College teams turned Richmond into Hoopstown, USA, for a brief moment in March, but could the area support a professional basketball team?
A study by the Business Journals says yes.
The Virginia capital was among 22 U.S. and Canadian markets that could support a new NBA franchise, according to an analysis of 57 major metro areas without NBA teams.
The survey looked at total personal income, or the amount of money earned by all residents in 2010. To support a team, a city must have an income base of $34.2 billion, according to the survey methodology.
Richmond came in 10th on the list, with an income base of $52.23 billion. Virginia Beach/Norfolk came in fifth on the list.
Although Richmond might be a good candidate, the NBA isn’t likely to add teams anytime soon; in fact, it is considering contracting the league, according to the story.
At least that gives Richmonders plenty of time to ponder what to call their future NBA team.
Chime in the comments below: What would you name a Richmond NBA franchise?
Regardless of income, Richmond can’t support a minor league franchise let alone a major league one. End of story.
Steal a team away from another City – after we build a new coliseum of course. The City that Bank of America Built would be nice
Milwaukee, Cleveland? (Im no NBA expert these are just unqualified guesses). Doesn’t having a real pro team in town help with expanding the corporate base (ie attracting new companies to move to your City)? I love this conversation when it stays pro-Richmond, but for some reason it attracts naysayers.
In the new coliseum study they addressed the ability of the region to attract a pro team (NHL or NBA)…when reading the results, it appeared close with the primary reasons for it not being likely is corporate base (large company headquarters – don’t recall the metric they used) – and, get this, radio reach? I actually contacted the firm that did the study with some follow-up questions but did not get an answer.
Another funny thing about the coliseum study and how it addressed a pro team was they did a survey. But, they did not ask the question “would you support an NBA or NHL team in Richmond”…they asked for an opinion (unqualified at best) “do you think Richmond could support a pro team”…that is an entirely different question which only tells you something about the attitude or opinion about the Richmond region and doesn’t give any indication as to how many people would support a pro team.
People sometimes say that becasue Washington has teams, Richmond cant. That is not the case if you look at other small Cities that sit within 100 miles of big market Cities with a pro (or two) teams. You’ll find this scenario in the NBA, NFL, NHL, and I believe MLB. Often times teh City is smaller than the Richmond Metro.
Richmond is hit or miss in its support for second-rate pro teams. I think there are tons of people, many transplants from bigger Cities or smaller for that matter, that don’t give a rip about AAA or AA baseball, ECHL hockey, etc…but would love to cheer for a Richmond team on a national stage. I think Richmonders would come out of the woodwork to support a first-rate pro team playing on a national stage…Just like they do when their beloved alma maters take a national spotlight.
See? as I was typing, Naysayers arrived (DAveM). Dave, you assume that there is not a large population of folks that will support a national pro team but dont care for second or third tier sports. This is simply not the case as I’m sure you are aware. You cant measure potential support for a National Pro team by looking at support for a AA, AAA, or ECHL.
Because only x amount of people support Bio Ritmo when they play in town, does that mean the town won’t go see U2 if they vist? Lets drop this comparison to the minor sports, its silly at best.
Any creative “glass half full” comments on this subject?
Thanks, Michael. I love to hear someone challenge the clinically depressed.
Great comments, I agree!
I would buy season tickets.
I parallel DaveM’s comments to that of Dick Vitale’s about VCU in the tournament. I agree with Michael…minor league and major league should not be compared as such. I would be much more inclined to attend a pro sports(NBA,MLB) game.
Of course Richmond can support an NBA team. Why don’t we also build a Disneyworld, Trump Taj Mahal, and Seaworld while we’re at it.
All we need is a “think outside the box” positive attitude!
Much as I would like to see a major league franchise locate here, I doubt that it would be successful. Any poll to measure interest should include what ticket prices are likely to be. I think that would put an end to the speculation about success. Let’s face it, we have 2 very good college basketball teams here that a family can affordably support. Pro sports are now mostly for the wealthy and those on expense accounts. We don’t have that base in sufficient numbers here in Richmond.
@BillC well, im not even gonna comment on your post.
@glenn – at the heart of this debate is the issue of informed views. I, personally can not predict the success of a richmond pro team. It is not my area of expertise. I am willing to say that it is my opinion that it is not as unlikely as the common naysayers (or clinically depressed as another post said) always portray it to be. You, for example, site income levels. I assume you are schooled in this research? How does raleigh, buffalo, cleveland, milwaukee, columbus, san jose and many other such cities stack up? They all have pro teams. Wait a second, isnt this article based on a qualified study that says, generally speaking, the income issue is actually not an issue in Richmond?
My point is this- nobody has really looked at this with a qualified eye except the two studies noted already, neither of which was focused enough on a richmond-specific pro team…but plenty of folks love to log on and make totally unqualified guesses disguised as knowledge of the situation.
I would love to understand the goal of the type of person who, not knowing, what so ever, the actual pertinent facts to have a qualified view, just love to jump in and say “no way not richmond never”. Its so common that is why i predicted their presence immediately in my first post. Tell me, since we know your comments are not based on any facts, do you just hate richmond? Do you not wish for richmonds ecnomy to grow and prosper? Are you logging in from Charlotte? I just dont get it.
I know this much, a lot of this comes down to corporate presense. Compared to other cities that make the income list, richmond does fairly well with its corporate presense.
Michael Jones – you must have a pretty short term memory. The R-Braves left because the city of Richmond couldn’t get its act together and build a new stadium. What makes you think it can get a new coliseum built, and one that’s big enough to host an NBA team, which costs far more?? Who’s going to pay for it? How many studies have there been? Good luck getting taxpayers that would want to foot that bill when far more important things need to be addressed like schools, roads, etc. Another problem is Richmond’s proximity to DC. This is considered DC’s market BTW and it would need permission from DC to be allowed to have a team. That usually calls for a nice tens of millions of dollars in payment from an ownership group or city. Additionally, Richmond is so far down the totem pole as a “destination” city for relocation. Never even heard it mentioned until a numbers study came out. So good luck with that.
Oh, and one other thing… Know anyone that has about $300 – $400 million laying around? That’s the minimum it would take for someone to buy a team and bring it to town, after a new facility is built.