They have the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates. All have won championships. Why don't they have an NBA team.

It would seem they would have plenty of good rivalries.

I can't think of another city that has NFL, NHL, MLB, but no NBA?

They are lucky they still have NHL and MLB teams.

They barely have an NHL team, and seem destined to never again field a competitive MLB team. It's not a robust town in terms of economics. I don't see how it could possibly support a 4th franchise given their current struggles in MLB and the NHL.

They use to way back in the day (Not a NBA team)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Ironmen

Pistol Pete's dad is from Pittsburgh. Pretty good basketball history from there actually.

Press Maravich

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Maravich

I disagree. Huntington is a good bet to run the team well, and ownership is reportedly willing to spend some more money rather than being the welfare queens of the MLB.

St. Louis, Tampa Bay.

yet for some reason the Hawks moved to ATL.

Spending more money is one thing; spending enough to have a legitimate shot is another. Unless they do very well in the draft I don't see Pittsburgh making the playoffs anytime soon.

Not sure why having an NHL team should mean that you should have an NBA team.

Also not sure why winning championships in recent years in other sports should warrant having an NBA team.

Also, most people spell Pittsburgh with an H.
Unless you're referring to that other Pittsburg in Kansas.
Go Gorillas!!

bremen - Doing very well in the draft would take a few years to come to fruition.
If they are willing to spend ANY amount of money then they can have a chance in the rather unspectacular NL Central.

negative - St. Louis might be a better candidate for an NBA team I think.
Especially if/when the Grizzlies finally give up on trying to make it work in that hideous market.

Tampa isn't going to happen with the Magic so close. And that's just far enough away to not really qualify as the same market. But I do think there is decent enough cross-over there of Rays and Bucs drawing some fans from Orlando and Magic drawing some fans from TB that it's worth mentioning.

TB is currently playing a 3 game series at the Disney stadium IN Orlando which I think goes to show how much they want to attract more from that market [plus how much they just would like to play a home game out of their silly dome].

The division may be weak, but teams like CHC/STL have a very significant financial advantage over PIT. I can't imagine ownership would be crazy enough to spend the amounts necessary knowing that recouping the investment is very unlikely (not impossible as owners do have egos to feed).

St. Louis definitely does not have a major financial advantage. They are the definition of a medium-market team. Pittsburgh is now run by some smart people, so it's possible that they'll turn it around in the next decade.

Looking at ticket prices there is a huge disparity. I am quite sure St. Louis outdraws Pittsburgh quite handily as well.

Actually I looked it up. Last year STL was 4th and PIT was 27th. I am quite confident in my assertion that STL has a major financial advantage. Maybe they'll be able to turn it around. I doubt it.

Actually looking at the ticket prices its probably cheaper for me to drive across the state to watch the Phillies play the Pirates than it is for me to go to Phillies home games... ROAD TRIP!

St. Louis would never support an NBA franchise.

C'mon now. St. Louis is without any doubt essentially a big market franchise. It's not NY or Boston or LA, but it's way up there. Huge attendance, decent TV deal, sweet new stadium, huge national fan base. Pittsburgh has virtually zero chance of generating the revenue St. Louis does.

You may well be right, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Why is this? Just don't think it's basketball country?

Couple of things. The city really economically is perfect at 3 teams. It's not exactly a robust city in that regard. It's a really racist population, so the NBA has a huge disadvantage in that regard. Plus like many cities, the general populace has this "oh, the NBA is all ghetto and no team ball etc" attitude, because they simply don't watch the games and don't care to. Gets zero coverage in the paper as well. People love to talk about the old St. Louis Hawks or whatever, but that was eons ago.

In a price conscious market, I simply see zero chance people pay big money to see 41 NBA regular season home games, especially for what would have to be a non-competitive team. Heck, the Rams have one or two mediocre seasons and they instantly stop selling out.

What are these NHL struggles? Considering every game was sold out this year and there is absolutely no financial troubles with the team and a new arena is already being physically worked on. I'm interested to hear what you think these troubles are.

The pirates, they make a ton of money because of revenue sharing and they just don't spend any money, they don't need to draw, they just the other teams pay them for the pleasure of having them in the league. It's a disgusting joke, and Huntington isn't going to change it.

Really?

They almost lost the team entirely how many times over the last decade? And needed not only Mario to basically rescue things, but needed a stadium miracle as well right?

and so what problems do you see moving forward, not in the past?

You don't seem to account for how BAD the pittsburgh team is.

Why would anyone want to go?