New Grizzlies Owner Bill Laurie "suggested he'd be
surprised if" the NBA's Board of Governors attempted to
attach conditions to the sale of the team that would prevent
him from moving the franchise. Laurie: "You're bringing up
something to me that I know nothing about." He said there
has "been no indication of anything like you're talking
about. And I'm assuming there won't be" (VANCOUVER SUN,
10/12)....In the WALL STREET JOURNAL, Smith College
Economics Professor Andrew Zimbalist writes on Bob McNair's
successful bid for the NFL's 32nd franchise. While McNair's
total "bill" will be around $815M spread out over five
years, Zimbalist writes that the team "could generate" $30-
50M a year in net operating income, representing a 4-6%
return on McNair's investment. Zimbalist writes the "deal
makes sense after all," as McNair "will gain significant
potential for promoting his other businesses and appreciable
consumption value from ownership." The "key to
understanding the value of football franchises is twofold:
the sport's immense popularity, and the NFL's power as a
monopoly to restrict output and raise the price of its
teams" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/13). But a WALL STREET
EDITORIAL states that it "looks as though L.A. did the wise
thing [in talks]: it punted" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/13).
HOCKEY: The Lightning held an open house last night at
the Ice Palace as part of the team's "continuing effort to
hold the fans' attention." But the "one disappointment was
the attendance." The team hoped for between 4,000 and 5,000
fans, but the announced crowd was 1,594. Team VP/PR Bill
Wickett: "We thought we'd have more people, sure. But we
know everybody here enjoyed themselves and we fully plan to
do this again next year" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 10/13). In
Tampa, Ira Kaufman: "Based on Tuesday night's modest turnout
at the Ice Palace, the marketing of the ... Lightning
remains a work in progress" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 10/13)....The
ECHL Trenton Titans will kick off their first season in
Sovereign Bank Arena tomorrow night. Titans President Brian
McKenna said the team has sold 5,000 season tickets: "This
is a huge market. About 85 percent of our ticket base comes
from about a 20-mile radius of the building. We have about
3 million people who live within a 30-minute drive from
Trenton" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 10/13).
