Silver: NBA committed to Memphis; suggests Nashville games
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reaffirmed the league’s commitment to Memphis in comments Wednesday, but added that he would like to see the Grizzlies play occasional games in Nashville in an effort to expand the team’s fan base.
“[Memphis] has always been a great market for the NBA, and there’s incredible history in this city and incredible culture,” Silver said on the “Pardon My Take” podcast. “There’s no reason why the Memphis Grizzlies shouldn’t be successful.”
Silver noted that Grizzlies owner Robert Pera “has no interest in moving the team out of Memphis, he’s made that clear.”
The future of the Grizzlies recently came under scrutiny when LeBron James made comments on a podcast about not liking visiting Memphis for games and suggested the team should move to Nashville.
“Nashville is a booming city; there are amazing things happening there,” Silver said. “If it were up to me, I’d like them to play a few games a year in Nashville and kind of be Tennessee’s team, as much as they can.”
The Grizzlies have held training camp in Nashville for the past two years, but have never played regular season games there.
Elsewhere, the San Antonio Spurs have played two “home” games per year in Austin, Texas, for the past few years.
Silver said that as far as he knows, the players enjoy playing in Memphis. Over the years, visiting players have sometimes complained about the quality of Memphis hotels compared to other NBA cities.
“The players I talk to all the time love playing in Memphis,” Silver said. “I never heard of any players not wanting to be in Memphis.”
The Grizzlies’ current lease at FedExForum expires in 2029 and the team is in talks with the city to extend the lease. A $550 million renovation of the arena is being planned, with municipal, state and private funds participating.
The NBA is currently evaluating the possibility of expanding its teams in Seattle and Las Vegas. Silver has said several times over the past year that there are no plans to move teams at this time.
