Chaifetz Sports Announcement

[Compton]

I was hoping the announcement would be for a St. Louis G-League team.

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

1 hour ago, Scoop said:

When you google MLP, you get my little pony. 

if I wasn't at work, I'd be wheeze laughing like Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit 

[Cowboy II]

-I was hoping it was the cooperative

[WUH]

Pickle ball is awesome, try it. Playing it, not watching it.

[RUBillsFan]

The Chaifetzs' took take a page out of the SLU Athletic Department playbook - hyping a major announcement and then dropping extremely underwhelming news.  Lol.

It is cool that they're investing in St. Louis though and maybe this is a step toward ownership in a more recognizable sport.  Proving you can run a successful sports franchise probably makes it easier to get investors (and other owners in that league) on board for a bigger deal.

[RUBillsFan]

2 hours ago, Compton said:

I was hoping the announcement would be for a St. Louis G-League team.

Most G-League teams are located in the same city as their NBA team, right?  Young players now are regularly moved back & forth between the NBA & G-League, so I think convenience is a big factor.

[billikenfan05]

Tough crowd in here today.

[billikenfan05]

22 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

The Chaifetzs' took take a page out of the SLU Athletic Department playbook - hyping a major announcement and then dropping extremely underwhelming news.  Lol.

It is cool that they're investing in St. Louis though and maybe this is a step toward ownership in a more recognizable sport.  Proving you can run a successful sports franchise probably makes it easier to get investors (and other owners in that league) on board for a bigger deal.

To be fair, owning a sports team in an upstart league is pretty major announcement. The last announcement we had like this was pretty much the Ambush in 2013. Seems like there was a lot of assuming in here and people hyping themselves up over those assumptions.

[gobillsgo]

21 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

To be fair, owning a sports team in an upstart league is pretty major announcement. The last announcement we had like this was pretty much the Ambush in 2013. Seems like there was a lot of assuming in here and people hyping themselves up over those assumptions.

I’m sorry, a pickle ball team doesn’t qualify as a “shocking announcement” for me.   I assume a major league Spike Ball or Cornhole team will be the next major sporting announcement. 

[billikenfan05]

3 minutes ago, gobillsgo said:

I’m sorry, a pickle ball team doesn’t qualify as a “shocking announcement” for me.   I assume a major league Spike Ball or Cornhole team will be the next major sporting announcement. 

I mean it's shocking in that I didn't know that a pickle ball league was in the works. It's not like he said anything that would indicate it was SLU related. I just don't understand why we're knocking the people that are partially responsible for starting the renewed investment in SLU Athletics because what he announced wasn't what you were hoping for.

[ARon]

5 hours ago, BC1764 said:

Pickleball sounds like a younger Millennial/Gen Z game.

Tennis for people who can't play tennis.

Just like lacross is hockey for guys who can't skate. 
 

*ducks*

[Billikenbooster]

Other than it’s the Chaifetz’ group, what exactly is the SLU connectipn here?

[gobillsgo]

12 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

I mean it's shocking in that I didn't know that a pickle ball league was in the works. It's not like he said anything that would indicate it was SLU related. I just don't understand why we're knocking the people that are partially responsible for starting the renewed investment in SLU Athletics because what he announced wasn't what you were hoping for.

Not trying to knock the people responsible. More just a comment on how “look at me”, YouTube Thumbnail-style everything has become.  “You’ll NEVER guess the SHOCKING announcement we are making”. 
 

But I’m glad the Chaifetz family is investing more money in St. Louis, even if I don’t think this will still be a pro league five years from now.  Lacrosse was the fastest growing sport, what, 10 years ago?  Now the best lacrosse pros make $30k a year. Average salary closer to $15k 

[billikenfan05]

10 minutes ago, gobillsgo said:

Not trying to knock the people responsible. More just a comment on how “look at me”, YouTube Thumbnail-style everything has become.  “You’ll NEVER guess the SHOCKING announcement we are making”. 
 

But I’m glad the Chaifetz family is investing more money in St. Louis, even if I don’t think this will still be a pro league five years from now.  Lacrosse was the fastest growing sport, what, 10 years ago?  Now the best lacrosse pros make $30k a year. Average salary closer to $15k 

We're living the in the absolute best time for niche sports. Pickleball is in a great position to reach the popularity of tennis. It's a very affordable sport compared to Tennis and Golf. It's reached the "blue collar" audience in a better way than those two, it's not regarded as a "snob sport". Pickle balls and paddles last pretty much indefinitely. No strings to get re-done etc. Anyone that can move laterally can play it. You can't say the same for a sport like lacrosse.

So many great streaming outlets for your product, ability to reach and connect more fans than ever. Lacrosse is still pretty popular and I don't necessarily think the salary comparison is the best. As far as I know it's necessarily gone up or down in that time. It still probably has the biggest following it's ever had. Seems like it's very much a culture that supports the college game and doesn't necessarily get up for the pro game. Baseball/Hockey/Basketball didn't become the global sports they are today in 10 years either.

[TheChosenOne]

52 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

To be fair, owning a sports team in an upstart league is pretty major announcement. The last announcement we had like this was pretty much the Ambush in 2013. Seems like there was a lot of assuming in here and people hyping themselves up over those assumptions.

I suppose I could be proven wrong, but an announcement that we are getting a team in a professional league none of us knew existed is not major news. The Battlehawks was at least newsworthy, I can’t imagine this hits the radar of 99% of folks living in the area. The Chaifetz kid should know better than to tease this in the manner in which he did, but a year from now I’ll forget this is even a thing.

[billikenfan05]

2 minutes ago, TheChosenOne said:

I suppose I could be proven wrong, but an announcement that we are getting a team in a professional league none of us knew existed is not major news. The Battlehawks was at least newsworthy, I can’t imagine this hits the radar of 99% of folks living in the area. The Chaifetz kid should know better than to tease this in the manner in which he did, but a year from now I’ll forget this is even a thing.

You're right battlehawks was more recent.

[DOC]

Regardless of your thoughts on pickleball, it's very popular. And my guess is Chafetz will build a state-of-the art pickleball facility that will not only house a pro team, but will also attract players from all over the Midwest for weekend tournaments.  Local leagues would fill the courts during the week. It could have a greater economic impact than the soccer stadium. 

[Compton]

1 hour ago, RUBillsFan said:

Most G-League teams are located in the same city as their NBA team, right?  Young players now are regularly moved back & forth between the NBA & G-League, so I think convenience is a big factor.

Maybe most, but the G-League has teams in places like Des Moines, Grand Rapids, Sioux Falls, Mexico City, Henderson, NV, and Edinburg, TX.

An unaffiliated team or Bulls, Griz, or Pacers affiliate wouldn't be unrealistic.

[HoosierPal]

1 hour ago, RUBillsFan said:

Most G-League teams are located in the same city as their NBA team, right?  Young players now are regularly moved back & forth between the NBA & G-League, so I think convenience is a big factor.

Maybe 1/3 plus or minus are in the same town, but most are in fairly close proximity, with a few exceptions.  Examples, the Pacer's G team plays in Ft. Wayne, Spurs team in Austin, Celtics up in Portland, Maine, Magic over in Lakeland, etc.  Denver's team plays in Grand Rapids MI and the Miami Heat's team in Sioux Falls SD.   

It seems like most want the players to be a fairly short car ride away from the big team.

[thetorch]

St. Louis has a strong Pickleball culture.  The center in Fenton is very nice and has hosted tons of national and regional tournaments.  We have several national champions across gender and age groups who reside here.

Any idea of St. Louis ever getting an NBA team is beyond fantasy.

Remember Bill Laurie actually bought the Vancouver Grizzlies for about 150 million with the intent of moving the team to St. Louis.  Laurie had overbid his competitors by nearly 30 million dollars and laid in other incentives not only to Vancouver, the previous owners, and the NBA at large if he moved the team to St. Louis.  His deal was blocked by Stern and the other owners.  They let Heisley buy the team shortly after for a slightly higher price, which was funded partially by the other owners.  Stern said he didn't want any franchise relocation in rejecting Laurie's bid.  Heisley announced he was moving the team two years later.  St. Louis was never considered at all in the relocation despite the fact that we had multiple possible buyers and that Heisley had ties to St. Louis.  Instead they moved to Memphis which is basically St. Louis Jr to add insult to injury.

The NBA hates St. Louis.  They don't like the racial divide culture that the media perpetuates around the city.  They've been burned by St. Louis politicians before and won't do backwater deals required to get an arena made.  St. Louis has no Multi Billionaire anymore to be able to buy a team.  The NBA and a large portion of the owners still hate the Spirits ownership group, and St. Louis for bilking the league out of Billions of TV revenue.  There are so many cities ahead of us, KC, Louisville, Seattle, Las Vegas, Nashville, Vancouver, Montreal, Mexico City, even London or Beijing would be considered as a site before St. Louis.

If Laurie had bought the Grizzlies in 1999 for 150 million the St. Louis franchise even if it was piss poor would most likely be worth 2-3 billion dollars now.  A good team??? 4 Billion+.  Chaifetz had a group with Dick Versace that made a real play at the Milwaukee Bucks.  They were laughed out of the room with the mere mention of moving the team to St. Louis.

[dlarry]

6 hours ago, MusicCityBilliken said:

I am a boomer and I am addicted on playing pickleball. Fortunately, where I live has 10 courts. They just converted 2 of the 6 tennis courts we have to pickleball courts.

Also, to be good at it is not easy. You have to play it a lot.

Agree. It’s a great game to play. I doubt I’ll watch the league but it is a blast. And you are right it’s not as easy as it looks.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

16 minutes ago, dlarry said:

Agree. It’s a great game to play. I doubt I’ll watch the league but it is a blast. And you are right it’s not as easy as it looks.

I have never played, but I am fairly certain I could be ranked Top 10 nationally in my age group if I chose to play.

[BC1764]

Seeing how the NBA has operated after the Jordan years and their fealty to Communist China, I say fine by me. The college game is a hell of a lot better.

Edit: and the racial divide excuse is lame. If that were the case, then Boston, OK City and a whole host of other cities would’ve lost their teams awhile ago.

[dlarry]

3 hours ago, JohnnyJumpUp said:

I have never played, but I am fairly certain I could be ranked Top 10 nationally in my age group if I chose to play.

That’s how I am with curling. I’ve never played but I’m pretty sure I would be a natural.

[thetorch]

3 hours ago, BC1764 said:

Seeing how the NBA has operated after the Jordan years and their fealty to Communist China, I say fine by me. The college game is a hell of a lot better.

Edit: and the racial divide excuse is lame. If that were the case, then Boston, OK City and a whole host of other cities would’ve lost their teams awhile ago.

Add salt lake city to the list but no NBA city did what St. Louis did to its black players, ask Lenny Wilkens.