NBA Commissioner Adam Silver "is always asked about NBA expansion to Europe" when he travels there, but the issue is that while several cities "desire an NBA team, they lack the suitable arenas the league desires," according to Gary Washburn of the BOSTON GLOBE. Silver last week said, "We have now, of course, a state of the art facility in London where we have experimented with regular-season games. We have [the O2 World Berlin]; the Bercy Arena in Paris is in the process of being renovated. I was in Spain only a few weeks ago for the World Cup of Basketball and had conversations with organizations in Barcelona and Madrid about plans for future arenas. So I’ll say, we’ll see, we have no immediate plans to expand at the moment but we’re watching the world economies, the ongoing growth in our sport, and it’s our hope one day we will ... expand to Europe" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/12). MCCLATCHY's Stuart Leavenworth noted Shanghai and Beijing "have NBA-quality arenas," but other major Chinese cities "don’t have the means, or the year-round demand, to build modern entertainment palaces." Kings President Chris Granger: "Think of all the cities in China with more than 5 million people. You have to think there will be an increased sophistication of the venues" (MCCLATCHY, 10/11).
SPOILS FROM NEW DEAL: In Houston, Jonathan Feigen noted in light of the NBA's new media-rights deal, another lockout "would be more costly now that so much more income would be at risk." The league's $24B deal with ESPN and Turner shows it "seems to have survived all those late-night bargaining roadblocks nicely." The argument that a work stoppage "does irrevocable damage is not likely to gain traction" in the future. Silver "likely will look to open negotiations long before a work stoppage would begin" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/12).
