Will the NBA ever come to Pittsburgh?

I was sitting at McFadden’s on the North Side one night last month, watching some college… I was sitting at McFadden’s on the North Side one night last month, watching some college football blowout, when the disc jockey almost gave me a concussion. As a ploy to get the party started, along with some Ne-Yo, of course, he announced to the crowd that NBA commissioner David Stern publicly stated that he wanted to see a professional basketball franchise in Pittsburgh. A loud cheer blared over the bar. The problem was, the only significant roar of approval came from my own mouth, and I was so excited that I nearly toppled off my stool. I rushed home later that night to surf the web for any of these comments. What did I find? Nada. Perhaps this news wasn’t substantial enough to filter through the Internet and blogosphere, or at least to generate excitement. I began to wonder if Stern actually made that statement. But then, a more pressing and perplexing question appeared. Why did no one in McFadden’s seem to care? Pittsburgh is a proud sports town, with the perpetual dominance of the Steelers, excitement for the Penguins and history (although not at all recent) of the Pirates. But basketball has never made it in the Steel City to complete the quartet of professional sports in Pittsburgh. My question is: Why? On Tuesday, the defending champion Boston Celtics will square off against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Petersen Events Center in an exhibition contest. Four of the sport’s biggest stars will grace the court. Boston’s prestigious triumvirate of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce take on the new face of basketball, LeBron James. Sure, it’s only a preseason game. But that’s a heck of a lot of NBA talent showing up to Pittsburgh Even if they all play only 20 minutes apiece, witnessing a few future Hall of Famers for perhaps the only time in person would be well worth the ticket price. But will Pittsburghers show up? Would they show up if Pittsburgh had a team of its own? Does the city even care about basketball? It has to. One indicator comes from the venue right here on campus, the Petersen Events Center. ‘The Pete’ holds 12,508 fans and sold out six of nine Big East games last year. The other three contests all came close to being at full capacity. The atmosphere at Pitt basketball games is ridiculous. The Oakland Zoo sets the tone, but it’s not just the student section that gets riled up. Every fan in that building screams his support when Pitt’s on defense or in the closing minutes of a contest. After years of mediocre basketball at best, Pitt initiated its renaissance under Ben Howland in the 2001-02 season, the first of seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances. The program is attracting more and more basketball fans to the area. It also helps that Pittsburgh’s other Division I schools, Duquesne and Robert Morris, are also recruiting quality players and watching their teams rise back to prominence. Another factor simply comes from the popularity of basketball. The game is incredibly easy to organize and play in one’s spare time. All you need is a ball and a hoop. There’s a court behind my apartment, and I never get the opportunity to shoot a few innocent hoops because it’s always taken. Games are played constantly at Trees Hall and other places around campus. People here love basketball. I know it. I can sense it. So why would Pittsburgh not support an NBA franchise? One argument is the lack of any kind of history. The Steelers, Pirates and Penguins are legendary in these parts because they’ve been around since Washington crossed the Potomac. Well, not that long. But the Steelers first played professionally in 1933, the Penguins started in 1967, and the Pirates’ history traces back to the Pittsburgh Alleghenies in 1887. In this era of over-expansion, there is nothing from prior history to fall back on for basketball in Pittsburgh. But hey, if Oklahoma City can gain enough interest to get a basketball team (and steal it from Seattle), why can’t Pittsburgh? Others say there just isn’t enough general interest and income to support a professional basketball team, and yet another new arena would need to be built. Plenty of minor-league teams, such as the Pittsburgh Piranhas of the CBA in the mid-’90s, have come to the city and failed miserably because of a’ lack of attendance. But who cares about substandard competition when you can watch Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan on TV? Some cities just aren’t cut out for basketball. The Memphis Grizzlies are struggling to draw right now, only years after moving from Vancouver. The New Orleans Hornets have problems, too. In fact, Hurricane Katrina’s wrath forced the team to play in Oklahoma City, which generated that city’s interest in the first place. But Pittsburgh could work out. With the new hockey arena under construction, a basketball franchise could play in a beautiful new facility.’ New York, Dallas and Toronto are some examples in which their basketball and hockey clubs play in the same venue. Grizzlies’ rookie O.J. Mayo sure would look good in a black and gold uniform. He’d be a star Pittsburghers could look up to, possibly rivaling Sidney Crosby and Ben Roethlisberger. Come on Pittsburgh, make it happen. But you need to see the possibilities first. Your chance comes Tuesday. Share the desire to see an NBA team in Pittsburgh? E-mail Zack Chakan at zackchakan@gmail.com