One team is in the news for selling (San Antonio) and another team will be there eventually (Houston).
The O’Neal statements, if they were to believed would lead the journalistic eyes to Texas where two teams would be on the short list if one was paying attention. The San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets. One is already being reported as selling a minority stake in the team. The other team looks like it’s on the fast track to selling real soon if things don’t get started soon.
Houston Rockets:
If there is an owner that has had a rough year, it has to be Tilman Fertitta. He was feeling the pinch long before the pandemic hit the NBA. First, his GM, Daryl Morey sent that infamous tweet speaking out against China. That move shut down all NBA (Especially Houston Rockets!) partnerships.
Tilman Fertitta according to Bloomberg, was reportedly willing to pay a whopping 15% interest to any lender on a $250 million “lifeline” loan about a month ago when the national shutdowns were started.
Fertitta, at the time, was worth more than $4 billion. At the time he reportedly put $50 million of his own money into his restaurant company in an effort to keep the restaurants he owns along with his Las Vegas casinos. Another Vegas reference here.
Well, the Houston Chronicle reports that he found a business arrangement to keep his business empire afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Fertitta managed to secure a $300 million private loan to keep the company afloat while his restaurants, casinos, and entertainment venues are closed at a 13 percent interest rate.
- He furloughed 45,000 employees which amounts to nearly 75 percent of his workforce
- With the closures, Fertitta’s company, Landry’s, owns five Golden Nugget casinos, is losing a little more than $2 million a day.
- Hundreds of its restaurants have closed.
- Those still open are doing a limited take-out business. Not one is making a profit.
Okay, what does that have to do with Shaquille O’Neal’s statements?
He is the sole owner of the Houston Rockets. So you thought micro ball was about on the court strategy? No.
It was about that $94 million contract of Clint Capela that was offloaded in a trade. The Rockets were struggling with the salary cap before the hiatus. Think about Fertitta’s $2.2 billion investment now?
San Antonio Spurs:
The San Antonio Spurs’ ownership group reportedly put a minority stake up for sale. It’s unclear how much of an ownership stake the organization will be selling. However it seems that the Spurs Sports & Entertainment already seems to be doing some early downsizing. They sold their AHL minor league hockey team, the San Antonio Rampage to the Vegas Golden Knights.
"“We are extremely grateful to our staff, our fans and our partners who have supported the Rampage for the last 18 years,” said SS&E CEO RC Buford. “While this was a difficult decision to make, we believe this move is best for the long-term success of Spurs Sports & Entertainment.”"
Does this mean the Spurs are leaving San Antonio? PFFT! Nope. Not a chance. The Spurs reportedly have another decade to go on their lease at the AT&T Center, which was upgraded five years ago with over $100 million in improvements. There may be a change in the ownership structure but a lease with taxpayer dollars attached to it makes the WNBA and AHL teams the only San Antonio teams to be moving to Vegas.
However, it is worth noting that Spurs are in one of the smallest markets in the league and plays in a building that is nearly 20 years old. When the lease is expired, this discussion may be brought up again with a little more seriousness.
If you think the Spurs won’t leave for Vegas under any circumstances in the future, ask the Oakland fans if their NFL team would skip town for a new stadium.
An outside franchise on the move would be the Memphis Grizzlies. Their owner started asking questions last year.
Now Shaquille O’Neal’s statements make a little more sense, doesn’t it? Two NBA franchise owners have ties to Las Vegas. So does the NBA.