City of Virginia Beach Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Rumors: Nash, Bryant, D’Antoni, Bogut

November 13th, 2012 at 7:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Steve Nash said he's "thrilled, but definitely shocked" by Mike D'Antoni's hiring as Lakers coach, and expressed a level of disappointment about not getting to play for Phil Jackson, as Sam Amick of USA Today chronicles. "Well I mean, of course. In some ways, I thought it was Phil, and so I was geared up for that, and excited in a totally different respect because of his experience and success, and particularly here with this organization," Nash said. "That would have been a whole different circumstance that I would've been excited for as well. But I'm back with Mike and thrilled." We have plenty more on D'Antoni, his new team, and their Pacific Division rivals right here.

Kobe Bryant expressed sentiments similar to Nash's, and said he and his teammates all believed Jackson would be the next coach, notes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
D'Antoni laid out the expectations for his team, telling Mason & Ireland of ESPNLA 710 radio, "If we're not at least in the hunt, a serious hunt, then I've failed as a head coach. I'm comfortable with that," as ESPNLA's Ramona Shelburne documents. D'Antoni also indicated he planned to reach out to Nate McMillan about joining his staff.
Warriors center Andrew Bogut will be out longer than the team's original seven-to-10 day projection, and might not return before January, according to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. It's unlikely he'll return before December as he nurses his surgically repaired left ankle, Thompson says.
Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms confirmed a meeting recently took place between him and a representative of an unnamed NBA team, writes Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee. According to other reports, the representative was Kings co-owner George Maloof. The mayor said the team believes the area is a "good market."

Latest On Kings, Virginia Beach

November 8th, 2012 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in August, we heard that the city of Virginia Beach was working on a proposal for an NBA arena, potentially trying to attract the Kings to move from Sacramento to Virginia. While Kings officials denied being involved in talks with Virginia Beach at the time, rumors continue to persist.

The latest update on Virginia Beach's $350MM arena plan comes from Aaron Applegate of the Virginian-Pilot, who says the arena proposal is "moving forward with behind-the-scenes meetings." Warren Harris, the city's director of economic development tells Applegate that a representative from an NBA team eyeing a move has met with Virginia governor Bob McDonnell and city officials. While Harris declined to name the team, Applegate cites multiple source who say that the governor and Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms have met with Kings ownership.

A spokesman for the Kings declined comment both to Applegate and to Tony Bizjak and Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee, who also looked into the rumors linking the Kings to Virginia Beach. Sessoms told the Bee reporters that there is a professional team "very interested" in moving to Virginia Beach, but Kings co-owner Joe Maloof offered a simple "no" when he was asked if the Kings had met with Governor McDonnell.

According to both the Pilot and Bee reports, Sessoms intends to update Virginia Beach City Council on Tuesday regarding the ongoing talks about the potential terms of an arena financing deal. With voters in Virginia Beach reportedly not sold on the idea of building a new arena, the city hasn't made as much progress as Seattle, where Chris Hansen's arena proposal has already been approved by both city and county councils.

Odds & Ends: Virginia Beach, West, Mavs, Maynor

October 16th, 2012 at 10:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Links as Tuesday turns into Wednesday..

Voters in Virginia Beach, Virginia are largely against the idea of building an NBA arena in their city, according to a poll released earlier today, writes Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. The poll showed that voters oppose the proposed arena by a 45-38 margin and oppose public funding for it by a margin of 58-32. It already seemed unlikely that an NBA team would move to the area, but the lack of public support further hurts the odds.
Delonte West's suspension for conduct detrimental to the Mavericks didn't last long as he was reinstated this evening, writes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Sources said that West's suspension stemmed from an outburst in the locker room after the Mavs' 123-104 preseason win Monday over the Rockets.
Eddie Sefko of the The Dallas Morning News writes that Mark Cuban should have been in attendance for Deron Williams' meeting with the Mavericks this summer, but the owner shouldn't be blamed for the point guard's decision to stay with the Nets. Recently, Williams indicated that his decision to pass on Dallas was influenced by Cuban's decision to attend a taping of his television show rather than meet with him.
Point guard Eric Maynor's return from injury is as good as any free agent pickup the Thunder could have hoped for this summer, writes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. The former VCU star is entering his walk year after missing the bulk of the 2011/12 season.
Kevin Garnett gave a strong endorsement of the new look Nets following their preseason game against the Celtics. “They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with. They’re nothing like last year. They’re gonna be strong," said Garnett, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

Kings Not Involved In Virginia Beach Arena Talks

August 29th, 2012 at 8:46am CST by Chuck Myron

Comcast-Spectator president Peter Luukko on Tuesday told the Virginia Beach City Council that his company has not spoken with the Kings about plans for a new arena, reports Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. The media company has met with NBA and NHL officials to let them know they are trying to get an arena built in the city, Luukko said, but few other details about the plan emerged in Tuesday's meeting.

Comcast-Spectator would lease and manage the arena for 25 years should an NBA or NHL team commit to playing there, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. The arena would be built on city-owned land and could open as soon as 2015. Virginia Beach director of economic development Warren Harris said he, like Luukko, has met with NBA and NHL officials, and they've told him the city would become an attractive destination for teams if an arena were in place, according to the Daily News.

Lillis says Luukko and city officials didn't specify the cost of the arena or who would pay for it, though according to George Warren of News10.net, the estimated price tag is $350MM. No developer is a part of the plan. There was talk of letting the public vote on whether to build the arena, Lillis writes, which would present another hurdle to its completion.

Four of the 11 council members had comments about the arena Tuesday, and two of those four were critical of the plan, according to Lillis.

The Kings sent an email to their sponsors last week, distancing themselves from rumors that the team was considering a move to Virginia Beach. According to Lillis, part of the email read, "Any information you have heard connecting the Maloofs, the Kings, and the city of Virginia Beach are false and have no validity. The City Council in Virginia Beach and Comcast have both publicly acknowledged that they have not spoken to the Maloofs or anyone from the Kings organization or any NBA officials and rather are in discussions to create a new facility that could accommodate either an NHL or NBA team down the road."

Virgina Beach Arena Proposal Set For Today

August 28th, 2012 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

As we heard last week, the Virginia Beach city council will hear a proposal today for a new, 18,000-seat arena that could be used to deliver a professional sports team to the city. The NBA's Sacramento Kings are rumored to be the franchise targeted by potential investors to lure to Virginia Beach. With the pitch scheduled for this afternoon, news is trickling in about the proposed arena, and we've got a round-up right here:

Virginia governor Bob McDonnell supports the city's plan to bring a sports franchise to the city, but local officials are already expressing caution, writes Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. "If they're coming to tell us they're using their own money, I'm ecstatic," said Virginia Beach councilman John Moss. "But if they want free land or any other money, I'm not the least bit interested."
Also within Lillis' piece, Virginia Beach councilman James Wood acknowledged that professional sports are probably something the local market is missing, but qualified that statement: "I think (the region) could support a pro sports team; I just don't know if it would make sense for us. These projects require a pretty healthy public subsidy, and I just don't know that Virginia Beach is ready to step up and do that."
Even if city council gets behind the proposal, that hardly makes it a lock that the Kings would relocate to Virginia Beach, says Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. According to Kyler, the Kings have made no commitments or promises to any city, and are "actively listening" to several scenarios — this one just happens to be the latest.
The Maloofs aren't helping their cause by refusing comment on the Virginia Beach rumors, writes Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty recaps all the known info about the potential threat of Virginia Beach to Sacramento.

Latest Links On Kings, Virginia Beach

August 24th, 2012 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

Yesterday, news surfaced that Virginia Beach may be trying to attract the NBA's Sacramento Kings, with an arena proposal on the slate for next Tuesday's city council meeting. Various reports suggested that it was premature to consider Virginia Beach a real possibility for the Kings, but it appears the city is one of many that could be in play for the franchise. A few more links on the subject have trickled in today, so let's round them up right here:

Tony Bizjak and Sam Stanton of the Sacramento Bee provide a nice round-up of yesterday's rumors, which includes quotes from multiple members of the Sacramento city council. Councilman Jay Schenirer said he'd like the Maloofs to be more upfront about their intentions, while Rob Fong noted that "it seems pretty obvious that the Kings aren't that interested in staying in Sacramento."
At Sactown Royalty, Tom Ziller argues that it would be pretty simple for the Maloofs to kill the Virginia Beach rumor, since the area is "nowhere near ready" for an NBA franchise.
The Kings are exploring their options, but Virginia Beach is no further along than any other options being considered, sources tell Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
Several team executives that spoke to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link) think the NBA will eventually consist of more small-market franchises, since it can be beneficial to be the "only show in town." Amico notes that it hasn't worked for Sacramento, but that Virginia Beach shouldn't be immediately ruled out.

Virginia Beach Trying To Attract Kings

August 23rd, 2012 at 2:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:52pm: According to a Comcast-Spectator statement, "No specific team from any league has been identified as the potential tenant," Bizjak tweets.

2:27pm: Kings co-owner Joe Maloof tells CBS13 in Sacramento that he and his brothers have not spoken with Virginia Beach, while a Comcast-Spectator spokesman said the company would not comment until it is at the Virginia Beach city council meeting Tuesday. No representative from the Kings will be at that meeting, Bizjak tweets.

1:40pm: A source tells Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee that an arena will be part of discussions at Tuesday's city council meeting in Virginia Beach, but there's no word whether the Kings will part of that discussion. A Kings official would not confirm talks with Virginia Beach or other cities (Twitter links). The NBA says it's gotten no information from the Kings about Virginia Beach and the team has not applied for relocation, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

1:03pm: No announcement about a move is planned for next week, Sam Amick of SI.com hears (Sulia link).

12:49pm: A source tells Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee the Kings are not moving to Virginia, so it seems the area still has some work to do before any plans are made official. (Twitter link).

12:35pm: The Kings have been mentioned as a possible tenant for a proposed new arena in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a source tells Aaron Applegate of The Virginian-Pilot. A group of sports and entertainment companies has approached the city of Virginia Beach about forming a partnership to build an 18,000-seat arena. One of those companies, Comcast-Spectator, has guaranteed mayor Will Sessoms that it will deliver a professional sports team to the arena if it is built.

A report by Philip Newswanger and Bill Cresenzo of Inside Business, a business journal covering the Virginia coast, reports that Kings owners will be in town along with Comcast-Spectator officials for a presentation in front of city council Tuesday night, with an announcement that the team will move to Virginia Beach slated for Wednesday. It appears as though any such move would be contingent on the arena getting approval from city officials, however. A source tells Applegate that arena talks are still "very preliminary," and said assistance from the state would likely be necessary to finalize any deal.

Kings co-owner George Maloof Jr. wouldn't directly address the Virginia Beach proposal in his comments to Inside Business, saying last week that, “We have been approached by several cities over several years about moving the Kings and we will not comment other than that.”

Philadelphia-based Comcast-Spectator owns the Wells Fargo Center, the home of the Sixers. The company also owns the NHL's Flyers.

The Virginia Beach area was also considered by the Hornets back in 2001 before they moved to New Orleans. The Hornets decided against moving to Virginia because there was no suitable place to play during the two years it would have taken to construct a new building, as Applegate writes.