NBA Commissioner David Stern "gave his strongest
support yet" to Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander in the
"ongoing battle over control of a new multipurpose arena,"
according to Eddie Sefko of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Stern
said last night that he believes that Alexander is
"justified in his desire to own more than a 50-50 split of
revenues from the proposed new arena that would house the
NBA Rockets and an NHL expansion franchise if one is
granted." Stern: "If you have a team worth $80 million and
you have a team worth twice as much as that, there has to be
a recognition that the Rockets have a lifetime investment in
the city. ... [A] deal for deal's sake would be a silly
thing for me to recommend to Les Alexander." Steve
Patterson, President of IHL Aeros and Leisure Management
Int'l, managers of The Summit's lease, said in response:
"With all due respect to the commissioner, anybody who knows
anything about new arenas knows that an NHL team on average
generates more revenue from tickets sales, more revenue from
merchandise sales and more revenue from concessions than an
NBA team does" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/30).
