Money Tale of Two Cities as LeBron Heads South

(CBS)  While LeBron James bolting from the Cleveland Cavaliers had Cavs fans seeing him as a traitor and burning his jersey, it had fans of the team he's heading to, the Miami Heat, celebrating on the streets after his announcement Thursday night. And some 13,000 of them packed the Heat's home, the American Airlines Arena, for a hero's welcome Friday.

They also cheered Dwayne Wade, the superstar who's already known championship glory with the Heat, and Chris Bosh, the star who's joining them in South Beach.

And while there's no doubt Miami's economy will get a giant shot in the arm from LeBron's arrival, and Cleveland's will suffer, the Heat still have to win to make the money impact even more pronounced - and Cleveland still has attractions worthy of tourist and local dollars, according to one expert.

Rick Horrow, a sports business analyst and author of "Beyond the Box Score," called LeBron "a walking, talking, living, breathing, free-throw-shooting stimulus plan, and he took his industry to Miami and beat out six other markets."

"So," Horrow told co-anchor Chris Wragge on "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," "it's the psychic satisfaction of winning this industrial relocation derby. Also, maybe up to $2 billion, according to a Chicago economist" who applied the financial effect LeBron would have had on the Bulls (had he chosen the Windy City as his new home) to Miami.

"But," Horrow cautioned, "(the Heat have to) win. This is the big issue now. They now have to win not only once, but multiple championships."

Wragge pointed out that, even though the Cavs never won a championship with LeBron, economists estimate he was responsible for as much as $100 million a year in added revenue just by playing in Cleveland.

Morrow said some 6,000 jobs in the area of the Cavs' arena were indirectly attributed to LeBron being there.

Morrow added that the Heat are paying LeBron, Wade and Bosh a combined $300 million - more than ten times what the whole Heat franchise was worth when it was spawned 20 years ago.

Morrow put the loss to Cleveland in perspective, saying, "They were talking about a nuclear bomb. It's not that. But this is just another in a long line of issues that the community has to get over. And the bottom line of all this is, he couldn't make everybody happy. You can't go to six markets at once.

"This guy leaves the city and plies his trade in Miami. And of course, now they focus on the Rock 'n' Roll hall of fame, they focus on their (football) Browns, they focus on their (baseball) Indians. Cavaliers (fans)may want to wait a little while.

More LeBron James Coverage:

LeBron's Breakup with Cleveland is Personal
LeBron Draws Huge TV Ratings, Especially in Ohio
ESPN's LeBron-a-thon: The Mother of all Televised Shams
Cavs Owner: LeBron Move "Cowardly Betrayal"
LeBron Gets Cheers in Miami, Jeers in Cleveland
LeBron James Picks Miami Heat as New Team
Jim Gray: Dan Gilbert Will Regret Dissing LeBron
CBSSports.com's Ken Berger: Pick Changes Landscape
CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman: No Title Lock for Heat

[EllaysOn]

I am writing this letter to let it be known how disgusted I am with the malicious actions of the three tyrants that now form the nucleus of the Miami Heat.

The National Basketball Association has been struck a severe blow by the actions of three of their players in this recent free agency circus. LeBron James sat up there on national television and declared that ?this is a business? and that he intends to interject business-like decisions. The last time I checked, the NBA is a sport and LeBron James for all he thinks he is, is an athlete.
The owners and the managers are the ones that conduct the business of the NBA and the players are provided a salary for their sweat based on their abilities.
This free agency was a silly childish and a disgusting thing to watch. I believe the fans would prefer to watch games that are competitive and representative of a league that is built upon professionalism, not a 25 year olds dream Play Station-3 team composition.

Since LeBron feels that this is a business, I think he?s forgetting a major partner in this business, WE?..THE FANS! And I think it?s time that we stand up and take our place in this so called business. We the fans do not want to see the NBA acting like we?re choosing sides and playing a pickup game of basketball at the playground. We want to continue to enjoy professional basketball in a fair, equitable environment like we used to. Not watching three players hold the league and the fans hostage while they plot their conspiracy in an effort to build a dynasty.

I intend to:
1) Promote the idea to the fans of the NBA that we boycott the game of basketball around the country.

2) Promote the idea that we form a fans council, and that we participate in the Collective Bargaining Process of the NBA.

Since Mr. James insists that this is a business I feel it is of the utmost importance to show him who the true boss of this business is.

[EllaysOn]

ORGANIZING is necessary......FOR THE FANS

It is time that the fans of this league form an alliance of our own to compete with the constant selfishness of.....
ALL OF THE OTHER COMPONENTS OF THIS BUSINESS!!!

Here everyone is talking about the National Basketball Association being a business.
Well I as a lifelong devout fan of this business has not had a say in any of the dealings that this business conducts even though I am a major contributor to this business.
After witnessing this past weeks episode of what I surmise was "SURVIOR", I think it is time that that fans of the NBA form our own alliance!!!
Contained within the National Basketball Association there is an owner's association and a player's union.
Nowhere is there a vioce of THE FAN.....the major commodity of this business that LeBron James so affectionately calls the NBA.

[keyslammer]

UGH! I am SO sick of this story. Enough already. He's just another overpaid athlete who probably won't even be able to sign his name once he's too old to play anymore. He will blow ALL the money he earned on Escalades and bling and will just end up another athletic statistic. He's nothing more than someone who can play basketball at the moment and one who is paid WAY too much and thought of WAY too much.

[AgainstMindControl]

This world is going down the drain quick.

The impressionable ghetto blacks and Hispanic youth FEED on this. They watch MTV in the morning, the NBA in the afternoon, and party all night. They fornicate and overpopulate the world.

In the meantime, we continue to die of cancer; we continue to fight noise pollution, we continue to cry over no peace in this world.

And the youth party on like there's no tomorrow.

Someday, they will stand before God Almighty and give an account. I'm looking forward to that day.

[P0ST1ING_AWAY]

by banned103times July 10, 2010 6:31 PM EDT
True or False.. A Liberal is more likely to?
=============================================
You are a sad, delusional excuse for a human being.

[scubbasteve01]

A Letter To Dan Gilbert:

Dear Mr. Wilson Lebron James is moving to Miami and there won't be a Championship again here in Cleveland.Is there really a Santa Claus? Why can't we win all of those big games here in Cleveland? I still believe in this town.But Mr. Gilbert trashed Lebron on his way out of town. Is Lebron really a bad guy?
Plus aren't their more important things in the world that we should still be worried about?''

Letter from Virginia Smith from Cleveland, Ohio for EDITOR, Steven Wilson, BULL****Press Weekend Edition.

" Dear Virginia yes their is a Santa Claus and he is in our hearts and minds not just all over the world but in Miami.
As well as your great city of Cleveland. But Lebron leaving is a direct result of Loyalty, Marketing, Money in Sports and how if you don't win you leave town to get that ring and trophy somewhere else. You see Virginia no one likes to cry in their beer. But Lebron's
time in Cleveland only gave him the 2 time MVP Award not the championships that he wanted. The unfair comparison to Michael Jordan didn't help him either along with the title of the '' KING.'' Sore losers? 7 years of it I think worst than Philly fans.
Coward, narcissist, $17.41 Fathead.com buddy? The press waiting around for the DECISION didn't help his image either.
So is Lebron a jerk, Virginia? No, I don't think so. He just understands that this is a big business and that he needs to take care of his business if he wants to win and obviously he's smart enough to realize that it won't happen in his hometown of Cleveland.
We should all understand that when we see players signing big contracts like this that yes it really is just a big business.
Mr. Gilbert trashing Lebron was a classless act considering basketball is a team sport unlike tennis and golf. In the games when Lebron wasn't playing well and the teammates that Gilbert paid for to surround him. In those key playoff games they all CHOKED, this was the part that he forgot to mention, when they were expected to move their game to the next level. Did Mr. Gilbert in the face of defeat expect them to perform well and him to score 65 points a game to get a big win? Well they didn't play well Mr. Gilbert and the money that you spent was wasted. Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus and if Dan Gilbert could get his hands on him he would pay him big money to not choke during Christmas Eve and disappoint all of the children all over the world. Cleveland will of course win a championship of course on Playstation 2 or Xbox. So he would be well advised to get his controller ready to play.
It's safe to say Virginia that Christmas will be in Miami this year with the Miami thrice. So while more important things are happening in the world people will still talk about this long after Christmas, VIrginia.''
Cleveland rocks, baby! SICK!

[wyodutch]

Who are the idiots that think this story matters?