money.

 

[BLONG7]

They were talking about it tonight on the Raptors pre-game show.....Did any of you guys see that ?

I know Montreal sports fans are very passionate people from what i have seen over the years.......The Raptors have had longevity in Canada but the Grizzlies didn't.........

What do you think would happen in Montreal if it ever happened ?

No...................nothing ever works, but the habs.
Local media would whine there are no franco players, and so on....
It's not a true sports city, it's a habs city......

 

[sandviper]

I'm not sure why this even matters - in Toronto it's not just black people who watch the game.

Amen.

I think the best way to describe basketball is that it’s more accessible. It’s a game you can basically play for free all year in warm climates, or even 8-10 months outdoors here in Toronto.

It isn’t just about race, though I know why people say that even if I wholeheartedly do not agree.

For anyone who has actually gone to a Raptors game, there is a healthy mix of fans Of all sorts. Raptor tickets aren’t really cheap but they’re still cheaper than hockey games. The games also tend to be faster and end earlier so even on weeknight games, you see a lot of kids.

 

[OG6ix]

Amen.

I think the best way to describe basketball is that it’s more accessible. It’s a game you can basically play for free all year in warm climates, or even 8-10 months outdoors here in Toronto.

It isn’t just about race, though I know why people say that even if I wholeheartedly do not agree.

For anyone who has actually gone to a Raptors game, there is a healthy mix of fans Of all sorts. Raptor tickets aren’t really cheap but they’re still cheaper than hockey games. The games also tend to be faster and end earlier so even on weeknight games, you see a lot of kids.

The average ticket prices between the two are negligible now. The average for the Leafs is like 128 and for the raptors it's 115. This is primary market not the secondary. MLSE is making a killing.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I don't see why it couldn't work, it's certainly a big enough market on paper. It would require strong enough ownership to be in for the long run though, cause you would need a few years to build a fan base and educate the more casual fans on the game and the players. The Raptors are definite proof that you can make basketball viable in a non traditional place, it just takes time and enough money. It's harder work than bringing baseball back though, probably too scary for most of the real big pockets in the province.

 

[JayKing]

The Grizzlies left due to a historically bad management team, a weak dollar, and a general perception of Vancouver being a siberian outpost.

Since the Grizzlies left, the league has become more cultured, and international, with a stronger econonic model that dwarfs the nhl.

Canadian teams will never be big players in the UFA market, but the raptors are a clear example that if you are managed well, you can make it work. The climate isn't as daunting as the late 90s when the Grizzlies died.

Ironically as well Memphis are another great model of not attracting free agents, yet being in some form of contention. Whether that's the Grit and Grind era or the current Ja Morant era.

 

[JayKing]

With that said, the NBA would probably go to Vegas, Seattle, Vancouver & Mexico City before considering Montreal.

 

[HuGo Sham]

Ironically as well Memphis are another great model of not attracting free agents, yet being in some form of contention. Whether that's the Grit and Grind era or the current Ja Morant era.

the other strength of the NBA is that it doesn't actually mater where Stars play - like Ja or Giannis because the league is a global brand with an extraordinary marketing dept, so guys are recognized everywhere and making elite money (NBA also revenue sharing) no matter where they play.

 

[Scintillating10]

They were talking about it tonight on the Raptors pre-game show.....Did any of you guys see that ?

I know Montreal sports fans are very passionate people from what i have seen over the years.......The Raptors have had longevity in Canada but the Grizzlies didn't.........

What do you think would happen in Montreal if it ever happened ?

They wouldn't support the Expos. Despite the deep and rich history both the Expos and Royals had in this city. If they are not going to spend $40 for a MLB game, they are not going to spend $300 for an NBA game. Not only that, Both Alouettes and Concorde collapsed multiple times. Montreal is a hockey town solely.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

They wouldn't support the Expos. Despite the deep and rich history both the Expos and Royals had in this city. If they are not going to spend $40 for a MLB game, they are not going to spend $300 for an NBA game. Not only that, Both Alouettes and Concorde collapsed multiple times. Montreal is a hockey town solely.

The Expos thing was very complicated and long running, it would be a bit reductive to say people just wouldn't support them IMO. Fan support WAS a definite issue at the end though, obviously.

 

[Nicko999]

Absolutely all for it, it wouldn't of worked 20 years ago but it would work now especially with the talent and star power the NBA has now

What freaks me out is we have the PERFECT venue already for it, like you wanna argue and debate for a Baseball team it begins and ends with a new stadium
But we actually HAVE a perfect spot already to accommodate a team

Also the NFL would absolutely work here and toronto 100%, people think it wouldnt but it's only because it would kill the CFL essentially (just make it the minor league for the NFL already)
If people think Toronto and Montreal cant fill up a 40-50k stadium a mere 8 times a year on SUNDAYS then you're sorely underestimating the 2 cities in this day and age

I get filling up 40k for baseball is tough on mondays Tuesdays wednesdays etc, but on a weekend for football? Please

A bit off topic, but no, the NFL is not possible for both cities.

Both Olympic Stadium and Skydome are not NFL caliber stadiums in their current state. I mean the "smallest" NFL stadium is Soldier Field and it has a capacity of 62k.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

With that said, the NBA would probably go to Vegas, Seattle, Vancouver & Mexico City before considering Montreal.

That's a pretty big issue yeah, Montreal has the venue but Vegas in particular is only a question of time, let's face it. Seattle is bound to have a team again at some point as well.
Ironically, the MLB on the other hand would love to have a team in Montreal if somebody with enough money would be willing to make it happen and build a place for it.

 

[OG6ix]

I don't see why it couldn't work, it's certainly a big enough market on paper. It would require strong enough ownership to be in for the long run though, cause you would need a few years to build a fan base and educate the more casual fans on the game and the players. The Raptors are definite proof that you can make basketball viable in a non traditional place, it just takes time and enough money. It's harder work than bringing baseball back though, probably too scary for most of the real big pockets in the province.

Basketball in Canada is definitely not a non-traditional sport - Pro basketball may not have the tradition that hockey does but honestly that's most leagues in Canada not the NHL. A lot of that tradition comes from the sense that the NHL was the first Canadian league to expand, somewhat successfully, to the States. If the league was only in Canadian markets it would be closer to the CFL but since there is a team in New York, Boston, Chicago etc it was thought of as Major league early. Basketball has been played here since it was invented by James Naismith - the oldest standing court in the world is in New Bruinswick - Canada won silver at the first olympics where basketball was a sport.

The Expos thing was very complicated and long running, it would be a bit reductive to say people just wouldn't support them IMO. Fan support WAS a definite issue at the end though, obviously.

Yeah for sure. There is no fanbase that can deal with firesales every year, a stadium where ownership admitted was bad for baseball, an ownership who made it hard to follow the team on TV (Loria), and finally a team that was rumoured to relocate or even contract consistently. The expos were basically the cleveland indians from the movie Major League. Even then the NBA is a very different beast than baseball and it transcends sport into pop-culture while the MLB is on the downturn and becoming more and more like the NHL where it's a regional sport.

 

[Redux91]

Both Olympic Stadium and Skydome are not NFL caliber stadiums in their current state. I mean the "smallest" NFL stadium is Soldier Field and it has a capacity of 62k.

No shit, thank you lol.

 

[Habs13]

We have a pro basketball team that nobody cares about already. Has anybody here been to a game? (I have)

 

[sandviper]

We have a pro basketball team that nobody cares about already. Has anybody here been to a game? (I have)

The Dragons?

 

[Garbageyuk]

Call them the Montreal Canadiens Basketball Club and have them wear the colors. Most casual Habs fans would support them just because of that lol.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Garbage. Not a sport. Pass.

Can you expand?

 

[OG6ix]

We have a pro basketball team that nobody cares about already. Has anybody here been to a game? (I have)

Are you seriously comparing the CEBL to the NBA? That's like comparing the CPL to the EPL or the SPHL (southern professional hockey league) to the NHL.

 

[Garbageyuk]

Can you expand?

He won’t; it’s a common racist narrative. He’d have to make up something other than that if he did elaborate.

If it was about the sport itself, he’d just say he doesn’t care for basketball like any normal person would if they simply aren’t a fan.

 

[bicboi64]

As a Torontonian, I'd love to see another NBA team in Canada. MTL has a great basketball culture and has produced a lot of good talent. Can definitely see it working.

Khem Birch, Lu Dort, Chris Boucher, are three MTL born players and there's a growing international scene for basketball. Guys like Embiid, Fournier, Gobert, Hoard, Maledon, Ntilikina, etc... the list of francophone players are growing and MTL could be an under the radar NBA city.

Plus as an international city with a metro population of around $2+ million, it'd already be larger than Milwaukee, OKC, New Orleans, Memphis, etc,...

 

[Toene]

As a Torontonian, I'd love to see another NBA team in Canada. MTL has a great basketball culture and has produced a lot of good talent. Can definitely see it working.

Khem Birch, Lu Dort, Chris Boucher, are three MTL born players and there's a growing international scene for basketball. Guys like Embiid, Fournier, Gobert, Hoard, Maledon, Ntilikina, etc... the list of francophone players are growing and MTL could be an under the radar NBA city.

Plus as an international city with a metro population of around $2+ million, it'd already be larger than Milwaukee, OKC, New Orleans, Memphis, etc,...

The metro area is 3 million iirc

 

[bicboi64]

The metro area is 3 million iirc

Even better. Make it happen Adam Silver. It'd be nice to have a rivalry in Canada as well. Current rivalries for Toronto are kinda dead since we won a chip. We need some new beef