I'm sitting here in WRW (Aerospace Building) at the University of Texas. I'm suppose to be studying for my Thermodynamics final but screw it. I found myself sitting on the comp at NBA.com reading the "courtside live" play by play commentary and I thought to myself. THIS SUX. How can Sacramento and Denver and Memphis have a NBA franchise and Austin (the 2nd fastest growing city) doesn't even have ONE profesional league. We got the population. If Cali can have 4 teams, then TX should have 4 also. What do yall think?? And if yall agree what team name should Austin have.
I think that's a terrible idea. Have you ever been to a Texas basketball game? The city can't draw for that. Lousiville is a huge basketball town, and they haven't shown they can support a pro team. Just a bad, bad idea.
Go to a game over winter break when no students are in town. Consider the fact that tickets to the longhorn games are a third of the price of NBA tickets. And even if people don't show up to games in Houston or Atlanta, the TV market is much bigger than Austin. It's not even a half good idea.
Dude. Did u see Atlanta's croud when they had 60,000 plus in 98 aginst Chicago. And Houston had capacity crouwd in the 90's. When teams satart winning people will show up
Umm...60,000?? This is the NBA not the NFL. Capacity is just over 16,000 in Htown. The capacity crowd in Atlanta is probably around the same.
I'll be lobbying for a new team at Sugarland. Yes, I can see a Houston Rockets vs. Sugarland Fairies rivalry.
I'd like to think UT would not be happy with sharing its exposure with a professional team. Austin is a college town, and UT wants it to stay that way. I'd love to see an NBA team in Austin, but it will never happen.
i can't imagine that either since such a big part of the population is broke students. NBA tickets are ridiculously expensive these days.
I don't think Austin would be able to financially support an NBA team. While there may be 4 teams in California, the areas of Los Angeles, the SF Bay and Sacramento are relatively far apart. And LA is hugely populated. Austin is too close to SA and not really that far from HOU. That said, if the NBDL ever really takes off and expands from the southeast to the souhwest it would be really cool to have an NBDL team. I don't know the specifics of the league's financing but I would imagine the Rockets and Spurs (and maybe even the Mavs) would be very supportive of the move. The caliber of NBDL players is actually quite high and many have NBA experience. For example - Tierre Brown, Peter Cornell, Mikki Moore, Jeff Trepagnier, and Two Sa'miches! http://www.nba.com/nbdl/nbdl/Players.html I spent a little time in Greenville, SC and although it's a nice place it's no Austin.
Austin would have a tough time at first supporting a team, but I think it would catch on. The problem is UT has a lot of pull in the city and UT would be DEAD AGAINST a team there for obvious reasons. I personally liked it when I was there bc as a student it was more affordable for me to see sports (college). Now with the basketball team on the rise I there will be less dead time in sports as when I was there in the early 90's.
the nba would never make it in austin. austin is a football city...maybe an NFL franchise might make it since it would draw san antonio, waco, killeen, and all the other small towns around austin as well. NBA would never make it...the horns are just now starting something in basketball, but traditionally the basketball program has sucked here, which means not a lot of interest in it. maybe an NBDL franchise, but thats all. austin is a minor league town...too small for anything else.
I would vote for it. Metropolitan Austin has a population of at least a million. (unfortunately) The city should subsidize it for the greater good. My tax dollars going for a worthy cause. The NBDL would make a good start. (That way I can still be a rabid Rocket fan- if Austin ever DID get a NBA team... man, I'd have a mental meltdown when it came to the Rockets!)
The Austin Powers? I'd never go to a game in Austin -- I might be forced to sit next to a state official or politician.
In that 1998 season, the Hawks played their games in either GA Tech's facility or the Georgia Dome because they tore down the Omni and Built Phillips. They had 60,000 plus because that was Michael's "farewell" season. There were people in the Dome sitting behind the curtain watching the game.
I don't think any kind of professional sports franchise would succeed in Austin, be it NBA, NFL, whatever. Austin is a college city.
