-October/92: NBA commissioner David Stern opens league to expansion, asks for bids.
-September 20/93: Four groups bidding for franchises make presentations to NBA’s expansion committee. The eventual successful Vancouver bid: Northwest Arena Corp and chief investor Arthur Griffiths, owner of the Vancouver Canucks and builder of General Motors Place, a $100-million, 20,000 sport area scheduled to come on line in 1995. Other partners are sister Emily Griffiths, John and Bruce McCaw of Seattle, owners of the world’s largest cellular communications company and part owners of the Seattle Mariners baseball team, as well as Vancouver auto-glass magnates Thomas and Allan Skidmore. The team was originally planned to be named the Mounties, but the name had to be scrapped because of licensing problems with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
-September 31/93: The five-man expansion committee does not make a decision on the Vancouver proposal, deferring issue to the November 3 meeting of NBA board of governors.
-November 3/93: The NBA board of governors unanimously approves Vancouver application. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the response,” says Arthur Griffiths. “We are confident the NBA will be a big success here.” The Grizzlies must pay an entry fee of $125-million (U.S.), nearly four times the $32.5-million paid by four expansion teams in the late 1980s. The Grizzlies must pay 10% up front. $50-million is due Dec 1/94 and the balance on March 1/95. The league imposes a salary cap of two-thirds of league cap of $23-million in year one, In year two, it’s to be 75% of $24 million and only in year three, will they be entitled to go to 100% of league salary cap. The Grizz are to play inside General Motors place, which is being constructed at a cost of over $163.5-million.
-April 27/1994: The NBA Board of Governors formally approves the Grizzlies as the NBA’s 29th franchise, to commence play in the 1995-96 campaign.
-July 22/94: Grizzlies hire Stu Jackson, former coach of the New York Knicks, as vice-president of basketball operations and general manager. “The challenge is enormous and it’s not a process that is going to start and complete itself overnight,” the 38-year-old says, after leaving his job as coach of the Wisconsin Badgers.
-October 3/1994: Hire Larry Riley as director of scouting.
-March 7/95: Arthur Griffiths announces he has sold John McCaw major control of the Northwest Entertainment Group, which owns 87% of Canucks and 100% of Grizzlies and 100% of General Motors place. Griffiths and sister Emily Griffiths-Hamilton had held 70% of the partnership, while John McCaw and brother Bruce 30%. McCaw now controls 60%, having paid the Griffiths $110-million for the extra 30% stake. Griffiths continues as chair and CEO of the company. McCaw will be vice-chair. Debt load forced by NHL lockout had forced the sale by Griffiths.
-October/95: The Raptors and Grizzlies inaugurate an annual Naismith Cup exhibition match between the two teams to promote the sport in Canada. Held at different sites.
-December 14/95: Hire former Canadian national team head coach Jack Donohue as director of international public relations and Canadian player development.
-December 20/95: The Grizzlies announce they have fulfilled the NBA”s requirement of selling 12,500 seats, a move accomplished in part by Shoppers Drug Mart announcing that they have purchased 2,500 seats.
-August 21/99: John McCaw announces that he’s looking for a buyer for Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment
-September 19?/99: President and CEO of Orca Bay Sports and entertainment Stephen Bellringer resigns. He’s replaced by Stanley McCammon, McCaw’s right hand man in the sports field.
-September 23/99: Missouri billionaire Bill Laurie, who married the daughter of Wal-Mart founder Bud Walton, buys the Grizzlies for $165-million (U.S.) under the corporate name Paige Sports Entertainment. He refuses to guarantee that the team with remain in Canada and is widely reported to be interested in relocating the franchise at the end of the 2000-01 season. Seattle mogul and Orca Bay owner John McCaw had said in 1995 that he had absolutely no intention of selling the Grizzlies. Under NBA rules an expansion team must remain in its original city for at least five years, so any move would not be considered before Mar 1/2000 and approval would not occur until the following year. The move needs the approval of 75% of the board of governors. Laurie was the point guard on 1973 Memphis State which lost the NCAA final to UCLA and it is widely believed he will move the team to St. Louis or Memphis at the first opportunity.
-October 29/99: The NBA board of governors takes the sale of the Grizzlies off the agenda at the team’s request. “We believe that adjustments can be made to improve the agreement for all stakeholders,” says Stanley McCammon, deputy director of Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment. As structured, the deal appeared to “have certain incentives within it to see the team move,” said commission David Stern, i.e., it contained a clause that would pay McCaw an extra US$50-million if the team moved. The league argued that Vancouver needed time to demonstrate an adequate level of support. It tells the parties to try to rework the deal to ensure the Grizzlies remain in Vancouver.
-January 20/00: Bill Laurie terminates deal to buy Grizzlies because he isn’t allowed to move team to St. Louis.
-January 24/00: Chicago businessman Michael E. Heisley Sr., chief executive officer of the Heico Companies, buys the Grizzlies, saying he has no intention of moving them. Owner of 30 businesses in Canada and U.S., Heisley pays the McCaw brothers US$160-million. He puts on a team jacket and wisecracks that “it’s got to be the most expensive leather jacket in Canada.” Business interests include ownership of Robertson-Ceco Corp, one the world’s largest producers of custom-engineered metal buildings for industrial use.
-April 11/00: The NBA approves Michael Heisley’s purchase of the Grizzlies.
-May 9/00: About to be unceremoniously dumped, Stu Jackson announces he is leaving his job as president and general manager to become vice-president of basketball operations for the NBA’s head office in New York. During the acid-tongued, Armani-clad Jackson’s five year tenure with the Grizzlies, their record is 78-300, including a 6-33 stint as head coach after firing Brian Winters in 96-97 season.
-May 10/00: The Grizzlies unveil former Indiana Pacers coach Dick Versace, 60, as their new president of basketball operations, replacing Stu Jackson. New owner Michael Heisley also unveils former Pacers vice-president of basketball operations Billy Knight (a former University of Pittsburgh product, who toiled 11 seasons of pro ball starting in 74-75 with the Indianapolis Pacers of the old ABA. In nine NBA seasons, he averaged 15.7 ppg.) as general manager, as well as former Detroit and Orlando head coach Chuck Daly as a senior consultant. Versace says the Grizzlies must develop an identity. “You need to get a philosophy that the team can embrace. Right now it has no stamp. We could through a lot of scenarios but I can’t come up with a stamp.” Assistant general manager and legal counsel Noah Croom is dismissed. Hours later, personnel director Larry Riley is dismissed.
-May 11/00: Tony Barone is appointed director of player personnel. George J. Andrews is appointed assistant general manager/legal counsel. Thomas Penn III is appointed assistant general manager. Mitchell Anderson is appointed assistant coach/scout.
-June 1/00: Andy Dolich is appointed president of business operations.
-February/2001: Vancouver owner Michael Heisley, the new owner of the Vancouver Grizzlies, a Chicago businessmen, says he wants to relocate the Grizzlies one year after he purchases them. Calling the Grizzlie purchase “the biggest miss of my business career,” Heisley projects losses of $50-million. Eighteen months earlier, the NBA went to great pains to block the sale of the team to Missouri businessman Bill Laurie, who wanted to move the team to St. Louis. That paved the way for Heisley to step in. Heisley gets permission from the NBA to investigate moving the team. Said an indifferent market and a weak Canadian dollar made it necessary. On February 12th, Heisley gets permission from NBA to move to another city, saying he stands to lose as much as US$100-million/2years if forced to stay in Vancouver. When NBA commissioner David Stern had brought Heisley into the picture to the prevent the sale of the club to Bill Laurie, Heisley had vowed to keep the club in Vancouver for at least five years. Former Grizzlies owner Arthur Griffiths said the NBA made it impossible for the Grizzlies to succeed. “I’m really disappointed in what’s happened to today. I don’t know if you can possibly expect the fans the business community to jump up and down and spend their money for the entertainment that hasn’t been there. There’s been a real disconnect between the team and the community. … We were really handicapped at the league level because they didn’t want to see a team succeed too quickly. We weren’t eligible for the first player in the draft (for five years). There was a real attempt to ensure we had painful growth. And we’ve accomplished that. You can’t blame the fans and the business community because the team was deliberately held back from instant success.”
-July 3/02: NBA approves Grizzlies move to Memphis. Former Grizz broadcaster and Canadian national team head coach Jay Triano is apoplectic about carpet-bagging owner Michael Heisley, whom he dubbed “a wolf in sheep’s clothing. … He robbed us. He stole the NBA from Vancouver. It smells fishy.” The Grizzlies become the first NBA franchise transfer in 16 years.