Tiger Geist

Quick Tangent:  A three part post.  The Truth, the Good, the Bad.  No ugly. 

Mike Ilitch, the Pistons, and Detroit:  The Truth

Here’s what we know:  Mike Ilitch has indicated an interest in the Pistons (via the Detroit News):

“Marian and I grew up here, we raised our family here, and we built our businesses here. Detroit is our home. When I read in the paper there was the chance that this great sports town could lose one of its professional sports franchises, I just didn’t see how we could let that happen. The Pistons, just like the Red Wings, Tigers and the Lions, have a rich and storied tradition in this community, and they’ve brought pride to fans and our community. You all know I love sports — all sports, from amateur sports to the various pro sports we’ve had the privilege to be involved with, and like a lot of others I’m sure, I really want to see the Pistons remain the Detroit Pistons.

“We talked about it internally, and when you take our 33 years of experience in professional sports, our commitment to this community, our passion for winning and pursuing championships, and you couple that with the opportunity to have a local, engaged owner for the Pistons, we decided to take a run at it. We believe we could bring a lot to the table that could be tremendously positive for the Pistons franchise, the NBA, and the fans of this community. So, today, we formally notified the Detroit Pistons that we have interest in purchasing the team. This is a required first-step and we look forward to the opportunity to move forward in the process.”

The way this is worded, it sounds like Mr & Mrs Ilitch woke up last week and decided the Pistons would be something they’d like to own.

No.

This has been in the works for a while now.  The Red Wings need a stadium to play in.  The Pistons need a new owner.  No local Detroiter can afford the Pistons (sans Ilitch), and Bill Davidson’s widow needs to sell.  Someone has been buying up land locally.  Tom Wilson is employed by Mike Ilitch.  I’ve been talking about this with friends since Mr. Davidson’s death; this is a slam dunk for Ilitch.  They didn’t think of this last week; this is a business move.  The final straw?  The Golden State Warriors sale.

The Warriors went for ~$450 million.  For the team only.  A team stuck in Oakland for 8 – 10 more years.  The pistons will draw less than that in their sale, even with a stadium to go with it.  Why?  Larry Ellison isn’t bidding on the Pistons.  And contrary to any belief, the Pistons aren’t going to Las Vegas;  if there is a team moving to Vegas, it’ll be the Kings.  So what happened?  Mike Ilitch waited for the Warriors to be sold to get a value on the franchise, but more importantly, who was bidding.  Two different teams, different potential owners.  The Pistons are Ilitch’s to lose.

The possibilities are exciting for the state as well as fans:  the Red Wings could move to the Palace while a new stadium is built; the Pistons are guaranteed to stay in the area.

But the reality is this:  The Pistons aren’t going anywhere.  Too many NBA teams have financial issues and little fan support (New Orleans, Charlotte); the Pistons aren’t going to be sold and moved.  I applaud Mike Ilitch’s thoughts and statement on possible ownership, but he doesn’t need to save the Pistons from a diabolical owner looking to move the team to Hong Kong.

The Truth:  This was a strategic financial decision, not something that was made to appease the Detroit sports fans.  And its been in the works for months.