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ABM · 06-20-2004, 07:04 AM

Here are some interesting snippets (mainly quotes....for you copyright police

Quote:

Steve Patterson was surprised when a co-worker in the Trail Blazers' front office mentioned that his first anniversary as team president was imminent.....The anniversary passed Friday. Time flies when you have so many challenges.

Patterson vowed to help lead the Blazers into the "new era" heralded by billionaire owner Paul Allen. The new president had three primary objectives: cut spending, improve character and reconnect with a statewide fan base that had grown disenchanted with Oregon's lone major league franchise.

One year later, the Blazers have gone through a significant transformation under their new management team, a group that includes general manager John Nash, chief marketing officer Declan Bolger and chief financial officer Gregg Olson -- all hires by Patterson.

"It hasn't been a cakewalk, but I didn't have any expectations that it was going to be," Patterson said.

(Paul) Allen said he is impressed with Patterson's contributions and is "optimistic" about the franchise's future.

"I think we've made progress in all areas, but I am really pleased with the improvement of the team's image," Allen said in an e-mail sent out by his publicist. "We're in a position where research shows that fans feel we're moving in the right direction. That is something that I'm very pleased with."

..........At the end of the 2002-03 season, Debbie Hansen said there was no way anybody with the Blazers could have persuaded her to renew her contract as a season ticket holder.

"I got so fed up that year, I think I went to one game after December," Hansen said. "I couldn't take it anymore."

"If you look at what Steve Patterson has done, it's actually pretty amazing, considering what a mess things were," said Hansen, a legal administrative assistant with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. "There's a different energy in the arena. By the time the Rasheed trade was completed, it was like, 'Wow, this is like a totally different vibe in here.' People hadn't felt that in years, which was nice. It was good to feel like that again."

"He has put his face out there enough that people recognize him," said Hansen, a member of the Blazers' first fan advisory board -- another of Patterson's innovations. "People aren't afraid to tell him what's on their mind, and he takes whatever they say, good or bad, and is very patient with them. Fans appreciate that.

"I like the direction that the Blazers are going in. You kind of feel like they're doing the right things. They're kind of listening to the fans. They're using common sense, which they haven't always used in the past. You feel like there is hope for the future with them."

.........A year ago, Erin Hubert, the Blazers' former executive vice president, appeared ready to complete a 12-year climb up the franchise's corporate ladder and succeed Whitsitt as president.

She made the shortlist of finalists but didn't get the job, ultimately leaving the Blazers about a month later to become vice president and general manager for Entercom radio in Portland.

Almost a year later, Hubert is convinced the Blazers hired the right person for the job.

"I've always been about what was best for the Blazers and the people in the community," Hubert said. "That's what happened. They put the best structure in place, and they certainly found somebody qualified and appropriate in Steve.

"It wasn't an easy decision for me to leave and not be able to work with him. At the same time, I had opportunities, and I felt like it created opportunities for him to bring a senior-level executive in on his team, which is always important to a new leader."

Hubert said she left the Blazers on good terms and has maintained contact with many of the people who work there.

"The feedback I get is very positive," Hubert said. "There are still challenges to overcome, and the bankruptcy issue is probably the biggest hurdle, but I think everybody feels real eager and enthusiastic about the progress they're making and how they're working internally to get it done."

She also said it has helped that Patterson makes his home in Lake Oswego, unlike Whitsitt, who often was viewed as an out-of-touch Seattle-area resident who wasn't emotionally tied to the Portland market and perhaps didn't completely understand it.

"Having the person running it down here with the company probably has helped create a stronger, more productive organization overall," Hubert said. "I think they're bridging the basketball and the business sides really well and operating more as one, not as two separate entities, which was the feeling at times when I was there.

"Steve walked into a really, really challenging situation that was filled with a lot of opportunities, but he knew that. He also knew that if he handled it right that there was a tremendous upside for this organization. I don't know, but my guess is he's got a pretty strong vision of where he's hoping to see things go."

...........Bank of America has been a Blazers sponsor for the past 13 years, entering into a relationship with the NBA franchise at a time the company's presence in Oregon was relatively small.

"It was a great partnership at that particular period," said Roger Hinshaw, president of Bank of America in Oregon. "And it still is."

Hinshaw said he sometimes cringed over his company's ties to the so-called "Jail Blazers," but he is encouraged by the direction of the franchise under Patterson.

"I've got to tell you that the new management team, and Steve in particular, has really impressed us," Hinshaw said. "What's so refreshing to us is Steve brings a real strong local presence to the Blazers that didn't exist in the prior administration. He lives in the community, he's been a quick study on what's important to this community, he cares about this place, and he's a first-class manager. He understands the business, and I believe we're lucky to have him here."

.........Bill Gander, owner of Standard TV & Appliance, agreed with Hinshaw's assessment. Gander said he also appreciates that Patterson is trying to repair the Blazers' brand the old-fashioned way -- through "good business practices."

"One of the first things Steve said to the sponsors was that it looks as if we've got about two years to get the team where it needs to be," Gander said. "Here we didn't make the playoffs and Rasheed is getting a ring, and that's tough to swallow. Still, from the fans' perspective, they were so tired of the other stuff that they're willing to accept, perhaps for the short run, some degree of mediocrity, but knowing that there's a plan. And that's what I see. These guys have a plan."

As major sponsors, Gander and Hinshaw are privy to inside information and say they have seen things behind the scenes that most fans don't see.

"Steve always says it like it is," Hinshaw said. "Sometimes he's been criticized for that, but I appreciate him. We deal with a lot of professional sports teams across the country, and the Blazers' back office has to be the best in the business in terms of customer relations.

"They went through a difficult period and we were following things very carefully, looking for progress. We've been happy with the moves that they've made, particularly so with Steve. He's really been the leader.".........

**B_&_B** · 06-20-2004, 08:22 AM

thanks for posting...

more from the story:

"Steve is making it possible, too, for people to once again take pride in being associated with the Portland Trail Blazers. I think that's what everybody wants."

Cheeks' opinions are supported by the Blazers' market research, some of which showed a 10 percent rise in television ratings during the second half of the season -- or "post-Rasheed" -- compared with the first half. Over that period, cable ratings climbed 30 percent, and ticket sales rose almost 5 percent.

**Gym Rat** · 06-20-2004, 08:31 AM

Wow, in my mind the Bill Gander from Standard TV and Appliance doesn't have a clue. Good business practices do not include OAC declaring bankruptcy.... when it is totally unnecessary.

I think Patterson has done many positives but the OAC situation is very lame in my opinion.

**B_&_B** · 06-20-2004, 10:08 AM

GYM RAT - Why cant Paul look to re-finance?? just like people do with their homes??... he was paying one of the, if not the highest intrest rate of any arena in the country.

**Gym Rat** · 06-21-2004, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JohnnyCash!
GYM RAT - Why cant Paul look to re-finance?? just like people do with their homes??... he was paying one of the, if not the highest intrest rate of any arena in the country.

First, he agreed to the interest rate to start with, but refinancing is certainly something that he should and could try. This company offered to refinace at a lower interest rate for Paul, all he had to do is personally guarantee the loan. He would not do that.

So, in my opinion, he should have taken their offer. It is bad PR for the fourth richest man in the world to run a company that declares bankruptcy... and if you take an honest look at this, the main reason the company was hurting wasn't the interest rate, it was mismangement. It starts at the top.

Draco · 06-21-2004, 12:39 AM

I disagree Gym Rat.

Just because Paul Allen has money doesnt mean he needs to be held to "higher" standards then other business men (who are still very rich btw).

Should Paul have to accept lower returns on his investments just because he has more money? I don't believe he should. The bond holders are all millionairs anyways, its not like Pauls taking money that'll feed starving children.

The bond holders should have acknowledged the risk in loaning money to OAC from the begginning. Wait, maybe they did, maybe thats why they got a higher interest rate then if Paul had guaranteed the loan when it initially took place, maybe thats why the bondholders are getting what the courts (and the law) says they deserve, just as was intended in the beginning.

This is a perfectly legal and ethical business practice imo.

**Gym Rat** · 06-21-2004, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Draco!
I disagree Gym Rat.

Just because Paul Allen has money doesnt mean he needs to be held to "higher" standards then other business men (who are still very rich btw).

Should Paul have to accept lower returns on his investments just because he has more money? I don't believe he should. The bond holders are all millionairs anyways, its not like Pauls taking money that'll feed starving children.

The bond holders should have acknowledged the risk in loaning money to OAC from the begginning. Wait, maybe they did, maybe thats why they got a higher interest rate then if Paul had guaranteed the loan when it initially took place, maybe thats why the bondholders are getting what the courts (and the law) says they deserve, just as was intended in the beginning.

This is a perfectly legal and ethical business practice imo.

I didn't say it wasn't legal nor did I say he should be held to a higher standard. I said I thought he should personally guarantee the note to obtain the lower interest rate. It is a bad PR move.

And to say the bondholders are all millionaires is crap. There is a retirement fund involved and while the retirement fund is big business, many of the people affected by it are regular folks.

And, if Paul had any moral concerns about this, he would have instructed OAC to payoff debts to the small companies they owed money to before declaring bankruptcy. The bond holders are not the only ones hurting effected by his inept managment. What about the small business owner that had to repo a cart? Why so many of you choose to defend him on this is amazing to me.

Right now, it sounds like the bondholders are getting the Rose Garden. The courts are sorting it out. All of this could have been avoided with one man guarantee to pay off a loan he originally agreed to pay. Simple stuff, but Paul chose to go the other route.

Ed O · 06-21-2004, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gym Rat!

And, if Paul had any moral concerns about this, he would have instructed OAC to payoff debts to the small companies they owed money to before declaring bankruptcy. The bond holders are not the only ones hurting effected by his inept managment. What about the small business owner that had to repo a cart? Why so many of you choose to defend him on this is amazing to me.

I'm not sure that it's legal to pay a class of creditors before going into bankruptcy... it's possible that if the OAC did that that the Bondholders could have sought to reclaim the funds disbursed before the bankruptcy filing.

Who would be the bad guy then, if the bondholders were going after money that was due to them... and hauling small businesses into court to get it?

There might have been "inept management" going on (that's debateable and a matter of opinion, it seems to me) but it seems to be a fact that the OAC was paying a higher interest rate to bondholders than similar arena-owning companies.

The bondholders wanted something that they should have known they weren't going to get: a personal guarantee. Whether it was because they thought Allen was bluffing or because they actually want to own the RG doesn't really matter... they made their bed just as much as Paul Allen did for them.

Ed O.

Draco · 06-21-2004, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gym Rat!

Right now, it sounds like the bondholders are getting the Rose Garden. The courts are sorting it out. All of this could have been avoided with one man guarantee to pay off a loan he originally agreed to pay. Simple stuff, but Paul chose to go the other route.

Paul Allen never agreed to pay off the loan and he shouldn't have to agree to it now if he doesn't want too. Paul isn't going to make any money from OAC anyways, the bondholders have to be payed before allen can get any.

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