mostly nonfiction and bakersfield news | May 1st, 2009
Bakersfield Jam Team Owner Calls Foul On Face News, Points Finger At NBA
Bakersfield Jam owner Stan Ellis wasn’t pleased with my recent commentary, “Bakersfield Jam Folding Will Be Felt For Years.” He had a reason to not be pleased. His organization invested money in Face News to help spread the good news about their basketball organization, which, in my opinion, brought very exciting basketball to Bakersfield organization.
It’s tough separating myself from business and journalism to write such a commentary as I did, this included. As the main content provider for Face News, I always have the option of silence or opinion. In this case I chose public opinion and discussion.
Seeing an inept, unsupportive community at large, it became necessary to continue to point out that lack of support and often negative word of mouth that tears apart the community because of what Matt Munoz of Bakotopia so eloquently puts as the “complaint gene.” What made the commentary painful was I also criticized the organization itself and not just this big blob of complacent community that complains, “There’s nothing to do in Bakersfield.”
Such a sudden turnaround in events seemed to call for a sudden, albeit unpopular article with the folks over at the Bakersfield Jam office. I’ve now received two phone calls using the word, “disappointment” regarding my previous commentary on the Jam closure.
But that’s journalism. I get these phone calls, Twitters and emails all the time. Someone is always unhappy. It’s the nature of the journalism beast. Just ask the Fresno folks I pissed off when the Falcons closed shop. I blamed their community in part too. Go watch “State of Play” with Russell Crowe for a taste of unpopular journalism, glamorized of course.
Alas, I don’t have the buffer of a reporter beneath me. And I can’t squish opinion when it’s newsworthy. It was highly unfair of the attacks on Stan Ellis when he was running for office. I spoke up then in my defunct Paperback Writer blog in his character defense. And I still stand up for the character of Stan Ellis. The Jam as a railroad disaster or not, he’s a great guy who gives to the community.
But I can’t ignore all the smoke and tangled wreckage of a basketball team that is no more. Even Corey Costello of ESPN1230 pointed out publicly that he wanted what was left over. The smoking remains of Swish? Cobwebbed jerseys? Or the training facility, that though will be a nice community center, is still the remains of an NBA D League team — it loses its luster as a premiere NBA D League training facility.
In a phone call with Ellis yesterday his voice was stern, and he used the word “disappointment” more than once as he revealed more details on the teams closure. After he was done skewering me, he pointed a verbal finger at the NBA. “The reason I basically shut the team down was the NBA gave us a poor business model to reach out the community.” He added that while the team had great affiliates in the Golden State Warriors and the Orlando Magic, the reality was both teams wouldn’t return the Jam’s phone calls. Not cool.
In a meeting with NBA Commissioner David Stern this week, Ellis said he straight-out told Stern, “Your model is broken.” He said by shutting down the Jam he sent a message to the NBA that there are really good owners and business owners in the NBA D League, “But if the NBA doesn’t listen, other teams are going to shut their doors.”
Ellis cited huge NBA franchise fees that put the Jam and other NBA D League teams in a position to fail. He added that he could have charged huge sums for sponsorships for a second logo on the court, but the NBA wouldn’t allow it. He said the team also had to OK every sponsorship contract through the NBA, no matter how small. “That may work in NBA, but not in a minor league system,” Ellis said. He added that Stern accepted what he had to say and understood.
Whether that means there will be any changes in the NBA D League so that teams can be more profitable, that’s unknown. Ellis added that he ended his relationship with the NBA on his terms and not theirs. Good call.
“Do I feel bad about failing? Certainly,” Ellis said. “I call it a business decision that was not taken lightly. I’ve lost a lot of money…”
And don’t forget that Ellis gives a lot to the community regardless of the Jam. He said he donated $1.5 million to charity and another million to the Jam in the past year or so.
Strangely, Ellis also said, “My franchise value went up” in regards to how lucrative the Jam was becoming, though for Ellis it was often the small moments off the court that had the most value. He said likely the most satisfying part of the Jam was bringing Teen Challenge and Homeless Center people to the games. “I tell you that that warms my heart like no other,” he said.
Ellis said he got tired of paying for the Jam out of his own pocket. Can’t blame him there. “It would have worked in a few more years,” he said. “But I tried to give to the Clippers and Warriors the team with no debt… I couldn’t even give the team away because they know the model is broken. They didn’t want it. And if they didn’t want it for free why should I keep it?”
Related article: Commentary: Bakersfield Jam Folding Will Be Felt For Years
Related article: Bakersfield Jam NBA D League Basketball Organization To Cease Operations
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6 Responses for “Bakersfield Jam Team Owner Calls Foul On Face News, Points Finger At NBA”
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It is interesting to consider all the sides in a situation like this…from the Jam to the NBA to the lack of community support. Like any local entertainment that does not earn sustainability I think there is most assuredly blame that goes both ways. If we want diversity in our arts, entertainment, sports and even restaurants we have to support those who take risks to bring them to us. If we don’t, we lose them!
On the other side some blame can be issued to the entities for not promoting enough or in the proper ways…the word has to gotten out and the public is not entirely deaf. Sometimes the information or “buzz” just never reaches us. Jack-In-The-Box tested JBX Grill here years back and I never talked to anyone that didn’t love it…especially people my age (20’s and 30’s). They did not make any more money than a regular joint and the experiment was dubbed a failure. Did they promote them, though? Not at all! So JBX Grill was killed for us and all of America. The same can happen with a sports team, club, restaurant, community theatre, ice skating rink, or multi-million dollar entertainment complex (Rabobank itself).
It is a shame. Thanks, Nick, for your coverage.
Well I hate to see the jam go the funny thing is I’m not the only one to see them gone. Why we couldn’t get people in the seats I never will understand. I don’t blame stan for getting upset I do think he needs to relize that the commentry was not all about him but more about bakersfield residents. Everyone goes out of town to do things when there was plenty of things to do here. I don’t understand how basketball fans can say they love the game but can’t take the time to watch a game here in bakersfield. Nick keep on keeping on
Here’s the part that I have trouble understanding…shouldn’t you flush out the business model BEFORE you buy the team? Ellis seems to be a very shrewd businessman, and this business model has been in place long enough to be general knowledge for parties interested in owning a franchise.
Granted, when the team was founded, the then-ownership was just as broken (remember David Crisp?). But you HAVE to know what the costs are going to be when you buy in. Otherwise, why bother?
The biggest thing that ultimately killed the Jam wasn’t that people didn’t care. It’s that there was the IMPRESSION that people didn’t care. Case in point: bumper stickers. Just about everyone with a Condors bumper sticker on their car got it for free. They likely only go to 2-3 games a year MAX, but those bumpers are pretty good advertising real estate when you’re stuck in traffic downtown or on Highway 99. Their attendance numbers are ALWAYS skewed, though the actual head count was usually around 2-3k on weekdays.
I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a Jam bumper sticker. Little things like that help to build grasroots supprt for a team; you can’t just rent out an arena, throw some commercials on the air and expect people to jump to support “their team”. Fans need to feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves.
When David Stern shows up before a game on the jumbotron welcoming fans to the D-League and is CLEARLY reading off of cue cards, then the tone is set for the rest of the night. “Jeez, even the NBA COMMISH thinks this is a joke….”
The problem with Bakersfield as a sports town is that there is no reward. The teams will never seriously compete for a championship (The Blitz took the only division title banners with them when they closed up shop), and true world-class sporting events are just a couple of hours away.
High school sports will always be king in Bakersfield because the schools have a deeper connection to fans than any of the pro teams ever will. And, above all else, the schools don’t close up shop and disappear into the night; they’ve been around for decades and will continue to create their own legacies.
Sadly, the professional sporting legacy in Bakersfield is that of empty seats and barren rafters.
My comment is part of an editorial on both the unrealistic ownership and the two-track NBA development system which is killing the D-League. Read it at:
http://www.majorblogs.net/editorsraves/2009/5/2/bakersfield-jam-shuttering-is-black-eye-for-commissioner-ste.html
Brian Ross
Sr. Editor
MLN Sports
(Minor League News)
“The problem with Bakersfield as a sports town is that there is no reward. The teams will never seriously compete for a championship (The Blitz took the only division title banners with them when they closed up shop), and true world-class sporting events are just a couple of hours away.”
This couldn’t be more right-on. Devin of all people should know about the inner workings of a Bako sports franchise, but appearances from the outside (at least in the case of the Condors) is that making a profit and looking like community heroes are more important than winning. Unfortunately for the true sports fans, many Condors fans are sheep that spend the money and cheer no matter what.
But I feel bad for Stan. While I don’t know him well (I met him during his Assembly run and have run into him occasionally since then), I know he’s a savvy business owner who really tried to make a go of the Jam. Keep in mind that he was a minority owner at first who continued to expand his stake. In that respect he probably kept the team going a lot longer than it deserved.
On a good but sad note….
here is the final appearance of “Swish” performing at brighthouse amphitheatre on may 3rd, 2009 to over 12,000 people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaRpAEaSJ-8&feature=player_embedded
Enjoy!
No matter what happens,
I, “Swish”
Will live on forever
p.s. sorry about the last two comments my comp went crazy.
hope you like N.L. and chingpea