Should Leslie Alexander sell the team to get better ownership of the franchise?

We don't vote on the owner. We can't hire someone to 'do a better job'. He owns the team! Just think about it for a second?

 

let me guess you are a "new" rocket fan that jumped on the bandwagon this year, right???

do you think he is jerry jones??? controls the team and says what goes no matter what???

the man cares for his players coaches the fans and the city. what else do you want, and if you say a championship you are an idiot because we are REBUILDING for a championship dynasty.

do us all a favor and get of the wagon please cuz we(at least a lot of us) dont want you!!!

 

Why SHOULDN'T Les charge PPV?

It's not like all you guys went to all the games in the regular season for him to be able to play around with TV rights and such.

 

Be careful what you wish for.

Les Alexander is a very good owner- we are very lucky he is here. He is not afraid to fund the big trade that brought us Steve Francis, Scottie Pippen, and Charles BArkley. These were all very big - blockbuster trades. He did this to improve the team and try to win a championship.

The alternative to Les could be somebody like Charlie Thomas, Cablevision, or Donald Sterling.

We have had bad owners before. I hope Alexander decides to keep the team for many years.

 

This poll really makes me sick to my stomach. The Rox before Les had an terrible owner, for those of u that don't know, Hakeem almost left town because the owner was such a cheap b*stard. Les came in and yes rescued this Franchise. Those of you that have no knowledge of the Rox history really just to get off this board, this is complaining with out suffecient knowledege of rockets basketball or nba basketball system really gets on my nerves, this is agitating me greatly.

Les has been nothing but a first class owner and the result is that we have a first class organization. There's a reason players want to come here. Les has not been shy about opening his wallet at all ever. Remember how we cut Maloney a couple of years ago? His contract still had to be paid, but we were fairly loaded in most our position that year, we just got pippen, drafted dickerson and mobley, still had charles and hakeem and was about to make one last run at the title. We cut Maloney because we needed the roster space, and im not even talking about the normal 12, we wanted the best 15 players including those on injury reserve possible. Most owner would atleast left Maloney on the bench or force the coach to give him minutes to increase his trade value. That example right there showed me what kind of man Les is.

Now for all of you that wants Les to be like cuban or paul allen or what ever, guess what, the last boon in economy created several billionares, how many of those do u think there are? It's incredibly unfair to compare Les who has been a first class owner for the past decade to some one who suddenly had billions and decide to mess around with it by buying a sports team. And if you don't know, there was an SI article last year that said even mr. co-founder of microsoft is telling his management to cut back because he's losing tens of millions a year.

As far as high tix prices go, they aren't that much higher than most teams, but just enough to make up the fact that

-Houston's a smaller market compare to some other cities

-Houston's fan base sucks compare to some other cities

-Compaq center is really really small where if it sold out, it will still ranked 3rd from bottom in league attendance

So before u start complaning about what type of job Les is doing as an owner, if you REALLY care about this team, invent something like Paul or Mark, make a couple of billions and then make Les an offer he can't refuse, then proceed to lose millions every year.

 

What an asinine poll. If you love the Houston Rockets and love the fact that they are in Houston then you damn well better be thankful that Les is the owner.

Les has done everything possible to give his coaches and gm enough to be successful. He has let them make the basketball decisions and keep the people that they think are important to the franchise instead of trading players off overtime one of them comes due for a new contract that would include a big raise.

Almost any owner would have moved the franchise this year after the city failed to vote in a new arena or support the team by attending the games. Instead Les hung around until the new arena bill was finally passed and has been overly patient with a city that has not given the Rockets half the support that the Texans have received.

Outside of maybe Mark Cuban there is no other owner that I would want for the Rockets.

 

Perspective from a non-Houstonian...


There are a few owners of rare quality, like Cuban or the Sacramento brothers, or like Eddie D was for the 49ers; guys with unlimited reources, and for whom the team is a primary passion...You are extremely lucky if you get one of those, but they can come with complications ( see Steinbrenner ) and, as I said, they are rare.


Slightly below are the faceless wealthy corporations who essentially leave the sports and sports money decisions to the sports people they hire, and only get involved in extreme cases...This might even be a more ideal situation than someone like Cuban because of the lack of interference, but I'd say most fans would like a face to go with the name, and it helps f the face is cheering like a maniac for your team..But this corporate type of ownership can be excellent if the head sports guy is good..as an example I cite the back to back World Championships won by the Blue Jay back in the 90's when they were 'owned' by a board of corporate representatives, but were never heard from, and allowed Pat Gillick a completely free hand.


Below that kind of situation you have different levels of owners, starting with guys like Alexander...What I mean is, unless you completely luck out and get a Cuban etc., you are damn lucky to have an owner like Les Alexander. Boards as owners come and go, as the downward spiral of the Blue Jays since penny pinching owners replaced the previously successfull corporate group attests, and a guy like Les is more commited than a bunch of suits...

 

I'm going to be fairly quiet on this topic because my opinion should be pretty obvious.

But I had to respond to "the meat issue." The concession stands will have plenty of meat choices -- everything you're used to and more.

One of Les' main directives was to give people choices. We'll be adding heart-healthy and vegetarian items because (1) he believes it's the right thing to do, and (2) fans have asked for it. But we're not taking anything away. Just adding more choices. Our actions in developing everything for the new arena have been very fan-driven.

I was working on the concession stand names just yesterday. I know.

This has been covered pretty well in the media and in here before, but it keeps coming up -- just wanted to clarify.

Tim McDougall
Vice President of Marketing
Houston Rockets and Comets
timm@rocketball.com

 

Let me make a few comments. I've met Les twice. Seems like a nice enough guy. Whatever.

Here's my personal opinion...

On basketball:

Les' record here absolutely cannot be questioned. He has done everything within his power to bring the best players to town, to provide the coaches with whatever they need, to retain important people in the organization (Keith Jones is widely recognized as one of the best player/personnel guys in the league and rather than letting him walk, he gave him a VP title and more money), to spend money when it needs to be spent and to have the sac to make bold moves.

From a purely basketball perspective, the guy is about as golden as you can get in any league. He is very likely the best owner this city has every had as far as the sports end goes.

On ticket prices and PPV:

Ticket prices are high and I do agree that they jumped a little too quickly. That was likely because the team sold out every game for something like 6 years. When the demand is high and the supply is low, the price goes up. That's just economics. On the other side of that, they still retain quite a large number of seats under $15 for every game and the reason their average ticket cost is ranked in the top 5 is because they have some of the most expensive good seats in basketball. That has a tendency to throw off their average.

On PPV, currently, I believe only the Utah Jazz do not charge PPV for broadcasts of the first round of the playoffs. It is commonplace and the league pushes all its teams to do it to increase revenue and to increase demand. I don't like anymore than anyone does, but the Rockets can hardly be criticized for it when the entire league basically sanctions it.

As for other broadcasts, the Rockets are one of only something like 15 or 16 teams in the league that broadcast ALL of their games locally on television. They have done this consistently for many years even when they were one of only 2 or 3 teams that did it. They have had some contract problems this year, but, overall, their broadcasting is top notch.

On community/local involvement:

There is no comparison between Les and any other owner ever to own a team in the city of Houston. He has given and raised more money for local charity in his just over 10 years as owner than the Oilers did in their franchise history and the Astros have in their franchise history. It's not even close. He is the epitome of a great community citizen and now he lives here a big chunk of the year. The very fact that he isn't from Houston and has still poured millions into the local community through charitable initiatives is remarkable.

Nevermind the fact that he is ponying up $100 million of his own cash to build an arena in downtown. That's another story altogether.

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It's popular to hate sports owners. It's actually easy sometimes. Les isn't the most gifted speaker and, like all owners, he has made some questionable decisions both with the team and with the fans, but compared to the vast majority of owners in sports, Les is pretty damn amazing.

I know no one wants to like him because he has a New York accent and doesn't eat meat. Big freakin' deal. All that matters is that he does everything he can to make the team great and support the community. He does that and then some. It could be a LOT worse.

 

What Jeff said.
I'm old enough to have seen the trails and tribulations of Houston sports teams over decades. Les ranks right up there at the top. We're damned lucky to have him. He's not perfect, but who is? He's not as rich as Cuban and a handful of other owners/corporations, but who is? This whole thread has grown to become absurd and rediculous. Give it a rest.