Vancouver Grizzlies Basketball Team

This is so right. Orange County Grizzlies. Or Smoothies. Or Surfies. Or whatever you want to call our maybe soon-to-be NBA team. With sports today it usually doesn't happen this way. The right time, the right arena, the right team--right team being any team with a negative checkbook balance, an antsy owner and a moving van parked outside. But when the Vancouver Grizzlies' owner, Michael Heisley, came real estate shopping Tuesday in Anaheim, he should have noticed something.

The campaign to bring the Vancouver Grizzlies to Anaheim added a political dimension Tuesday, when City Manager James Ruth said his staff had solicited letters of support from 20 elected officials. Although the city is the only public entity expected to help pay to land the Grizzlies, the city has asked Gov. Gray Davis, Sen.

Vancouver Grizzly owner Michael Heisley is scheduled to visit Anaheim Tuesday, the most significant step in five years toward securing an NBA team for the Arrowhead Pond. Heisley is expected to meet with Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly, City Manager James Ruth and Pond General Manager Tim Ryan. Heisley, searching for a new home for his money-losing team, visited St. Louis and New Orleans this week and Louisville last week.

The owner of the Vancouver Grizzlies is interested in moving his team to Anaheim but has not been persuaded the team can be profitable playing there, a colleague said Monday. Grizzly owner Michael Heisley resumed negotiations Monday with Arrowhead Pond General Manager Tim Ryan and Anaheim City Manager James Ruth, who hope to bring the Grizzlies to Orange County.

This is so right. Orange County Grizzlies. Or Smoothies. Or Surfies. Or whatever you want to call our maybe soon-to-be NBA team. With sports today it usually doesn't happen this way. The right time, the right arena, the right team--right team being anyone with a negative checkbook balance, an antsy owner and a moving van parked outside. But when the Vancouver Grizzlies' owner, Michael Heisley, comes real estate shopping today in Anaheim, he should pay attention.

Starting Friday, citizens of Vancouver face the reality that Benoit Benjamin is one of their own. Not only that, he is running rings around the Grizzlies' alleged foundation of the future, lottery pick Bryant Reeves, the No. 6 selection overall who didn't make it through the first exhibition game before being berated by some fans. Management has already asked them to be patient with Reeves, blessed with a shooting touch, a 7-foot body and a big heart but few other attributes.

In trying to learn whether Anaheim could serve as a future home for the Vancouver Grizzlies, team and NBA officials have had preliminary discussions with representatives of Ogden Corp. and the Walt Disney Co., a source familiar with the process said Saturday. Ogden operates the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. Disney owns the Mighty Ducks and, under its lease with Ogden, could reap millions of dollars in revenue generated by an NBA team playing at the Pond.

While officials from the Arrowhead Pond and the city of Anaheim expressed optimism over the chances of luring the Vancouver Grizzlies, the owner of the team left town after a whirlwind visit Tuesday still uncertain whether the Grizzlies could be financially successful should he move his team into the Pond.

The leaders of the bid to lure the Vancouver Grizzlies to Anaheim stopped short of conceding defeat Friday, leaving the door open for the Grizzlies to resume negotiations with the Arrowhead Pond should plans for a proposed new arena collapse in Louisville, Ky., or Memphis, Tenn. The Grizzlies have not solicited another bid from Anaheim since rejecting the last offer Wednesday.

With the Vancouver Grizzlies reportedly headed to Memphis, Tenn., the Arrowhead Pond might have lost out on its last, best chance to attract an NBA team. The Grizzlies are expected to apply Monday for NBA permission to move to Memphis, the New York Times reported. Although the Grizzlies would become the first NBA team to relocate since the Kings moved from Kansas City to Sacramento in 1985, the decision is not likely to trigger a wave of franchise moves.