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The Canuck's majority owner has contacted NBA head office and has been promised a serious look for potential moves within the NBA for troubled franchises.
Portland's move to Vancouver would not affect divisions.
Stern knows he fucked up in Vancouver before.. Olympic exposure in 2010 makes Vancouver an attractive proposition, as well as committed local ownership.
Stern seems to like the stability of a hockey/basketball being owned under one roof. The Canucks have sold out for 7-8 years in a row now.
Dollar is waaaay up from where it was when Grizzlies were in trouble (about 88 cents now).
I am here to tell you some team is coming here before 2010.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen said Friday he has invested more in an NBA team than any other owner, but the Blazers still need a public partnership to survive financially.
In a posting on the team's Web site, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft Corp. said, "Portland has enjoyed the benefits of the Trail Blazers through what is probably the most favorable franchise relationship with a city that has ever existed in the NBA."
But Allen repeated what he has said through spokesmen: "Unfortunately the economic model for that type of deal is broken, and now everyone needs to pitch in and try and fix it. If that effort fails, the team is in jeopardy, as we have invested too much to this point to continue."
A spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Kulongoski said Friday night the governor's position has not changed -- no bailout is planned with public money.
"The governor recognizes the value of the organization but his priorities are on education and health care right now," Anna Richter-Taylor said.
Portland city officials have scheduled another meeting with team officials for Wednesday but had no immediate comment on the Web posting by Allen, said John Doussard, Mayor Tom Potter's spokesman.
Allen said team management is ultimately his responsibility -- including the decision to give up ownership of the Rose Garden arena after the team's sister company, Oregon Arena Corp., declared bankruptcy under the weight of construction debt.
Allen said the arena's new ownership group has gotten back $195 million on an original investment of $155 million, plus a stadium worth more than $60 million and millions of dollars annually for suites, club seats, concessions and parking.
In a comment about his rank as one of the wealthiest men in the world, Allen said he could not afford to endure losses. He has already projected the team will lose $100 million in the next three years without some outside financial support.
"While I have deep pockets, it's sickening to know the model is broken, hemorrhaging money," Allen said. "It's hard. As a businessman, I'm out of pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars each and every game. That's brutal."
Allen said he would rather see the money go to community charities, education or health and science research.
He noted he has made bad investments in the past -- it has been widely reported he has lost about $12 billion in less than a decade -- but he said the team is an investment that benefits the state and regional economy.
He said other professional sports teams are losing money in smaller markets, but publicly financed arenas are helping teams survive in the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball.
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