Orca Bay Chair John McCaw announced his intention
yesterday to sell the Grizzlies to Blues Owners Bill and
Nancy Laurie, and in N.Y., Mike Wise reports that Laurie
paid "nearly" $200M, almost $75M more than Orca Bay paid for
the expansion franchise in '94. While Bill Laurie said that
he was undecided if he would eventually relocate the
franchise to his Kiel Center in St. Louis, NBA Commissioner
David Stern said in Vancouver, "It's not unprecedented for
N.B.A. teams to move. ... [But] when you place a franchise
someplace you ask the fans to make a certain commitment to
the team. And it's not appropriate for the fans and the
cities to expect the league to have some commitment to
them." Under league rules, the Grizzlies must stay in
Vancouver for five years, so the team "cannot apply" to move
before May 15, 2000 (N.Y. TIMES, 9/24). In Vancouver, Gary
Kingston writes that Laurie "grew increasingly frustrated at
the line of questioning" about possibly relocating the
Grizzlies and "could not issue any guarantee to fans" that
the team would remain in Vancouver. McCaw said that with
the Grizzlies deal, his "other Orca Bay properties" -- GM
Place and the Canucks -- "were no longer on the market"
(VANCOUVER SUN, 9/24). Also in Vancouver, Howard Tsumura
reported that Orca Bay's three entities are "estimated to be
worth" $330M (Vancouver PROVINCE, 9/23). In Chicago, Lacy
Banks cites sources as saying that the Grizzlies were sold
for "roughly" $165M (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/24). In
Vancouver, Tony Gallagher cited sources who said that McCaw
had a "handshake deal" with MT billionaire Dennis Washington
for a 50% stake in the operation "with the intent" of
keeping the Grizzlies and Canucks in Vancouver. But
Washington "was not amused" when Orca Bay exec Stanley
McCammon shopped that offer around (Van. PROVINCE, 9/23).
GRIZZLIES, WE HARDLY KNEW YE? In Vancouver, Ed Willes:
"Vancouver watched in horror yesterday as its basketball
franchise was all but moved to St. Louis" (Vancouver
PROVINCE, 9/24). Also in Vancouver, Tony Gallagher wrote,
"To say Vancouver was a failure as a basketball town would
be a complete lie. ... With McCaw, money is all that
mattered" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 9/23). But Sportscorp
President Marc Ganis said on CNNfn that the sale "is a good
thing" for the Grizzlies because they "have not been very
well supported" in Vancouver. Ganis: "Of all the teams in
the NBA, that's the one team that it does make sense to
move, and the company Orca Bay ... [has] been under
tremendous pressure to restructure, and this way they can at
least reduce their losses and get some of their money back"
(CNNfn, 9/23). In St. Louis, Jeff Gordon, on Lurie's bid
for an NBA team: "Who could have guessed that it would
happen this quickly?" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/24). Also
in St. Louis, Bernie Miklasz: "Laurie, to his credit, didn't
try to deceive the citizens of Vancouver. ... Laurie will
seek to move the Grizzlies here [St. Louis]. It's just a
question of timing" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/24).
COULD CANUCKS BE NEXT? The NATIONAL POST cites a "high-
ranking" NHL official as saying that the Canucks "could be
the next to leave" (NATIONAL POST, 9/24). Also, Roy
MacGregor writes in the NATIONAL POST that the sale of the
Grizzlies "was an unexpected wrench" in the NHL's plans to
seek federal aid in exchange for keeping teams in Canada for
the next five years. MacGregor adds that some are
"terrified that what is going on in Vancouver will somehow
jeopardize the process," and notes that Portland is
"chasing" an NHL team and relocating a team there "might
quickly become a popular idea" (NATIONAL POST, 9/24).
