A vote in the Phoenix City Council that was supposed to take place on Wednesday on whether or not to approve renovation of Talking Stick Resort Arena – home of the Phoenix Mercury — has now been delayed until January.
The reason given for the delay was that the proposed plan for giving the arena a fresh coat of paint was met with backlash from locals in Phoenix.
Mercury and Suns owner Robert Sarver is looking to renovate Talking Stick Resort Arena to keep his teams in Arizona long term. The plan calls for the city contributing $150 million towards the renovations with the Suns organization paying $80 million and agreeing to cover any cost overruns.
It was also reported that Sarver could exercise his option to leave the arena after 2022 if his plan does not get the support from the City Council.
What is particularly making the rounds today, is this supposed threat from the Mercury and Suns owner.
UPDATE: City official tells me Suns owner Robert Sarver is threatening to take Suns to Seattle or Las Vegas. https://t.co/SLHEwpbpL7 via @azcentral
— Laurie Roberts (@LaurieRoberts) December 12, 2018
What makes this a questioning threat from a WNBA perspective is under this scenario, Sarver would be moving the Mercury and Suns to two cities – Las Vegas and Seattle that already have franchises.
A sale of the Mercury may or may not have to occur if the Suns were to move to either Las Vegas or Seattle – ala when the Storm were sold to local owners when the Sonics were moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder.
More than likely, this threat may or may not be credible and could be nothing more than a power play by Sarver to sway votes on the city council in his favor by using two cities without NBA franchises as leverage.
Plus, there is the matter of the NBA’s relationship with the Colangelo family – instrumental in why Phoenix has thrived as a sports city – and why a move of the Suns may be frowned upon on Park Avenue.
