Popular Sports Domain NewYorkKnicks.com expires: Will the NBA scoop it up?

On August 26, 2010, the domain name NewYorkKnicks.com expired. 

The name is currently pending renewal at Network Solutions by its owner. 

If the name isn’t renewed in time, it’ll end up going to the highest bidder on NameJet. 

Pre-bidding action has already attracted over 30 bidders.  The name must be backordered by October 1st, in order to participate in the auction.

NBA owns other names 

The professional basketball team New York Knicks, are based in New York City.  But in the internet world, the team’s official web site is based at http://www.nba.com/knicks/. 

Though the NBA owns knicks.com and re-directs visitors to its official web site, the NBA doesn’t own the full team domain name, as it does for many other teams within the NBA.

Type WashingtonWizards.com into your web browser, and you’ll be taken to http://www.nba.com/wizards/

ChicagoBulls.com, will take you straight to http://www.nba.com/bulls

The Knicks, whose original team name is New York Knickerbockers, also isn’t a domain name the NBA owns.  NewYorkKnickerbockers.com is currently a parked page.  That’s no big deal.  Most are familiar with Knicks, not the Knickerbockers.  And type in traffic is zilch.

But NewYorkKnicks.com is a domain name the NBA probably wants to own and should own. 

According to Compete, the web address gets as many as 6,000 unique visitors per month.  And NEW YORK KNICKS is a trademarked term.

Aftermarket Value of Domain Name

According to Valuate.com, the free domain name appraisal tool, the domain name NewYorkKnicks.com appraises at $9,000.   While the price of the domain name might not fetch that amount at auction, it’s possible.  Exact local search volume in the United States for the phrase “New York Knicks” was 165,00 searches in the month of August.