playoff appearance in 1969, but the Rockets lost in the semi-finals of the Western Division to the Atlanta Hawks, four games to two. The Rockets limped to a 27–55 finish in the 1969–70 season, before missing the playoffs by just one game in the 1970–71 season. Off the court, Breitbard was facing serious financial losses primarily due to a controversial ongoing tax-assessment issue that had plagued his San Diego Sports Arena since it was built. He was also meanwhile still also on the hook for paying off the NBA expansion fee for the Rockets, in addition to construction-related bonds on the arena, which he had built with private funding. To make matters worse, the American professional sports economy had begun to plummet in the late 1960s, and professional basketball was being hit particularly hard with nearly all franchises in the NBA and ABA operating at a financial loss at this time. On January 26, 1970, during an emotional press conference on the floor of the Sports Arena, Breitbard addressed the San Diego fans regarding his dire finances and the state of his Rockets basketball and Gulls hockey teams. "...We have been served an eviction notice..." Breitbard announced. "I've tried to work quietly, to iron this out. But, at the moment it appears impossible. I don't want to sell. I'm not interested in selling outside of San Diego. It seems to me the Rockets and Gulls are part of this town. This arena, the Gulls, the Rockets, are a part of me, and our fans have been wonderful to us." Over the next nearly year and a half, numerous fans circulated petitions and lobbied local officials to help keep the Rockets and Gulls afloat and in San Diego. Several proposals surrounding providing financial aid or payment relief to Breitbard, or having the City and/or County of San Diego take ownership of the arena were discussed, but Breitbard was running out of time. At least 14 private offers for the Rockets were made to Breitbard, though all would have resulted in the team being relocated out of San Diego, which Breitbard was adamantly opposed to. The tax-assessment situation surrounding the Sports Arena (which was the only large arena in the region) ultimately made the prospect of another local owner purchasing the team infeasible. On January 12, 1971, the Rockets hosted the 1971 NBA All-Star Game at the San Diego Sports Arena, a