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Issel still wants a NBA team in Louisville.

Who's "us"? I have plenty to cheer for with the UK basketball team. And have for as long as I can remember. If you think UK is not worth a crap then why don't you bring your team in for a game? Let's see how your team fares against us.
Hope he's not an Evansville or Richmond fan....
 
I use to feel that way as well but now I would love to get a NBA team for the state but I feel like if the NBA expands I think it would be Vegas and Seattle, imo.

Which is stupid. This is a basketball state. They would sell-out a lot of games. Especially if we were good. But I don't make enough money to pretend I know everything.
 
I could certainly be wrong, but I just can't imagine a roster like this generating much in the way of ticket sales in Louisville.

F41Bey, Saddiq6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg)1999-04-09Villanova
G13Bogdanović, Bogdan6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)225 lb (102 kg)1992-08-18Serbia
C15Capela, Clint6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)256 lb (116 kg)1994-05-18Switzerland
F/C20Collins, John6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)226 lb (103 kg)1997-09-23Wake Forest
F/C24Fernando, Bruno6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)240 lb (109 kg)1998-08-15Maryland
G2Forrest, Trent (TW)6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg)1998-06-12Florida State
F14Griffin, AJ6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)222 lb (101 kg)2003-08-25Duke
G3Holiday, Aaron6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg)1996-09-30UCLA
G/F12Hunter, De'Andre6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)221 lb (100 kg)1997-12-02Virginia
F1Johnson, Jalen6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)219 lb (99 kg)2001-12-18Duke
G27Krejčí, Vít6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)195 lb (88 kg)2000-06-19Czech Republic
G25Mathews, Garrison6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg)1996-10-24Lipscomb
G/F22Martin, Tyrese6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg)1999-03-07Connecticut
G5Murray, Dejounte6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg)1996-09-19Washington
F/C17Okongwu, Onyeka6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)240 lb (109 kg)2000-12-11USC
G4Williams, Donovan (TW)6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg)2001-09-06UNLV
G11Young, Trae6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)164 lb (74 kg)1998-09-19Oklahoma
 
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I could certainly be wrong, but I just can't imagine a roster like this generating much in the way of ticket sales in Louisville.

F41Bey, Saddiq6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg)1999-04-09Villanova
G13Bogdanović, Bogdan6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)225 lb (102 kg)1992-08-18Serbia
C15Capela, Clint6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)256 lb (116 kg)1994-05-18Switzerland
F/C20Collins, John6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)226 lb (103 kg)1997-09-23Wake Forest
F/C24Fernando, Bruno6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)240 lb (109 kg)1998-08-15Maryland
G2Forrest, Trent (TW)6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg)1998-06-12Florida State
F14Griffin, AJ6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)222 lb (101 kg)2003-08-25Duke
G3Holiday, Aaron6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg)1996-09-30UCLA
G/F12Hunter, De'Andre6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)221 lb (100 kg)1997-12-02Virginia
F1Johnson, Jalen6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)219 lb (99 kg)2001-12-18Duke
G27Krejčí, Vít6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)195 lb (88 kg)2000-06-19Czech Republic
G25Mathews, Garrison6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg)1996-10-24Lipscomb
G/F22Martin, Tyrese6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg)1999-03-07Connecticut
G5Murray, Dejounte6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg)1996-09-19Washington
F/C17Okongwu, Onyeka6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)240 lb (109 kg)2000-12-11USC
G4Williams, Donovan (TW)6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg)2001-09-06UNLV
G11Young, Trae6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)164 lb (74 kg)1998-09-19Oklahoma
A fringe playoff team with a young exciting star wouldn’t sell tickets? I gotta disagree.
 
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This. Could Louisville sustain a team? Sure. But Louisville is a dump compared to Vegas and Seattle. At best they are a distant third.
The area around the Yum Center is most assuredly not a dump. It’s actually a nice area. It isn’t Vegas, but comparable to Seattle.
 
The area around the Yum Center is most assuredly not a dump. It’s actually a nice area. It isn’t Vegas, but comparable to Seattle.
Everything south of Market street is a dump. And North of Market is only decent between Baxter and 9th.
 
Would be great but vegas and Nashville are both miles ahead, no matter what those odds say. The only way we get in over those cities is if they don't want a team
 
Some of you sound like 90 year olds terrified of any type of change or idea. Why in the world would anyone say "no" to an NBA team in their own state? It might not work in the long run, but the arena is already there, in the state's most populated city, and it's home to a program who won 4 games last year.

Imagine Tennessee residents saying no to every opportunity to bring money in and eyeballs on their state. Well, they didn't and now they have pro teams they've embraced and a city that's basically become the South's version of Vegas, in a sense anyway. But yes, it's just pretend it's 1962 and keep saying no while pretending a horse race once a year is good enough. The weird, closed-mindedness on this issue is sort of maddening, and usually no reason is given why or some just say "it won't work." Cool, let's just not try anything then. Oh well, we'll always have two minutes a year and an Ark.
 
I don't think the Louisville Metro market is big enough on its own, considering how close it is to Indy. An NBA team in Cinncinatti would make more sense. Seattle is an attractive market. They are overdue to get a new team.
 
I'm not so sure Kentucky is a "college state" at the moment.

Lets be honest our Wildcats are failing and Louisville is a dumpster fire.

I'd like to see the NBA make a return to our state.
Kentucky won’t be down for very long. History says so
 
I don't think the Louisville Metro market is big enough on its own, considering how close it is to Indy. An NBA team in Cinncinatti would make more sense. Seattle is an attractive market. They are overdue to get a new team.
Cincinnati and Louisville are almost the same exact driving distance away from Indianapolis. Both are big enough but probably not as enticing as vegas, Seattle or again, Mexico City. One of the biggest cities in the world and only a few hours flight for both conferences
 
Louisville has no other major pro franchises, it's in a basketball state, has an NBA ready arena. There is no following whatsoever for the Pacers in Kentucky like there is for the Cincinnati or Nashville teams in certain parts of KY. So I think Louisville could more than handle a single major pro franchise and basketball makes the most sense especially with no NBA team in Nashville or Cincy.
For Kentuckians that want to put down the city, I was born in Lexington and am a die-hard UK fan but I love the city of Louisville. It's not perfect but it is a much better city to live in than 75% of cities that already have an NBA team and while it's no Atlanta or Chicago it is certainly metropolitan enough to not be a glorified college town (despite what UofL fan thinks) which is what places like Lexington and Knoxville are. This "I'm just gonna hate it because it's Louisville" is embarrassing and stupid.
Also as a UK fan, if you really, really hate UofL you should be doing all you can to get a pro franchise there. Tom Jurich fought it as hard as.he could because he did not want the competition for UofL for money, resources, and attention a pro franchise would bring. It's still very much a long shot but I think given what Louisville has to offer, it should be about third after Vegas and Seattle.
 
I use to feel that way as well but now I would love to get a NBA team for the state but I feel like if the NBA expands I think it would be Vegas and Seattle, imo.
Yes, Vegas and Seattle for sure would be the first in line. Mexico and London is interesting as well, the NBA is always looking to expand into markets outside the U.S
 
Mr. Issel is a happy man tonight. He has talked openly on radio about how the Nuggs have been trying to honor him and involve him the Finals. He and I have actually chatted about this, and he’s confident Louisville would have a shot but always worried Vegas and Seattle would bump the city. He’s a really nice guy and I really have enjoyed the times we get to talk when he’s in the area.

A legend.

He hasn’t seemed quite the same since Pratt died. He loved Mike.
We all loved Pratt
 
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I think it would be awesome to have a team in Louisville, Lexington, or somewhere in between. If we want to be serious as a state, we need to get behind efforts like this as a state, starting with the governor’s office. Yes, we are a college sports state, but so was Tennessee, and they have incorporated professional sports.

As for where the team would go, with the caveat that this is just fun conjecture on a message board, I think downtown Louisville would be the obvious choice, given they already have an NBA ready arena, but I wouldn’t be opposed to an arena in one of those growing areas on I-64 between Lexington and Louisville. I think regardless of where the team would be, it would be accessible for people in both cities, along with E-town and other population centers (people drive from Louisville to UK games all the time). I think it would be awesome if we could rally around it as a state and sell ourselves as one market rather than the Louisville market or Lexington market in isolation (probably takes as long to get from some parts of Houston to others as it takes from Lex to Lou anyway, or close to it). Little we could do as fans, but it would be great if the governor was proactive in marketing the state to the NBA and to potential investors in that way.
 
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If you want the opportunity to meet some local legends and want to help make the NBA happen here, join up with NBA2Lou.com. My father in law loves meeting those guys, golf scrambles, etc
 
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