Don't these guys think about what they're going to say before they say it? If he has receive offers from local groups to buy the team, I'm sure David Stern and the other owners are going to look at that and think if Bennett and the city can't come to an agreement, why not sell the team?

I don't care what anyone say, I don't think Stern and the other owners are going to want the Sonics in Oklahoma. I'm sure they want an Oden-Durant situation in the Northwest. There's history of the NBA in both Portland and Seattle. There's no such thing in Oklahoma. There's no guarantee that the fascination with pro basketball will sustain through the years. The owners need to look at what's going on in Memphis and Charlotte.

why would the city of seattle offer them arbitration? if the case then shame on you seattle

Seriously, at what point does Stern get involved in this, if he has gotten offers of people willing to buy, has gotten proposals of where to put a new arena, along with all the work the Muckleshoots have done, and all Bennett and his people can still think about is moving to OK City. Look Stern the city of Seattle, and tons of others are trying to make this work, it obviously isnt us, its them!

Okay, this is my opinion. Clay Bennett does not want the Sonics in Seattle. Period. He owns the team. And no matter what we do, he will pull every string and turn down every offer and save face in ever press confrence untill the Sonics are in Oklahoma City. Period. The only chance we have of keeping "our" for the fans to interviene. The politicians will do nothing, the owner wants to move and the city doesn't seem to care. So it's up to us. If we don't hit the streets or start signing some petitions or have town hall meetings, then we will loose the Sonics. That simple. So to all Sonic fans out there. If you want to keep the Sonics in town, it's time to do something about it.

Wow somehow I thought that maybe there was going to be some good news today. Obviously if he wants out of the lease agreement then he doesn't want to stay. Stern is too busy dealing with ref scandals to give us any help.

The NBA goes to great lengths to make it look like the NBA isn't a business, but some kind of "community treasure" or whatever. All the players are supposed to do charity stuff, etc. We wear their jerseys and love them. It's all part of Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Sports Fans.

In the end, you know Stern is going to outsource the fanbase anyway.

Send Sterns office a message. Let them know how much it sucks that this crap is happening. If we want to keep our team the fans gotta step up.

http://www.nba.com/webAction?actionId=surveyInitialize&target=/email_us/email_form_041027.jsp&surveyId=1152

We need to find a comprehensive and overwhelming way to litter the NBA head office with letters from fans insisting he not let the team go ANYWHERE...and to make this point abundantly clear we need to rally teams in every other NBA city asking them to do the same becuz, frankly, if it can happen here, it will happen anywhere....the time to orchestrate this mass fan response is now....we need to wake Stern out from his slumber and begin to plan for the future, a future with NBA and WNBA basketball in SEATTLE.

The City is not offering arbitration. The Sonics have filed a demand for arbitration. This might actually work in the fans favor. They will have to abide by the findings from the arbitrator, which is a third party hired to review the lease and see if the city can, in fact, hold them to it - or find an alternative (buy outs, etc).

Clay has said over and over again that he has not desire to sell the team. It's hard to buy an NBA team, and he has purchased a piece of the NBA pie, which is what he has always wanted.

The blowhards at KJR want you to believe the Slade Gorton will swoop in and find new ownership to save the club, like he did with the Mariners. The problem - the Sonics are not for sale. I hope he has another plan.

lvissfromtacoma, I agree, I suspect CB planned to move the team to OKC from day 1. Wonder if Wally & Shultzie knew this. hmm......

Don't know if he's correct, but i heard Gros on KJR saying he believes this is just more lame posturing from CB & that the city is not legally required to agree to any arbitration.

Scary, CB is starting to make Dick Chaney look honest by comparison,. Didn't think that was possible!

I agree heffman. Lets flood the letters in.

The only case in which the City of Seattle should negotiate a buyout of the lease is if the Sonics are moving to Auburn, Renton or somewhere else in the Sound. But if the buyout is to move the team to Oklahoma City and no one can stop it, the city should stick it to them for every penny of the lease. They can and should do that.

And then in 2010, we are without basketball anyway. If the solution is stick them with the lease, and still not build an arena, we are only delaying the move.

And, "Sticking it" to billionaires, by making them pay the lease and play here, is a joke. I am not sure how the math works out completely, but someone talked about 200 million to re-locate the team, with all of the associated league fees etc.

If he stays here and has losses of 20 million per season, that is still only 60 million dollars, and he gets to re-locate without paying the city a dime.

The arbitration application implies Bennett saves money if the city "sticks them for every penny" for the last two years of the lease. That is *EXACTLY* what the arbitration application is asking for.

What I see here is that CB wants it HIS way, period! The city and the surrounding areas are trying to find a solution but, CB is not satisfied and to me, this means that he is not trying to "find a viable option" for a new arena. He keeps saying "Key Arena", like he will only accept a new arena right where that arena sits at the Seattle Center.

He thinks that because he has been preaching this point since day one, that his work is done in Seattle and he washes his hands. But, the NBA should hold him to keeping this franchise in the Seattle-Metro area and he should stop trying to brow-beat our political leaders into getting what he wants. The NBA needs to step in NOW!

He knew from day one he was sitting on a gold mine. Either he got a brand new shiny money-making arena in a big city like Seattle with little or no out-of-pocket cost to the team, or he moved the team to Oklahoma and got a brand new shiny money-making arena with little or no out-of-pocket cost while being a local hero to boot. He wants it his way up here, or he's going to leave. His primary concern is making money, not making the region feel good -- hence he has no desire to see an arena built outside the downtown area.

There are only two recourses of action here. One is happening with the city fighting him over a lease buyout The other is the NBA not allowing him to relocate the franchise, which remains to be seen. The NBA historically has done very little to stop owners who want to move. I have a suspicion this might be where they draw the line, given recent history of moving to small markets.

Mayor Windbag keeps talking about Key Arena, and saying things like:

My position remains the same: I will do everything in my power to enforce the contract keeping the Sonics and Storm where they belong - in Seattle and in KeyArena."

Listen up here Mayor McIdiot - he is not going to keep the team that HE owns in a facility that is slightly better than an outhouse.

I know you are proud of that dump you call a state of the art arena, but maybe you should visit some other facilities around the country, and see how they have been an integral part of a revitalization of the area in which they were built.

Portland's Rose garden is only 12 years old and makes our building look like the old Mercer Arena in comparison. Key Arena is a joke, and I don't blame a bunch of hicks from OKC who have been able to figure that out - especially since a "big city" mayor has not.

You will be the reason this falls apart, just like you are the reason so many other things in the city have become a joke.

Idiot.

Yes and Portland's Rose Garden was built with private money.

You're right, it was. Because the owner wanted to run the entire business himself. These arena's however, were all paid for with public money:

Quicken Loans arena, American Airlines Center, Phillips Arena, Xcel Energy Center, St. Pete Times Forum, TD Banknorth Gardens, RBC Center, Jobing.com arena, New Pittsburgh Arena.

All of those arenas were paid with public funds, and guess what, the same public that helped build it - use it. It's the small minded public in Seattle that will keep us from being a big league city like Cleveland. If you think Cleveland is a big league city.

It amazes me that people in the city make public revenue enhancement decisions based on the major tenant who plays in the building. If / when we lose the Sonics, we will eventually build a new arena here - like Charlotte did - it will cost more money (originally, the Minnesota Twins ballpark was estimated at 240 million dollars, now, ten years later the SAME BALLPARK is going to cost almost 500 million). And, then, we will try to chase a major tenant for the building.

Doesn't it make more sense to build it while we have a tenant? Doesn't it make more sense to do it with an owner how has agreed to almost $120 million (which is more than the Mariners put in for Safeco, and the Hawks put in for Qwest). Doesn't it make sense that we would make an economic development decision that will bring new concerts that we are not getting, trade shows, national conventions, arena football, indoor soccer, NHL hockey and indoor lacrosse or other sports.

Yhea, the Rose Garden was paid for by the guy who co-founded Microsoft. So, does that mean he should have built qwest too? does he care more about Portland than he does Seattle? NO. His bankruptcy filing might tell you that the business model outlined in Portland didn't work.

Yhea, the Rose Garden was paid for by one person. I am glad you can make the same argument as my 12 year old.

I believe we've gotten to the point where there is so much (DESERVED) hatred of CB that he's either going to have to sell or move the team. I just can't see CB & the Pacific NW being a long term match at this point.

From a pr point of view, he's sure not helping attendance............

I maintain that staying away only solidifies his position to leave. We, as fans, make a better case if we go to games. I have my four season tickets in section 121, I beg all of you to join me, and send a message.

I, personally, really enjoy games at the Key. It is not substandard from the point of "fan experience"... only from the ability of the owners to get real paid.

Listen, the sonics turned a profit in 2005 when they made the playoffs. This point alone disproves the notion that a new arena is need to make the team economically viable.

Mloefler cracked me up when he said this:
"It's the small minded public in Seattle that will keep us from being a big league city like Cleveland."
Everything after that statement lacks any semblance of credibility.

I guess if you don't like fact based arguments, then you're right. That's typical.