Poll indicates 59% of British Columbians believe Vancouver is worthy of an NBA franchise

Ever since NBA Commissioner Adam Silver started talking about potential expansions in the NBA, many cities like Las Vegas and Seattle have been appearing as candidates for a new franchise. The same is starting to happen in Vancouver, Canada. 

According to a recent poll, the majority of British Columbians believe that an NBA squad in their capital city would be immensely popular. Nearly three in five residents say it would be a “good” or “very good” idea, while only 6% were against the proposal.

Also, almost a quarter of Vancouver residents say they would attend their games. According to Research Co. president Mario Canseco, these results show an even “larger appetite” for NBA basketball that they did before when they had a franchise over twenty years ago.

Majority of British Columbians want NBA team in Vancouver: poll https://t.co/bGdoaae24p

— BC News Now 🗞️ (@BCNewsNow) January 7, 2024

“It’s pretty high … and I think it has a lot to do with how the NBA has expanded itself,” he told CBC News back in December. “Now it’s a completely different ball game as far as the global reach of the NBA, partly because they’ve done a good job connecting outside of the United States but also because now we have players from everywhere.”

Silver first mentioned the city as a candidate back in November, as well as Montreal as the other potential destination in Canada, and the idea has been growing rapidly.

Vancouver lost the Grizzlies franchiser to Memphis in 2001 after just six campaign, mostly due to how poorly they competed in the NBA. “They were pretty bad at the time, but it was pretty sad to see them go,” said fan Demi Harris, who says he grew up playing basketball and cheering for the former city club.

Now Harris coaches and mentors young players in British Columbia. “Everybody wants to see an NBA team come to Vancouver. Not just for the team that we would have, but to see all the other teams come here,” he assured. “It would just be perfect.”

He considers basketball is “booming” for the Vancouver youth. “I think a lot of basketball players really try to go to a higher level and quit. But the levels don’t really matter, to be honest with you — it’s the love of the game,” Harris shared.

Vancouver’s hope is not only to recover their NBA franchise, but also add a WNBA contender to attract more women to the sport

Harris has a young daughter who plays basketball, and feels inspired when she says she would also love to see a WNBA team in the city. “All the girls in Vancouver that want to try something from that age to high school, they need someone to look up to,” he said.

In modern society, he believes it would be an immense inspiration to boast new basketball stars in Vancouver. “And guys, we can only do so much. We’re getting old, we’re in the men’s leagues and stuff like that. But a real NBA star or WNBA star? That’d be so cool,” Harris admitted.

Four years ago, Commissioner Silver confessed he would’ve already liked to see a franchise in the Canadian city. In the video below, check out what he said back then:

Even though Canseco is convinced that the British Columbia interest would not only translate into a powerful economic boost for the city, he admits that actually making happen isn’t as easy as they hoped it would be.

“It’s one thing for the NBA to say we want to expand,” he shared. “But unless somebody raises their hand and says, ‘I’ve got a couple of billion [dollars] to spare,’ we’re not going to see this happening.”