Laramie
01-12-2010, 02:54 PM
Bennett paid $45 million up-front and would have owed the additional $30 million in five years if the Legislature approved the KeyArena funding and then Seattle didn't get a replacement NBA team within five years.
That requirement was put in the settlement by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels as an incentive for the Legislature to finally come through with some KeyArena money for the NBA to give Seattle another team. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and other investors have promised to pay half the cost of the KeyArena project -- and seek to purchase an NBA team -- if the Legislature approved the arena bill.
Seattle Times Link:
Politics Northwest | Is Clay Bennett off the hook for that $30 million? | Seattle Times Newspaper Blog (http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/politicsnorthwest/2009/04/27/is_clay_bennett_off_the_hook_f.html)
That requirement was put in the settlement by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels as an incentive for the Legislature to finally come through with some KeyArena money for the NBA to give Seattle another team. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and other investors have promised to pay half the cost of the KeyArena project -- and seek to purchase an NBA team -- if the Legislature approved the arena bill.
Seattle Times Link:
Politics Northwest | Is Clay Bennett off the hook for that $30 million? | Seattle Times Newspaper Blog (http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/politicsnorthwest/2009/04/27/is_clay_bennett_off_the_hook_f.html)