Mayor Coleman wants an NBA team in Cbus (Columbus, Cleveland: home, vs)

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Columbusneon

Good point too. What would be the TV ratings and what sort of TV/radio contracts would an NBA team in Columbus get? Probably not good. I can't imagine an NBA team would draw good ratings from viewers in say, Morrow County or Zanesville. Yes, right in Columbus, it would probably do ok. And as many mentioned, yes, the seats would be filled, at least on a short term basis. They have filled Nationwide pretty well for the Blue Jackets until very recently. Cincinnati's market overlaps with Dayton, and Cincinnati's pro sports teams are well identified with in Dayton, as well as N KY, which has much more basketball tradition than central Ohio does. I still don't think Ohio will be getting a relocated NBA team anytime soon, but if it were to, Cincinnati would get the nod over Columbus.

I just don't see why Cincinnati would automatically be more likely. It's a larger metro, now, but it's not significantly different. We're not talking millions of people here. And Columbus is growing more than 2x faster than Cincinnati, so I think momentum of the market needs to be taken into consideration. I would also think the more overall stable economy of Columbus would also be a plus, just considering that people who are more likely to retain jobs and have a higher spending income would be more attractive to sports franchises who want people to keep coming and spending money on them.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Columbusneon

I personally, would LOVE to see an NBA team here..or any major sport. Even major auto racing, though I am not a huge fan of that myself. Anything that can put the city on the map and generate buzz and more importantly, dollars, is a good thing. But I am just realistic. Some folks like to compare Cincinnati and Columbus... Cincinnati is quite a bit higher in rankings as far as TV and radio media markets. Cincinnati is usually in the mid 20s (Cleveland about the same), whereas Columbus is generally under 30. Despite the growth, there are is a large number of Columbus natives who abhor the growth, and miss the true cowtown days of pre-1980ish Columbus, when it really was an overgrown small town. While the city overall leans liberal politically compared to the rural parts of the region, this is a place which does seem to reject anything that would take Columbus to the next level, in fear of having to spend money on it, or it failing, or being stuck in their ways (or like usual, a combination of the 3..just look at the public transit scene here and the rejection of any mode of transit other than the car and expanding the freeways to 50 lanes each). Many Columbus natives are content with "being a nice place to raise a family", and almost embarassingly point to that as what makes Columbus, Columbus. Many large cities are ALSO nice places to raise families, and also have adult oriented entertainment like restaurants and bars, professional sports, a professional paid theater company, a major orchestra, etc etc etc etc. Columbus has some of these things, and as such, it is better than Sioux City or Boise. But as long as many people here long for the good old days of "small town charm", it is likely to remain college oriented and somewhat provincial.

There are people who don't like change in Columbus, but I definitely don't see them as the major population group. I would think this would be a bigger factor in smaller town/cities that don't get much growth either way. Of all my friends in Columbus, I only know a few who are actual natives, and they are nothing like the people you describe. I've met some who are, but they're definitely in the minority.

No one is rejecting alternatives to auto travel. The bus system has been expanding every year and had the highest rate of ridership increase in the nation last year. And the city is now studying routes for BRT. Light rail is in demand, but the only time it was ever voted on by the public, back in the late 1990s, the proposal was not even allowed to say what the money was for, so people had no idea what they were even voting on other than a tax increase. Coleman brought back up rail about 5 or 6 years ago, but the recession and Kasich have both put it on hold, though there's little doubt it will be back on the table at some point.

[pontiac51]

Originally Posted by Columbusneon

Good point too. What would be the TV ratings and what sort of TV/radio contracts would an NBA team in Columbus get? Probably not good. I can't imagine an NBA team would draw good ratings from viewers in say, Morrow County or Zanesville. Yes, right in Columbus, it would probably do ok. And as many mentioned, yes, the seats would be filled, at least on a short term basis. They have filled Nationwide pretty well for the Blue Jackets until very recently. Cincinnati's market overlaps with Dayton, and Cincinnati's pro sports teams are well identified with in Dayton, as well as N KY, which has much more basketball tradition than central Ohio does. I still don't think Ohio will be getting a relocated NBA team anytime soon, but if it were to, Cincinnati would get the nod over Columbus.

There is only one problem: Columbus already has an NBA-grade arena in place and Cincinnati doesn't. This is why Columbus would get the nod over Cincinnati. I don't understand why some of you people can't comprehend this. And I don't see the citizens of Cincinnati paying for a new arena by getting their taxes raised!!

[Clevelander17]

Columbus already has an NBA team--the Cavaliers! Come on up and enjoy a game, including one of the league's best young players in Kyrie Irving.

Columbus is Ohio's city, coming into existence and currently existing at the pleasure of the rest of the citizens of the state. It does not need to be cannibalizing anymore of the resources from the rest of the state.

[Jonnno]

Too close to Cleveland and too close to Indy. It'll never happen, Fuggatttabout it.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Clevelander17

Columbus already has an NBA team--the Cavaliers! Come on up and enjoy a game, including one of the league's best young players in Kyrie Irving.

Columbus is Ohio's city, coming into existence and currently existing at the pleasure of the rest of the citizens of the state. It does not need to be cannibalizing anymore of the resources from the rest of the state.

Hasn't this already been disproved on multiple levels?

[chet_kinkaid]

there are 7 cities in the nba with a smaller metro population than columbus.i work in advertising.i know all the markets intimately.the cincinnati tv market is almost the same as columbus..and tv market size is very misleading as both the columbus and cincy signals overlap with the dayton tv market.business people generally look at how many actual people are in a specific radius from the dominant city.50 and more importantly 25 mile radius.now i will say that only the very large markets like chicago and new york,la have been successfull at having both nba and nhl franchises and even new york,the devils and especially islanders have never drawn well.cities like minneapolis.phoenix,atlanta and miami have never been able to support both nhl and nba.but columbus..especially when you look at the projections from the census for the next 10-25 years will be in a great position to support a 2nd major league sport.the question is can cleveland and pittsburgh.who in 25 years will have a smaller metro population than cbus,support 3 major league teams.pittsburgh has never been able to support the pirates even when the were winning.major league baseball is the obvious sport to locate to cbus but with the anti trust exemption and threatened owners in nearby cities it will be hard.but eventually the market dictates..and an owner somewhere will desire to be in columbus.the numbers of population and afluence will be hard to resist

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Hasn't this already been disproved on multiple levels?

No.

[pontiac51]

Originally Posted by Clevelander17

They're Ohio's NBA team. Whether they're good or bad, there's something to say about staying loyal to the local team and not changing rooting interests based on who's having a winning season.



No need for the insults. And I'm not wrong, the point is that if Columbus got an NBA team, it would hurt the Cavaliers and Cleveland because it would undoubtedly cut into the fanbase and attendance.

The only thing that hurts the fanbase and attendance is the fact the CAVS STINK, and will continue to stink for years to come!! Remember, the Cleveland area has around 3 million people. If the Cavs can't fill up a 20000 seat arena on an nightly basis, then that's their fault. Whether or not Columbus has a team has no bearing on that.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Clevelander17

They're Ohio's NBA team. Whether they're good or bad, there's something to say about staying loyal to the local team and not changing rooting interests based on who's having a winning season.

No need for the insults. And I'm not wrong, the point is that if Columbus got an NBA team, it would hurt the Cavaliers and Cleveland because it would undoubtedly cut into the fanbase and attendance.

They're Ohio's NBA team only because it's the only Ohio NBA team, not because they're so good everyone loves them.

But I thought Cleveland fans were supposed to be super loyal and would stick by their teams regardless of performance or competition?