Post-Sonics Watch
Feeling lost without your Seattle SuperSonics? Seattle-area NBA fans face their first season without an NBA team in 41 years. Primarily, our coverage here will focus on the City of Seattle’s attempt to bring the NBA back to Seattle. But we also will provide updates on the Portland Trail Blazers, the Oklahoma City Thunder and area players plying their trade for other teams in the NBA.

Eric Williams covered the Sonics' last season in Seattle. A Tacoma native, Eric graduated from Mount Tahoma High and the University of Puget Sound.

Other sites of interest:

Hoopshype.com

Sonicscentral

SuperSonicssoul

Blazersedge

Blazersblog

BehindtheBlazers

Barrett'sBlazerblog

Blazerbanter

ThunderRumblings

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Post-Sonics Watch
Keeping an eye on the NBA and Seattle's efforts to get back into the game
Monday, September 24th, 2007
City sues Sonics over lease agreement
Posted by Eric Williams @ 12:37:24 pm

The City of Seattle filed a lawsuit against the Seattle SuperSonics in King County Superior Court over the lease agreement between the two parties, according to the Associated Press.

Representatives from the city held a press conference at the Seattle law offices of K & L Gates Monday morning. The city retained the law firm’s services to represent them on the case.

The city’s lawsuit is designed to keep the Sonics from breaking their lease, and was in response to the Sonics ownership group filing for arbitration over the KeyArena lease agreement with the American Arbitration Association on Friday.

The ownership group is seeking a buyout of the KeyArena lease by making a case of economic hardship suffered by both the city and the franchise.

In the arbitration filing the Sonics claim they lost $17 million last season. Sonics chairman Clay Bennett and a group of Oklahoma City investors bought the team for $350 million in July 2006.

The ownership group wants to get out of playing at KeyArena the last two years of the lease agreement, which runs until Sept. 30, 2010.

However, the city references a specific performance clause in the lease agreement that states the team must play all home games exclusively in KeyArena until the end of the agreement.

I’ll have more on this story later today.

Categories: NBA • 9 comments

COMMENTS:

moo @ 13:37 - Monday, September 24th, 2007 Email
Go Seattle!
Opal @ 16:16 - Monday, September 24th, 2007
Both Yahoo and MSN put this on their front pages today - getting some exposure now. Looking at a 6 or 12 game package at the Key....
mloefler527 @ 20:33 - Monday, September 24th, 2007 Email
I don't know Clay, but I would guess that if he was "forced" into staying for three more years, and there is no arena deal in place then, three years from now, it's not going to matter. He will be too pissed off, and will take HIS TEAMS and leave.

Litigation is not helping.

SPAN1AWAY @ 05:10 - Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 Email
It's about time that the City of Seattle made a statement and really put that ownership group on it's heels. Who are they to think that they are going to brow-beat any city into giving them money for a new arena!

I have not heard one fan complain about that arena only the old and new ownership group! They need to shut their mouths, sell the team to local owners, and get the hell out of here!

At least I know that these teams won't leave without a fight!
jaz @ 06:23 - Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 Email
It's the era of Shiny Happy Arenas which practically print their own money. Since the Key isn't one, it must be a dump.
iqbal70 @ 08:55 - Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 Email
Is this like the $17 million that baseball teams manage to "lose" each year by cooking the books? Has anyone seen the Sonics balance sheet for an accurate evaluation?
BB44 @ 09:11 - Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 Email
It seems pretty clear that the Sonics have nothing concrete that would let them buy-out the remaining years on the lease. I hope this forces the current owners into selling the team within the next 3 years to local ownership group. I also hope the City of Seattle works with the new group into building a new arena in the Seattle Center area, Renton or Auburn. I'm still pissed at Schultz and the city for letting the situation come to this.
ttownport @ 12:42 - Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 Email
I was reading some old news clips from a year ago to try and figure out what exactly ws said by Shultz, Bennet and Stern. Here is one that I found. From the sound of it, Stern is, or was fed up with the city of Seattle and the arena situation. What a drag to be bothered with this when our restructured team is on the horizon.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2522944
jegggo @ 08:16 - Friday, September 28th, 2007 Email
Why waste all the money on attorney fees Seattle? Just give the Supersonics Group half of that money to get the hell out of this Town. Then you will actually save the city the boring drama of trying to save a bunch of losers. Not to mention the other half of the money. lol Go Sonics! Far far away forever!!!

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