Eric Williams covered the Sonics' last season in Seattle. A Tacoma native, Eric graduated from Mount Tahoma High and the University of Puget Sound.
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We appear to have a rock throwing contest here. Mayor Greg Nickels responded to Sonics' chairman Clay Bennett's comments this afternoon. Here's what the mayor had to say.
"As I indicated to Mr. Bennett when he called July 19th, I would be happy to meet with him and discuss how we can work together to keep the Sonics in Seattle. My door is always open.
"However, if Mr. Bennett wants to limit the conversation to an early buy-out of the team’s lease at Key Arena, then I agree — a trip to Seattle isn’t worth the price of the plane ticket.
"Seattle and Key Arena have been home to the Sonics — and more recently the Storm — for 40 years. I would like to see that tradition continue and I remain committed to working with the Sonics in the spirit of cooperation and partnership to make that happen.
"Let me say again, if the Sonics are committed to staying in Seattle there are sensible solutions that, working in good faith, can be found."
COMMENTS:
Petitions and court fights to keep the Sonics in the Key until 2010 won't buy time; at best it delays the inevitable, it worse it provides Bennett his rationalization. If something will be done locally in 2009, why can't it or won't it happen now?
It's been two weeks since the media named Stern's ref. When are the charges and arrest?
Fortson told the truth, and he was treated worse than a Bad Newz dog.
I agree with the poster that if the Sonics leave this area, it'll be a long time before the NBA returns.
Otherwise, I think it;s bye bye Sonics. And yes, in THE SHORT RUN, Bennett will lose money in OKC. But the way pro sprts teams appreciate, when he goes to sell he'll make a healthy profit as Howard (the slime) Shultz did.
Plus no one knows what the future hold. If the Sonics leave, we'd become the hottest place to host a NBA team. It may not be right away but 13th best market will have a NBA team sooner than later.
Look on the bright side. Chump Bennett will lose a lot of money in the meantime. And we get to see Portland play on TV regularly. I'd rather watch B-Roy and G-Oden play than Kevin Durant and Jeff Green play........
I can live without the NBA. I'm not that fanatic about it that I'll lick Bennett's boots and be his toady. We should tell him "we are going to bleed you dry, you bloodsucker, and then you can shove it where the sun don't shine".
there are just too many bad guys in this story, and no one ready to make any sort of effort to make things turn out well. Where is David Stern? Does he give a damn about losing the 13th biggest market is the country? Where is the league? If Bennett moves the Sonics to Oklahoma, the league is going to lose a lot of income. or won't it? Can any help be expected from the other owners? I don't expect anything from Stern. What he has against Seattle is a mystery to me.
I truely am upset...I've written all the officials that I can, I've done my part. What else can a fan do? The fans are not the ones complaining about wanting a new arena if anything, I've heard nothing but positive remarks about the arena!
On another note, if I ever see another starbucks cup i'm going to spike that stuff like ricky watters
Clay Bennett is not a bad person and Oklahoma is not just full of rednecks and oil wells. No need to call him (and them) names. He's just a rich kid who wants to show off his trophy at home. But it's not really his. It's ours. So what is he bought. He can't just take it with him. Somebody stand up!
-For the fex people who say that Seattle will get another team because we are a big market, this is FLAWED logic. Just think of the fact that the NFL marketing geniuses feel they do not need an team in LA.
-Why does CB need $500 million ($300 coming from the city)? Dallas' American Airlines arena was the most expensive I can think of, and it was $420 million. Which nearly half was paid for by naming rights to the stadium. Then you add a couple of taxes, luxury suites, other advertisers, and Cubans got a pretty sweet deal for the best arena in the league. Anyhow, my point is, most basketball arenas cost between 200 and 300 million. This should be reasonable to do if both parties actually want to make it happen. I just get the feeling neither the state, or the ownership group cares where the Sonics go.
Seattle is a bigger market than San Digeo for NBA. Do your research. Otherwise CB would have tried to move it there in the first place. CB is a business man. If I were him, I'd do the same thing. Not wanting to partner up with anyone else but the city and use the Tax Dollars. But that doesn't mean we should give in and fund his arena.
The key is to hold him to the lease until 2010. This mean he will lose a lot of money. Not to mention, when he does move in 2010, he'll have to pay up another 50+ millions to other NBA owners and other expenses. This could be the worst case scenario. Where he'll have no choice but to agree to a fair solution for all of us tax payers...........It can either be just staying in Key Arena by paying up 100 mil to fix up or letting a local investor buy a big share of the team and build a new arena.
CB wants a team in OK City, and OK desperately is looking to support that team (atleast in the short term) end of story. The only way this team is not moving is if the govenrment overspends on an arena (and a favorable agreement), or CB sells the team (very unlikely at this point considering he is creating his own culture in this organization. He seems to be building for the long-haul). The question then becomes how much is the government willing to spend on an arena. It seems that the only thing that will keep CB happy is having the state pick up the majority of the bill while building a state of the art arena, maybe something similar to Staples Center at 370 million. CB is merely going through the motions of negoitiation. Oh yea, Yankinta there will be NO fair solution for tax payers funding a private organization that involves the Sonics staying in Seattle, to think anything different is naive.
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