Nick Wass / AP

Wizards owner Abe Pollin, left, died Tuesday.

The Capital Centre, located in Landover, Md., and was the nation’s first sports major venue with luxury boxes and a big replay screen. It was topped 24 years later by the Verizon Center, which Pollin built with $200 million of his own money at a time when many owners of professional franchises demanded taxpayer support for new facilities — and threatened to move their teams if they didn’t get it.

“He had opportunities to go to other places, but this is where he wanted to be,” team president Ernie Grunfeld said. “He wanted to do this for his city.”

Born Dec. 3, 1923, Pollin and his family moved from Philadelphia to the Washington area when he was 8. He graduated from George Washington University in 1945 and went to work in his family’s construction business. He started his own construction company in 1957.

Pollin and two partners bought the Bullets in 1964 for a record $1.1 million, a mere fraction of the salary of today’s NBA stars. He bought out his partners four years later and moved the team to the Washington suburbs when the Capital Centre opened. He also acquired an expansion NHL franchise, the Capitals, for his new building.

The Bullets won their championship with Unseld and Elvin Hayes and reached the NBA finals the following season as well, but Pollin was unable to keep up with the subsequent free agency explosion that sent salaries skyrocketing. He kept a shoestring front-office operation for much of the 1990s, was sometimes reticent to spend big for players, and developed a reputation for retaining employees who were loyal but not necessarily successful.

“I have no doubt that he kept me longer in positions than he should have,” said Unseld, who also was the Wizards’ coach and later their general manager, “and longer than I wanted him to. He was loyal.”

Pollin’s frustration boiled over when he argued with Jordan at a labor negotiating session during the 1998-99 lockout. When Pollin complained that individual owners such as himself could no longer survive, Jordan suggested that Pollin sell his team. Less than a year later, Pollin and Jordan became partners in a relationship that never blossomed.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures A kayaker flips out, a racehorse eyes the Triple Crown and more. more photos

After far too many losing seasons to count, the Wizards finally started winning again in recent years. A 2005 playoff series victory was the franchise’s first in 23 years, and the team returned to the postseason for the next three seasons.

Despite his illness, Pollin made his annual trip to training camp in Richmond, Va., this year to encourage the team.

“He would want us to celebrate his life and not mourn his death,” coach Flip Saunders said before Tuesday’s game. “That’s just the individual he was. But when you’re here going through it, it’s not that easy.”

Pollin’s other major franchise was more successful competitively, if not financially. The Capitals, faced with the daunting task of turning Washington into a hockey town, made the playoffs regularly in the 1980s and 1990s but also lost $20 million the year they made the Stanley Cup finals in 1998. Pollin sold the team to Leonsis the following year.

In addition to his wife, Pollin is survived by sons Robert and James and two grandchildren.

More news

Tim Shaffer / Reuters

Can Celtics close out 76ers?

CSN: From Kevin Garnett's knock on Philly fans to Thaddeus Young's impact, here are five storylines for Celtics-76ers.

PBT: 76ers must stop Rondo to force Game 7

  

Headlines

• Label

PBT: Watch flagrant fouls by Haslem, Pittman

Slideshow: Best images of NBA playoffs

PBT Extra: Magic revamp, Celts' surprise, more

CSN: Making sense of Celtics  |  76ers turning over

Collins hopes blast from '82 Game 7 inspires 76ers

SportsTalk: Garnett foolish to insult Philly fans

Ventre: Kobe, Lakers finished contending together

Opinion: What to make of Kobe, Bynum, Gasol now?