Professional Basketball Comes Back To Pittsburgh
(AP) Pittsburgh, PA -
The "City of Champions" has a new franchise calling newly-named PPG Paints Arena home, as NBA commissioner, Adam Silver announced the formation of two new NBA Franchises to be added to the league starting in the 2017-18 NBA Season. This fulfills the 2011 remark by former commissioner David Stern that Pittsburgh may be a landing spot for a future NBA franchise. The other city that is receiving an expansion team? The city of Seattle, Washington.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto introduced the ownership group which hinges around owners who already have a stake in the city's other franchises in Ron Burkle (Penguins) and David Tepper (Steelers) among others. "We're very excited to bring the NBA to the wonderful citizens of Pittsburgh" said Peduto. Burkle, who once attempted to purchase the Sacramento Kings added "Our goal is to bring a competitive, championship winning franchise that will foster a new fellowship of basketball for years to come in Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities".
This decision does not come without backlash however, studies through Scarborough market research point to Pittsburgh not being a feasible location for a professional basketball franchise. In fact, many unnamed league insiders are doubting that this franchise will last long, and will move to another city or completely fold before too long. This is in quite the contrast to the jubilation and bedlam that is filling the Seattle suburbs as the city has finally regained the NBA franchise that many felt was stolen away from them and relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. The general consensus there (Seattle) is that the interest is at a fever pitch.
It should be noted, that neither Seattle, nor Pittsburgh have announced a team name, or logo at this time. In the coming days both teams are expected to evaluate which direction they want to head in terms of nicknames. The Seattle franchise is expected to revert back to the "Sonics" or "SuperSonics", however reports are suggesting that the ownership group has been in talks with the AHL's Ontario Reign, a LA Kings affiliate, about the possibility of naming the expansion team the same name. Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, a name contest has already started and at press time the leading candidates were "Ironmen", "Pisces", "Bridgers", "Condors", and behind a heavy social media campaign "Harambes".
The Pittsburgh team is expected to announce its front office leadership team later this afternoon, and from there, they will be tasked with scouting players for the upcoming draft, as well as pending free agents, and expansion targets for the upcoming season. League sources are reporting that the Pittsburgh hiring may be a bit of a wild card, and is expecting a heavy media presence because of it. Time will tell if this franchise will be able to sustain a local affinity and grow a fanbase that is capable and worthy of having an NBA Franchise.
*Author's Note* - It's always been my goal to bring an NBA Championship to Pittsburgh, as I've been able to do in other sports games with the Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates. I plan to mix in both first hand accounts from those within the organization as well as third person accounts such as this update itself. Obviously I'll be going with the Condors as a team name, but I felt the post might write better set up this way. I'll provide difficulty and league set up information in future updates. My goal isn't to play every game, but it is to build a franchise that I can play multiple seasons with. I only upgrade my titles onice every few years, so it is my expectation that I'll be playing 2k17 for some time moving forward.
#BringTheNBAToPittsburgh
(AP) Pittsburgh, PA -
The "City of Champions" has a new franchise calling newly-named PPG Paints Arena home, as NBA commissioner, Adam Silver announced the formation of two new NBA Franchises to be added to the league starting in the 2017-18 NBA Season. This fulfills the 2011 remark by former commissioner David Stern that Pittsburgh may be a landing spot for a future NBA franchise. The other city that is receiving an expansion team? The city of Seattle, Washington.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto introduced the ownership group which hinges around owners who already have a stake in the city's other franchises in Ron Burkle (Penguins) and David Tepper (Steelers) among others. "We're very excited to bring the NBA to the wonderful citizens of Pittsburgh" said Peduto. Burkle, who once attempted to purchase the Sacramento Kings added "Our goal is to bring a competitive, championship winning franchise that will foster a new fellowship of basketball for years to come in Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities".
This decision does not come without backlash however, studies through Scarborough market research point to Pittsburgh not being a feasible location for a professional basketball franchise. In fact, many unnamed league insiders are doubting that this franchise will last long, and will move to another city or completely fold before too long. This is in quite the contrast to the jubilation and bedlam that is filling the Seattle suburbs as the city has finally regained the NBA franchise that many felt was stolen away from them and relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. The general consensus there (Seattle) is that the interest is at a fever pitch.
It should be noted, that neither Seattle, nor Pittsburgh have announced a team name, or logo at this time. In the coming days both teams are expected to evaluate which direction they want to head in terms of nicknames. The Seattle franchise is expected to revert back to the "Sonics" or "SuperSonics", however reports are suggesting that the ownership group has been in talks with the AHL's Ontario Reign, a LA Kings affiliate, about the possibility of naming the expansion team the same name. Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, a name contest has already started and at press time the leading candidates were "Ironmen", "Pisces", "Bridgers", "Condors", and behind a heavy social media campaign "Harambes".
The Pittsburgh team is expected to announce its front office leadership team later this afternoon, and from there, they will be tasked with scouting players for the upcoming draft, as well as pending free agents, and expansion targets for the upcoming season. League sources are reporting that the Pittsburgh hiring may be a bit of a wild card, and is expecting a heavy media presence because of it. Time will tell if this franchise will be able to sustain a local affinity and grow a fanbase that is capable and worthy of having an NBA Franchise.
*Author's Note* - It's always been my goal to bring an NBA Championship to Pittsburgh, as I've been able to do in other sports games with the Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates. I plan to mix in both first hand accounts from those within the organization as well as third person accounts such as this update itself. Obviously I'll be going with the Condors as a team name, but I felt the post might write better set up this way. I'll provide difficulty and league set up information in future updates. My goal isn't to play every game, but it is to build a franchise that I can play multiple seasons with. I only upgrade my titles onice every few years, so it is my expectation that I'll be playing 2k17 for some time moving forward.
#BringTheNBAToPittsburgh
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