Letter that could hurt Clay?

[Sea-Town Sonics]

The Seattle Times: View topic - Lets not forget one possibility...

You all should read that and give your opinion. Its pretty interesting.

[Rifleman2C]

The Seattle Times: View topic - Lets not forget one possibility...

You all should read that and give your opinion. Its pretty interesting.

Yeah, sure... I'll start. I hope you get to keep the Sonics. But I hope the city and people of Seattle actually have to pay what other cities of interest might be interested in paying to keep them.

Invest in your team and promote them as part of your city and they will stay. Do nothing special and use them as a possible cash cow and status builder, and they will look for an exit strategy.

What has your city done for your team lately?

What has your team done for your city lately?

Both are valid questions that need an answer... and not just a BS one, either. It is business, sure, but the majority of the people should be behind that business. It is sports and entertainment, after all.

[Sea-Town Sonics]

Yeah, sure... I'll start. I hope you get to keep the Sonics. But I hope the city and people of Seattle actually have to pay what other cities of interest might be interested in paying to keep them.

Invest in your team and promote them as part of your city and they will stay. Do nothing special and use them as a possible cash cow and status builder, and they will look for an exit strategy.

What has your city done for your team lately?

What has your team done for your city lately?

Both are valid questions that need an answer... and not just a BS one, either. It is business, sure, but the majority of the people should be behind that business. It is sports and entertainment, after all.

My personal response to that would be...

The city completely rebuilt the Key arena for the team (and others) to the teams specifications at the time about 12 years ago for which they are still obligated to untill their signed lease has expired. Other than that I cant think of anything the city has done for the team but honestly what do they have to do outside of bending over and taking it?

I think our attendance with the situation we're in shows how much the team means to the city. 80% of the Key is filled every home game which happens to be more than the team with the 5th best record in the NBA...NO Hornets. The team has done nothing for us lately but thats mostly because they have dumped the players we have become closely associated with (IMO its an attempt to further the distance between Sonic fans and Sonic players). Before Clay we had a playoff team every few years.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

I thought that the terms of the lease specified that there was to be a BRAND NEW arena built that Seattle voted down.

[SouthsideSooner]

In a letter to Schultz dated today, Bennett wrote: "We do not believe that KeyArena is designed to support the requirements of a viable NBA franchise, and thus achieving a modern successor venue and lease arrangement will be critical to the future success of the teams."

The fine print: Only the next 12 months are guaranteed in the $350 million deal. In the interim, the new ownership group needs to do what the former ownership group could not — negotiate a better venue and lease agreement at KeyArena or another local venue.

"At that time," said Bennett, chairman of Dorchester Capital and the head of the Oklahoma City-based investment group, "we have an opportunity, contractually, to evaluate our position."

The Seattle Times: Local News: New owners say Sonics will stay in Seattle

At the July 18, 2006 press conference following the purchase, Bennett said, "It is our desire to have the Sonics and Storm stay in Seattle," but added that the statement was contingent on getting a new arena built within 12 months. After that, all bets were off.

For Seattle's and the state of Washington's part, having a new owner immediately make threats regarding relocation did not sit well. In November of 2006, Initiative 91 was passed in Seattle by three-quarters of voters, limiting the amount of public subsidy that could be applied to a new Sonics arena.

"This vote reflected not just the will of the people of Seattle. It reflected sentiment statewide," said Chris Van Dyk, organizer for Citizens for More Important Things, a chief backer of the legislation at a press conference after I-91 passed.

The discontent spread to the state level, as well. Talk of building the arena in Renton and Bellevue stalled when discussion of up to $400 million in public subsidy was mentioned. For three years, legislation had been brought forth to the Washington Legislature, and for a third year, it failed. Bennett blew the relocation horn again through a statement.

"This is a staggering and quite likely a debilitating blow to our efforts to develop a world-class arena facility. Clearly at this time the Sonics and Storm have little hope of remaining in the Puget Sound region."

Basketball Prospectus | Articles | Being The NBA's Art Modell

The effort to keep the Seattle SuperSonics in the Puget Sound area is on life support, according to state Sen. Margarita Prentice (D-Renton), chairwoman of the Senate Ways and Means committee.

“I know for a fact that he wanted to stay,” Prentice said about Bennett. “He spent a lot of time and money trying to make it work here. And the real tragedy is we had the votes in both houses.”

And Prentice doesn’t mince words when asked who’s to blame for the NBA franchise’s imminent departure from the Emerald City – pointing a finger at the City of Seattle. “Seattle has painted itself in a corner because it’s impossible now,” Prentice said. “They are desperate, trying to figure out a way to make it work, and it doesn’t work. “Too may people have engaged in wishful thinking, hoping that the fairy godmother is going to arrive, and there’s no such person out there.”

"It isn't surprising, considering the hostility expressed from many elements, especially the Seattle City Council," said Prentice, "I don't blame the Sonics for finally pulling the plug. How many signals do you have to get?"

The Seattle Times: Local News: New owners say Sonics will stay in Seattle

“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.”

Sports Business News: David Stern sends a very nasty note to the City of Seattle