Relocation

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone! (I know I'm a couple hours late but most of you are probably still out enjoying the night.

Today I am writing about two possible relocation of sports teams that will directly affect Vancouver.  First there are currently two teams (NBA New Orleans Hornets, NHL Phoenix Coyotes) that are currently being run by their respective leagues because their previous owners were losing so much money.  In both cases the leagues have been trying to find local buyers so they can keep the teams in their cities.  The longer nothing happens the more likely one or both of the teams will be relocated to another city.

Now where would these two teams end up? For the Phoenix Coyotes the front runner seems to be Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  They already have a NHL ready stadium and a fan base they will support the team.  One of the main reasons the Jets left town before was because of the lousy Canadian dollar, which is now around par with the US dollar.  If this comes to fruition then there will be a chain reaction with other minor league teams.  The AHL Manitoba Moose (Vancouver Canucks farm team), which play in Winnipeg would then move to Abbotsford, BC while the Abbotsford Heat (Calgary Flames farm team) would then move to Chilliwack.  Then the WHL Chilliwack Bruins would move to Victoria, BC.  I hope this all happens because not only would there be another Canadian team in the NHL, but the Canucks farm team would only be about an hour outside of Vancouver.  This should lead to more fans checking out the farm team, plus it would be easier to call players up. Also there will likely be a rivalry between the two AHL teams because of the small distance between each other.

The other relocation that I am really hoping happens is the relocation of the New Orleans Hornets, why you ask am I hoping they relocate? Its because one of the possible relocation city is none other than back here in Vancouver.  I hear the groin you and many others just let out, a lot of people seem to not care as much about this as me.  BC has produced some of the best Canadian basketball players and I believe there is a big enough market that it can succeed this time.  What you ask is different this time?  Well two main factors for optimism is the relocation of the Seattle Sonics, the closest team to the area now is all the way in Portland, Oregon.  Plus what I think is the biggest factor are owners (the Aquilini's) who are going to keep the team here because they are invested in the city and won't just pack up and leave like Michael Heisley did after just one year.  The Aquilini's seem to understand that money needs to be spent if you are going to build a winner like they have done with the Canucks.  They would spent to bring in the managers, coaches and players needed to give Vancouver fans hope, which they never had with the Grizzlies.  Also this would be a relocation team with actual talent, not an expansion team which are destined to suck for the first couple years.  They have 3 great players in Chris Paul, David West, and Emeka Okafor, though Chris Paul may be gone in a year or two.  Its a young team where everyone is 30 years of age or younger.  I'm hoping this happens so we can enjoy basketball again in Vancouver with the Grizzlies and resurrect the yearly Naismith Cup with the Toronto Raptors.

Good night and sweet dreams.