Jerry Colangelo is starring a radical that is looking to bid connected a Las Vegas NBA enlargement squad and brings a wealthiness of pro sports enactment acquisition with him.
Colangelo, 86, the longtime sports executive, is nary alien to enlargement teams and sports franchise ownership and was a large subordinate successful turning Phoenix into the sports municipality that it is today. He held ownership stakes successful the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, and helped onshore the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes (now the Utah Mammoth) successful 1996.
Here are 5 absorbing facts astir Colangelo and his lengthy sports concern career.
1. Early NBA experience
Colangelo got his archetypal occupation successful the NBA successful 1966 with the Chicago Bulls, moving successful aggregate positions including selling director, scout and an adjunct to the president. Colangelo near 2 years aboriginal to go the wide manager of the enlargement Phoenix Suns. At 28 years old, Colangelo was the youngest GM successful pro sports astatine the time.
2. Saving the franchise
After moving for the Suns for 19 years, Colangelo assembled a radical and purchased the squad for $44.5 cardinal successful 1987. He served arsenic managing spouse for the Suns until 2004, erstwhile helium sold his involvement successful the squad to erstwhile proprietor Robert Sarver for $401 million, a grounds merchantability terms astatine the time.
3. Arena afloat circle
Colangelo owned the Arena Football League’s Arizona Rattlers betwixt 1992, erstwhile they were an enlargement team, and 2004. In 1997, the Rattlers won the AFL championship, beating the Iowa Barnstormers successful Arena Bowl XI. The Barnstormers were led by backmost Kurt Warner, who near the AFL for the NFL the pursuing play and went connected to person a agelong NFL vocation and led the Arizona Cardinals to the franchise’s archetypal Super Bowl quality successful 2009.
4. UNLV connection
In 1987, Colangelo led the Suns done a cocaine ungraded wherever 3 existent and 2 erstwhile players astatine the clip were indicted connected drug-related charges. One of the Suns players progressive successful the ungraded was Grant Gondrezick, the younger member of precocious UNLV large and erstwhile NBA subordinate Glen Gondrezick. Grant Gondrezick yet pleaded blameworthy to a lesser complaint and entered rehab, portion a subordinate of the Los Angeles Clippers.
5. Fast enlargement success
Colangelo was liable for Phoenix landing the MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks arsenic an enlargement squad successful 1998. The squad won their 1 and lone World Series portion nether Colangelo’s ownership successful 2001, successful the team’s 4th twelvemonth successful existence, besting the New York Yankees 4-3 successful the seven-game series.
Contact Mick Akers astatine makers@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers connected X.
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