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Thursday, June 28, 2001
Grizzlies await Board of Governors vote
Associated Press
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Vancouver Grizzlies are just one step
away from moving to Memphis, and local basketball boosters believe
it's a short step at most.
The NBA's relocation committee approved the move Thursday. Now,
the league's Board of Governors has until July 3 to cast the final
vote.
"So after 30 years of Memphis pursuing a national sports team,
we're just excited to be part of helping bringing it to our town,"
said J.R. "Pitt" Hyde, founder of AutoZone and leader of the
Memphis "NBA pursuit team."
Hyde's group hopes to buy up to 50 percent of the Grizzlies, a
move that also must be approved by the NBA.
"We're, of course, waiting for the Board of Governors to ratify
the decision of the relocation committee," said Pitt's wife,
Barbara, who also would become a team owner. "But every indication
we've gotten is that it's really a formality. So we're ready to
celebrate."
The team also is acting as if Memphis is home already.
The Grizzlies moved their basketball operations June 23 and made
their 2001 draft picks Wednesday night from temporary offices at
The Peabody Hotel, in the heart of downtown Memphis.
"We're obviously looking to the start of the season and the
start of a lifetime here," said Grizzlies' general manager Billy
Knight.
Knight and coach Sidney Lowe held a news conference Thursday at
The Peabody to welcome new draftees Shane Battier, Pau Gasol and
Will Solomon.
Knight said the draft selections as well as several big trades
made by the Grizzlies were all connected.
"It's time for this chemistry, this mix to go in a different
direction," he said. "We haven't arrived at a destination. We're
going in the right direction."
Sports fans in Memphis have longed for a big-league franchise
for more than three decades. That search has focused primarily on
the NFL.
But Hyde's group announced in March that a yearlong effort to
woo the Grizzlies appeared to be paying off.
Since then, local government has agreed to provide the bulk of
the funding to build a $250 million arena.
Most of that money will come from the taxpayers through sales
tax rebates, government-backed bonds and hotel and rental car
taxes.
The Grizzlies are expected to play at The Pyramid, a 10-year-old
arena along the Memphis riverfront, until the new stadium is built.
Mayor Willie Herenton welcomed the newest Grizzlies to Memphis.
He said he was at a business luncheon when told about the
relocation committee's decision.
"We wanted to jump up and shout hallelujah," Herenton said.
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