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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It's official now. Here's the full statement from Sonics chairman Clay Bennett. I will have more later.
The following is a statement from Seattle SuperSonics & Storm Chairman Clayton I. Bennett.
On behalf of the owners of the Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm, I am disappointed that our efforts over the last fifteen months to foster the development of a new multi-purpose arena in the Greater Seattle area were not successful. From the beginning, it has been my absolute hope and expectation that we would be able to secure the necessary governmental commitments to build a successor venue to KeyArena. Even though our proposal for a new state-of-the-art multi-purpose facility to be built in Renton was thoughtfully developed by a world-class team, was financially reasonable and was realistically attainable, we were unable to persuade the Washington Legislature to vote on our bill. The region is still in need of a modern building, not just for the Sonics and Storm, but also for the broad commercial and quality of life benefits such facilities provide.
We now understand and respect that there is very limited public support for such a public investment. As we stated on July 18, 2006, and have stated on many occasions thereafter, KeyArena is not a viable modern venue for the NBA and if a successor facility is not identified by October 31, 2007, we would evaluate our options, which would include relocation. Given the clear lack of public, political, and business support for a new multi-purpose arena, plus the enactment of Initiative 91 as a City of Seattle ordinance following a public vote authorized by the Seattle City Council itself, and the significant operating losses the businesses are now incurring, we have no option but to commence the NBA relocation process.
Today we notified Commissioner Stern that we intend to relocate the Sonics to Oklahoma City if we succeed in the pending litigation with the City, or are able to negotiate an early lease termination, or at the end of the lease term.
We have not made a decision regarding the future location of the Seattle Storm. We appreciate the deep local interest and support for the Storm and have begun to evaluate a future course of action for the team.
Notwithstanding the uncertainty and difficulty of this challenging time, we remain completely committed to the success of our basketball teams. We will continue to provide our players, coaches and staff the tools and support they need to be competitive.
We are also completely committed to providing our fans a first class basketball, entertainment and social experience. We will do all we can to ensure that our fans, sponsors and marketing and broadcast partners enjoy the highest value from their relationship with the Sonics and Storm.
There have been many in the region who have provided courageous, visionary support to our efforts. We sincerely appreciate your hard work and friendship in this difficult process.
COMMENTS:
so what do we do now? does boycotting the games help or hurt?, to me it probably hurts and yet the thought of giving this slime ball owner one thin dime of mine goes against most everything I believe in...
I'm no rocket scientist but at this point my only thoughts regarding a plan of attack are to hit this guy (Bennett) where it hurts and thats in his bank account and in his self esteem...to that end we need to force him to cut one legal check after another to the point where is just gnaws at him and in the process use every opportunity to embarrass him to no end...maye through this route he'll reveal himself to be human after all and just say 'forget it, this isn't worth the hassle'...
the unfortunate-for-us-Sonics-fans fact is he and his co-owners are wealthy enough to absorb some real big legal bills, I don't like typing that any more than we like reading it but it's the truth...maybe the embarassment/hassle factor is our best card to play, I dunno...
getting the league to expand give him an expansion team in OK City is another option but who knows if the league cares to expand at this point...
bottom line is that it's a mess no matter how we look at it and one that could drag on till the current KEY lease expire in 3 years....pass the Aspirin...
I don't begrudge these guys their desire to bring an NBA team to their hometown. Schultz is the real villian. I just wish we hadn't had to listen to a year of BS about how their "hope" was to keep the team in Seattle. At least that's over now - their cards are finally on the table. They didn't get their half-billion dollar gift from the local taxpayers, so they're taking their new toy back home where the government is a little easier for rich people with money to control.
I hope the NBA enjoys their TV ratings for the OKC-Charlotte finals in a few years. I'm sure that'll be a huge draw.
His statement is very clear too - that his intent is to move the team, even if they are forced to stay for three years. Three lame duck years. Nice.
The Mayor still has his head up something - because he keeps giving the "through 2010 and beyond" speak. All I am saying is he did what he said he was going to do. This should not be a surprise.
Last nights game was amazing. Durant and Green are fun to watch. Right around the time they are ready to lead this team to the finals, the new building will be done in OKC, and they will be winning championships in Oklahoma.
here's the first part, followed by the kink to the rest:
November 2, 2007 5:57 PM
I just got off the phone with Steven Pyeatt, who is the co-founder of the Save Our Sonics and Storm movement.
I wanted to get his reaction to Clay Bennett's announcement that he is applying to the NBA to move the team. His reaction was very interesting.
For starters, even though this man has been living this project for ages, and knows all the key players, he was so unconcerned by today's news that he hadn't even bothered to read the press release.
"Clay Bennett is like the guy robbing the convenience store," says Pyeatt. "He has to convince the clerk that he has a real gun, it is loaded, and he's willing to use it. Otherwise, he's not going to get any money out of register. This is just one more step in that process."
Pyeatt is convinced that while this might be a big public relations moment, nothing has changed in assessing the power stuctures at play. And he thinks there is an excellent chance Seattle will hold onto its team.
"People have been talking like this is crunch time," he explains, "but I don't even think this game has reached halftime yet. The way I describe it is that we have a lot of hand grenades in the bucket. And we keep lobbing them at Clay Bennett, and he keeps throwing them out the window. But eventually, one of them is going to blow up in his face."
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-28-263/Save-Our-Sonics--This-Game-is-FAR-from-Over.html
When Bennett said Key Arena wasn't a viable option for the Sonics, he was telling the truth. NBA commish Stern said the Sonics had the worst financial setup in in the league. Wally Walker and Mr. Coffee again can shoulder alot of the blame on that.
When Bennett said there was no support from business, government, and, yes, in the fan base support was weak, he was again telling the truth. Once again Walker and Mr. Coffee had their hands in alienating the Sonics from local support.
I sure can't blame Bennett for wanting to get the heck out of Seattle. After over paying for the team, it has been a nightmare for the man trying to get anything positive going with this pretentious community.
The actions in recent months toward saving the Sonics has been pathetic except for the mouthing off we have all heard. This town doesn't deserve an NBA franchise. Years ago we were a quality franchise with great support but not now. All we have now is memories of way things could have been.
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