Chinese Group to Buy Stake in NBA Team

2009-05-25

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed an agreement with an investment group from China to become minority owners of the NBA franchise and its arena, a partnership that could impact superstar LeBron James' future with the team.

The Asian conglomerate, which includes JianHua Huang, a Chinese businessman who has brokered sponsorship deals with the New York Yankees and other sports franchises in the U.S., could acquire up to 15 percent of Cavaliers Operating Company, the entity that owns the team and operates Quicken Loans Arena.

The deal, completed by the sides in recent days, must be approved by the league's board of governors. [AP]

I'm curious to see whether this goes down without any problems. People certainly tend to get emotional about their sports teams, so it's certainly possible that a xenophobic/protectionist backlash against this deal could happen.

Moreover, Cleveland (and the Midwest in general) is reeling from job losses in the manufacturing sector. Lots of anti-China rhetoric out there waiting to be used by politicians, AM radio personalities, etc.

I suspect that if this story does "break out" and get serious attention, it will take a few days. The U.S. is currently on break for Memorial Day. Perhaps toward the end of the week we might hear more about this.

On the other hand, since the proposed deal is for a minority stake only, this might sufficiently downplay the story to keep it off the front pages of the local newspaper.

Stay tuned. Personally, I'm waiting for some schmuck from a cable news show to interview Lebron James and ask him, "Do you have any problems playing for a Chinese owner?"

Tags: China Business & Economy, U.S.-China Relations, Cleveland Cavaliers, protectionism