Responding to news that a Phoenix City Council vote on funding for arena renovations was set to be postponed in order to accommodate public hearings on the proposal, Suns president and CEO Jason Rowley issued a statement today, which reads as follows:
“We have learned that a request has been made to continue the agenda item on the arena renovation until a council meeting on January 23. We very much look forward to publicly discussing the many ways in which Talking Stick Resort Arena benefits Downtown Phoenix and our community at large, and answering any question the Council and their constituents may have about the arena and the proposed renovation.”
Rowley’s statement also included an indirect response to rumors that owner Robert Sarver has threatened to move the franchise to Seattle or Las Vegas if the Suns can’t reach an agreement with the city of Phoenix on funding for the arena renovations.
“Our priority remains being in Downtown Phoenix long term, and we’re excited about the opportunity that lies ahead,” Rowley said.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Bob Young of The Athletic makes the case for why the Suns should make former Cavaliers GM David Griffin their next head of basketball operations after firing Ryan McDonough earlier this fall. Young also reports within that story that some of Sarver’s minority partners are “understandably disgruntled about the direction of the team.” However, the structure of Phoenix’s ownership group means there’s little they can do.
- Despite having failed to crack the 24-win mark since the 2014/15 season, the Suns are still building from the ground up and don’t appear to be on the verge of reaching the next stage of their rebuilding process, as Gina Mizell of The Athletic details. “We don’t have a foundation to maintain,” head coach Igor Kokoskov said. “We have nothing to polish. We have to build.”
- Elsewhere in Mizell’s story, she notes that there have been multiple instances this season where players forgot what to run or didn’t execute a play as intended during out-of-timeout sets. Ryan Anderson said he has asked Kokoskov to reiterate a play in case his younger teammates “are afraid that they’re gonna appear to not be locked in” if they make a similar request.
- Suns forward T.J. Warren was fined $15K for directing inappropriate language toward a referee following his ejection on Monday, the league announced today in a press release. It was Warren’s first game back from an ankle injury.
15,000 dollars for swearing at a referee im sorry but the nba is soft as hell.. lmao
Please Sarver leave and take the joke of management with you.
Doesn’t he own the team? He can do whatever he wants…
Can we please pass a federal law that prevents sports leagues from using public money to build/renovate stadiums. Pro sports leagues make $10’s Billions per year. Use their own resources or private funds.
That’s a great opinion and I would agree but as in anything in life anymore it’s all about coming down to a vote. They vote on it don’t they?
A law like you propose would not come under the Federal Government’s purview. These are strictly local issues. I agree that any public funds should be limited to infrastructure improvements.