[Rockets History] The Rockets almost moved to Louisville

One could say the same about Sonics going from Seattle to OKC as well, but it happened. Les is, before anything else, a businessman. He could have also flipped the team once he moved it as well. Who knows how things would have turned out? Thankfully, the Rockets only moved from The Summit to TC.

 

I wouldn't argue that Louisville is a better market than Houston. Houston is huge and the Rockets have been successful there. My point was directed toward jtr who said Louisville couldn't support a team at all.

 

Major difference...Les isn't from Louisville. He didn't buy a team so that he could move them to his hometown....

that's what happened with Seattle to OKC.

 

Les is a BUSINESS person though, which means if the price was right, he would have no qualms about doing so.

 

I find it interesting tinman that you find me so important as to start a new thread just to scorch me, which honestly is not possible. Am I suddenly that important? How did that happen? Why do I deserve such attention? Has this ever happened before on the GARM? Is my very being eating somehow into your daily life?

I thought this conversation was nicely contained on a single thread out of the way of the average viewer. You obviously intended to escalate it. Grats. Bad decision.

Louisville Kentucky is not a viable destination for a NBA franchise. Imagine a city with a metro population of 35% of Austins. It is that small. Anybody who thought that the Rockets would move to that southern Indiana stick town were just drinking the koolaide. Sorry, It is that laughable. You certainly have no understanding of the economics behind a NBA franchise. Louisville does not have the population or the wealth to support a soccer franchise much less a NBA team.

I personally have been to Louisville many times. It realistically, when viewed from a lens of the big metro areas in the US and Canada, is a hick city. If a major league franchise ever moved there it would certainly redefine the definition of a small market team. Just one question. Could Austin, minus 1,000,000 people in the metro area, support a NBA team? I honestly do not care about your version of Rockets history. Not when the present is so darn exciting. There is the Rockets offense, defense, playoff seeding, rotation, Canaan and Daniels and Covington, and many other topics to discuss. I prefer to live in the here and now. I gladly leave the sad topics of history to you.

So what are we talking about here? I honestly do not know. Why is this discussion about ancient history even happening? I personally have no idea.

 

You underestimate the size of Louisville, and even more importantly that the fan-dome would grow to the entire state because of the lack of competition from professional sports.

As of 2011, Austin metro contained 1,783,519 people. As of 2010, Louisville metro contained 1,307,647 people. Louisville would easily be a better location than Austin. Austin would be up against San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. I bet everyone in Austin already prefers one of those teams, not to mention it's more of a football area. I don't care how many times you've been to Louisville, you're clearly misinformed if you 1) think it's a hick town and 2) don't realize it's a basketball city.

2013 Kentucky Wildcats attendance - 23,099
2013 Louisville Cardinal attendance - 22,439
2013 Houston Rockets attendance - 17,327

 

He didn't buy this team merely as an investment. It's a play-toy for him.

 

By whatever metric you use it is far smaller than Austin. And since I have been to both cities many times I can attest to that fact.

 

LOL I see we have nothing else to do today.

 

That is not counting the entire Metro area, just the city itself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville_metropolitan_area

I'm not sure what Austin has to do with Louisville at all. Why do you keep bringing it up? Because it is a larger city without a team? What about Riverside-San Bernadino? Minneapolis? San Diego? St. Louis? Kansas City? Las Vegas?

There is a reason Louisville is on every list of potential cities for relocating teams. Louisville is larger than a lot of cities that host NBA teams. Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Salt Lake City and Memphis immediately come to mind. Is it the best option? I'm not saying that, but it is a viable option and you'd be ignorant not to think so.

 

Thanks again Clutch and Jeff!

 

I have to agree with jtr on this one. I followed the relocation at the time and it seemed to be:

(a) being used by the Rockets to leverage a new arena in Houston (duh) and
(b) by Bruce Miller primarily out of desperation, given that he has been trying to bring a professional basketball team to Louisville for the last 30 years. He needed to show that it was a serious contender for other professional sports franchises (e.g. the Hornets/Grizzlies/Buffalo Braves). His "non-disclosure agreement" regarding “one of the largest hedge fund financial operations in the country" which represents “an awful lot of extremely wealthy people" and "foreign billionaires" is highly suspect. Also--the last time Miller made a push for an NBA franchise he suggested that they would have to play in Freedom Hall.

It's possible that the project was an attempt by Bruce Miller to become a public figure. Regardless, it is clear that he does not have the connections or funding that he claimed to have 15 years ago or he would have been able to purchase a franchise by now. I don't recommend that anyone read "Airball"-->Miller's bookabout his secret group of elites working to get a franchise. The guy is an egomaniac.
http://www.amazon.com/Airball-Complete-Unvarnished-Account-Louisvilles/dp/0976174804

"The admittedly gripping tale of Miller’s “Pursuit Team” with its deadlines and sleepless nights seems tantamount to V. I. Lenin’s small, dedicated group of Bolshevik revolutionaries; neither Lenin nor Miller provides evidence of a mass movement, instead expressing confidence that they’re doing the right thing according to ineffable laws of economic determinism and a fast-paced running game."
http://cityofnewalbany.blogspot.com/2005/01/millers-air-ball-rims-out-but.html

 

Wouldn't have minded Louisville, Vegas would've killed the franchise though.

 

I love this excerpt from the old site:

Isn't It Nice to Live in Houston...
Last night the LA Lakers won the NBA title. After the game, fans poured onto the streets and began burning, smashing and looting.

Whenever we read about the civil disobedience in other cities after sports championships, we always remember with such fondness how the city of Houston conducted itself after the Rockets won both of their championships and after the Comets won all three of theirs.

We remember reading how the number of arrests for disorderly conduct and the like were actually lower on those nights following championship victories than on a regular Saturday night despite the fact that crowds numbered into the tens of thousands.

How lucky we are to not only have class organizations like the Rockets and Comets in Houston but also to have the best and classiest fans in the world. Scenes like the one's in LA are typical of big cities but not typical of Houston. Once again, we serve as the role model for how a city should be. So, rather than berating LA for the behavior of its citizens, we say "Bravo!" to the city and citizens of Houston for showing the world what class really is.

 

Cheering Schaub's injuries set us back as a city in the eyes of many though.

 

HAHAHA. No comment.

 

Save our Rockets showed the power of the fans, led by Jeff and Clutch. It was a very significant part of Houston Rockets history.

 

This post makes a lot of sense.

Additionally, in case people don't understand this. It's the same reason Alabama (as much as its citizens love football) does not have a pro football team.