Pistons may be for sale?

I was browsing NBA.com today and happened upon this article.  The article was saying that there are rumors flying that Pistons ownership wants to sell.  The Pistons are one of those teams that have a great fan base - and they're just a staple of the NBA.  If an average person had to list ten NBA teams they'd probably have the Pistons as one of them. 

To look at Detroit though, it's amazing how many sports are actually in that town.  You got the Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers and the Lions.  You have the four major sports represented in that town.  And if you watch any of the news about the economy, you know that Detroit is hurting.  I remember that for a time, there were houses in Detroit selling for 10K dollars.  That was in the foreclosure boom.  But still, ten grand for a house?

And it makes a person wonder how long those sports franchises can exist in a city that is collapsing upon itself.  Obviously, the Pistons faithful are hoping that somebody will take the team over and keep them in the city.  But is that really a good business move?  Who's going to want to invest in Detroit right now?  Especially when the competition for sports fans is so fierce.

I only wonder if they'll be the next team to be re-located.  Impossible you say?  That's what I thought about the Sonics.  The Sonics and Seattle just went hand in hand.  But when the money had to talk, Oklahoma City was screaming for a team.  So in that sense, the Pistons being 'locked in' to Detroit isn't a guarantee.

The NBA has so many teams right now that just aren't filling seats.  Atlanta's last game, for example, didn't break 10,000 tickets sold.  And that's a good team.  And when I watch the Blazers go on the road, it's just astounding how empty so many stadiums are nowdays. 

But just last year, Detroit was offering priority seating packages to Clevland fans in the playoffs just to fill seats.  And that was during the most exciting part of the season.  And they didn't come close to having a local fan sell-out.  Not even against Lebron and the Cavs.  So do I think that the Pistons want to sell?  Oh yeah.  The business model is broken.

Sports franchises need a strong middle class to fill the seats on a nightly basis.  That's the business model.  Have the team, the stadium, and able-to-pay fans.  Any of those three elements is disrupted, the whole thing falls down.  Until Detroit is fixed, they may end up seeing their teams playing elsewhere.