http://www.newsok.com/article/175608...te=sports/main

Could OKC be ready for Sonics?

By Andrew Gilman
The Oklahoman

The Sonics may be looking for a new home.
And Clay Bennett said Oklahoma could step up.

In an interview before Wednesday’s game with Fox Sports Northwest that aired in Seattle, Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman who is part of the investment group that helped bring the Hornets to Oklahoma City, said he would be surprised if Seattle couldn’t retain the team. But Oklahoma City is ready, he said.

Also, in an interview with the Seattle Times on Tuesday, Bennett said he has not been contacted by anyone representing the Sonics. However, if he was contacted, Bennett said “We’d be very interested in those discussions and would pursue them vigorously.”

That’s because the Hornets and their situation in Oklahoma City is in flux. The Hornets will play 35 games in Oklahoma City next season, but beyond that, nothing is certain.

Meanwhile, the Sonics are at odds with Seattle over a very costly lease which is in place until 2010. Sonics owner Howard Schultz said last week that he would be forced to sell or move the team if the state legislature doesn’t approve a proposed $200 million for upgrades to KeyArena. The legislative session ends March 9. A vote for a $200 million to KeyArena in 2004 failed.

The Sonics are hoping for a deal that is similar to the Seahawks and the Mariners, the other two pro franchises in the city. Both of those stadiums, which were built after the Sonics’ KeyArena, were paid for through visitor taxes. The Sonics say that tax also could be used to renovate KeyArena.

Also, because of the newer Seattle stadiums for the Mariners and the Seahawks, the Sonics are having a hard time enticing people to fill their suites, which are regularly about one-third full for each game. The Sonics say they have lost $60 million in the past four years. They are paying $800,000 annually in rent to the city for the use of KeyArena and have to share in the revenues with the city for concessions, parking and premium seating. The Sonics get to keep the money for suite sales.

Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett said no one has contacted him about the possible movement of Seattle’s NBA team, although Cornett said he has done numerous interviews with Seattle media in the past month.

“You would think if they were truly interested in Oklahoma City, they would call and kind of check the temperature here,” Cornett said. “My contact is with (NBA commissioner) David Stern and (Hornet owner) George Shinn. I’m not going into anything without letting them know about it.”

Said Bennett in the interview with the Seattle Times: “If the Hornets go back to New Orleans, I expect we’ll get a franchise. There haven’t been any promises made, but there’s been a lot of congratulations offered to us. This is a bona fide marketplace for the NBA. We’ve proven that.”