Recent findings from a Conference Board of Canada study suggest that the city of Vancouver and its population could support the return of a professional basketball team with the right ownership group. It’s quite simple the reason Vancouver is ranked high is because of business industrialist Francesco Aquilini. Aquilini has quietly been linked in the past to a number of team potential relocations to Vancouver from the Seattle Supersonics, Sacramento Kings to recently the Los Angeles Clippers.
Francesco has learned firsthand from his father Luigi Aquilini’s hardwork as a blue collar immigrant in Canada to rising to be one of the most powerhouse dynasty families in North America. What I see that sets the Aquilinis apart as successful sports team owners is the loyalty they show their players, the passion where Francesco is not afraid to show publicly his feelings—where most professional sports owners are like robots, Aquilini is someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. Multicultural community involvement is huge for the Vancouver Canucks such a diverse demographic in fans and community support that the Aquilinis have helped build. The Aquilinis have invested a lot across British Columbia and so if anyone can pull off bringing a NBA basketball team back to Vancouver I am putting my money on them.
