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I’ve debated whether to tell this story since the Blazers were announced they were for sale, but with the recent Adam Silver comments and some of your reactions, I figured what the hell.
It was almost 20 years ago when Paul Allen put the team for sale.
Things were very bleak then.
Here is the Wikipedia summary of that era:
Paul Allen didn’t own the Moda.
The team sucked.
Having financial problems.
Fans mad or apathetic.
It was at this point, one of the lowest in franchise history, that PA put the team for sale.
The chances of the team being sold and moving were a very real possibility.
Now, the internet was a bit different back then. Social media was pretty much non-existent. There was the Oregonlive Blazer chat room, BlazersEdge had barely just started, but no Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, etc.
But we had blogs, dammit, and we liked them.
Many Blazer fans all had the same idea: follow the example of the Green Bay Packers and have the fans buy the team.
A national NBA blog looked into it, and that idea was quickly shot down. The NBA would not allow that to happen.
But in reading the posted NBA ownership rules, I found a way to buy the team.
And so the adventure begins…
I immediately started a blog. (Again, that’s what we had.)
The idea was this: a charity can own an NBA team.
Now, at that time, it was a little unclear whether a charity could own all of a team or just part of one, but it was murky enough to give it a shot.
I selected a very large Portland children’s-based foundation and said we should donate money to them and use them to purchase the team. The foundation could then add a $2 per ticket fee to games to use to support the foundation, which would be separate from the money used to run the team.
I posted a link to the blog on Oregonlive’s Blazer chat room and, like any chat room, some hated it, some loved it. But I was contacted by a reporter from the Oregonian. They had started a business-sports-based blog on Oregonlive and would like to interview me about this.
The day after it was posted on Oregonlive, it was posted on a national sports blog, and one of the local radio stations called and interviewed me on air.
Then the local Portland foundation called me and wanted to meet.
OMG, this is happening!
I excitedly go to this meeting. It’s me and the 2nd in charge of the foundation and their attorney. And things got very serious very quickly. I’m pretty much told to keep their name out of my mouth. I’m immediately told to turn over all money I have illegally collected in their name. If I don’t, criminal charges will be filed and I will be arrested. I’m like stunned, very confused, not only do they hate this, they think I’m making money from it and keeping it for myself.
I think they could tell from my shocked reaction that this was never my intention, and after they excused themselves, they came back and said if I did receive any money, I would have to give it to them but they don't want to be involved in owning the Blazers.
So I went from, OMG, this is happening, to Oh no, this is dead.
Sitting at home, licking my wounds, I debated on what to do next. Take the blog down? Find a new charity/foundation? Start a new charity/foundation? I wasn’t sure what to do, I just knew I didn’t want the Blazers to leave.
It was then that I got an email from someone with another group involved in wanting to but the team. This group was headed by a beloved former Blazer, and they wanted to meet. I gave them a brief synopsis of what had happened, but they didn’t care; they loved the idea and wanted to meet with me.
So I met with someone from the beloved former Blazer group. Now it was known at the time the beloved former Blazer group was having problems raising the projected $300-325 million needed to buy the team, but partnering with a fan-based foundation might just work. Having fans donate money to be involved might be enough to overcome a higher bid from another group. An NDA was signed by me things slowly moved from there.
OMG, it’s happening… again!
And what happened next, you ask? And you call yourself a Blazer fan.
Pritchard and the 2006 draft happened. We drafted Roy and LMA. Paul Allen fell back in love with the team and pulled it from the market.
But hey, I tried to buy the team.
It was almost 20 years ago when Paul Allen put the team for sale.
Things were very bleak then.
Here is the Wikipedia summary of that era:
Paul Allen didn’t own the Moda.
The team sucked.
Having financial problems.
Fans mad or apathetic.
It was at this point, one of the lowest in franchise history, that PA put the team for sale.
The chances of the team being sold and moving were a very real possibility.
Now, the internet was a bit different back then. Social media was pretty much non-existent. There was the Oregonlive Blazer chat room, BlazersEdge had barely just started, but no Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, etc.
But we had blogs, dammit, and we liked them.
Many Blazer fans all had the same idea: follow the example of the Green Bay Packers and have the fans buy the team.
A national NBA blog looked into it, and that idea was quickly shot down. The NBA would not allow that to happen.
But in reading the posted NBA ownership rules, I found a way to buy the team.
And so the adventure begins…
I immediately started a blog. (Again, that’s what we had.)
The idea was this: a charity can own an NBA team.
Now, at that time, it was a little unclear whether a charity could own all of a team or just part of one, but it was murky enough to give it a shot.
I selected a very large Portland children’s-based foundation and said we should donate money to them and use them to purchase the team. The foundation could then add a $2 per ticket fee to games to use to support the foundation, which would be separate from the money used to run the team.
I posted a link to the blog on Oregonlive’s Blazer chat room and, like any chat room, some hated it, some loved it. But I was contacted by a reporter from the Oregonian. They had started a business-sports-based blog on Oregonlive and would like to interview me about this.
The day after it was posted on Oregonlive, it was posted on a national sports blog, and one of the local radio stations called and interviewed me on air.
Then the local Portland foundation called me and wanted to meet.
OMG, this is happening!
I excitedly go to this meeting. It’s me and the 2nd in charge of the foundation and their attorney. And things got very serious very quickly. I’m pretty much told to keep their name out of my mouth. I’m immediately told to turn over all money I have illegally collected in their name. If I don’t, criminal charges will be filed and I will be arrested. I’m like stunned, very confused, not only do they hate this, they think I’m making money from it and keeping it for myself.
I think they could tell from my shocked reaction that this was never my intention, and after they excused themselves, they came back and said if I did receive any money, I would have to give it to them but they don't want to be involved in owning the Blazers.
So I went from, OMG, this is happening, to Oh no, this is dead.
Sitting at home, licking my wounds, I debated on what to do next. Take the blog down? Find a new charity/foundation? Start a new charity/foundation? I wasn’t sure what to do, I just knew I didn’t want the Blazers to leave.
It was then that I got an email from someone with another group involved in wanting to but the team. This group was headed by a beloved former Blazer, and they wanted to meet. I gave them a brief synopsis of what had happened, but they didn’t care; they loved the idea and wanted to meet with me.
So I met with someone from the beloved former Blazer group. Now it was known at the time the beloved former Blazer group was having problems raising the projected $300-325 million needed to buy the team, but partnering with a fan-based foundation might just work. Having fans donate money to be involved might be enough to overcome a higher bid from another group. An NDA was signed by me things slowly moved from there.
OMG, it’s happening… again!
And what happened next, you ask? And you call yourself a Blazer fan.
Pritchard and the 2006 draft happened. We drafted Roy and LMA. Paul Allen fell back in love with the team and pulled it from the market.
But hey, I tried to buy the team.
