When NBA commissioner David Stern retires at the end of the current season, he will have left the world’s most popular basketball league in a very healthy financial state.
According to Forbes, the NBA’s 30 teams are valued at a combined $19 billion. The league was worth $400 million when Stern took over in 1984. Today, the average team in the NBA is worth $634 million.
The numbers are impressive, but that doesn’t mean the Timberwolves had a successful 2013. According to the report by Forbes, the Timberwolves rank in the bottom five of the NBA with a franchise value of $430 million – up from an estimated $364 million last year. They incurred an operating loss of $2.7 million last year.
The operating loss comes as no surprise. The team has had annual operating losses of at least $1.9 million in all but one year since 2005, with the lone exception coming in 2007 when they generated $4.7 million in profit.
Only the Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans, Charlotte Bobcats and Milwaukee Bucks are worth less than the Timberwolves.
The Knicks, Lakers and Bulls are the only teams worth more than a billion dollars, with the Knicks leading the league with a franchise value of $1.4 billion. New York generated a record-setting $96 million profit.
Wolves owner Glen Taylor purchased the team in 1995 for $88 million.
In November, the Minneapolis City Council approved a $97 million renovation plan for the Target Center. MinnPost detailed the planned upgrades, which will begin this spring.
The largest portion of the renovation money, $27.2 million, will be spent on public spaces, with $16 million in technology updates and $13 million for a new outside shell and signage.
Michael Rand did some digging for the value of the Twins, Wild and Vikings. The Twins ranked 20th in MLB, the Wild ranks 19th in the NHL and the Vikings are 21st in the NFL.
