Could Vancouver once again support an NBA team?
Posted June 9, 2014 11:10 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Toronto Raptors are playing a preseason game in Vancouver this year, but could the NBA come back to to this city full-time?
An economist from the Conference Board of Canada says the conditions are right.
Glen Hodgson says the city’s rapidly expanding population means it could be an ideal place for NBA basketball once again, at least on paper.
“We’ve got the Canucks, you’ve got CFL football, MLS soccer… why not add a basketball team? The Grizzlies were arguably kind of on the margin of viability at the time,” he tells us.
The Vancouver Grizzlies were a failure here — both on the court and financially — but the city has changed, and so have the economic conditions.
“The Lower Mainland has already added about half a million people from the time that the Grizzlies left. Over the next 20 years, there’ll be another million people. So, that makes the market about 3.5 million people, which is more than enough to support multiple pro sports franchises,” adds Hodgson.
He notes the Canadian dollar is higher than it was during the dark years of the Vancouver Grizzlies, which would also give a potential team a greater chance at succeeding.
The Raptors’ preseason game against the Sacramento Kings will take place at Rogers Arena on Sunday, October 5th. Tickets go on sale via Ticketmaster this Saturday.
