The mayors are worried about what a canceled season might do to their local economies.
And the first name on the letter is Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.
“We want them to get together and figure this thing out because its not just about them,” Ballard said. “Its about the people in the cities - the people who depend, their livelihoods depend, on them playing those games.”
The letter goes out as a message from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Ballard said the mayors are not taking sides in the dispute. Theyre just trying to make sure the league and the players consider what impact it will have on the teams’ cities if they dont reach a deal soon.
via With economic fears in mind, mayors plead for NBA deal.
The cities? Indianapolis, Orlando, Sacramento, Memphis, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte, Detroit, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and Denver. Not a whole lot of huge markets there, but a wide range. Minnesota is absent, which is inteesting. So is New Orleans, Sacramento (whose mayor is former NBA player Kevin Johnson), and none of the big moneymakers. The NBA does have a tangible effect on local economies, and their absence could make matters significantly worse at a time when those cities are already facing economic turmoil.
It’s good to see someone with influence asking for compromise and reason. Bout time.