HUGE NEWS! Clay Bennett & Co. buy Supersonics!

[Pete]

Check out the senator's comments about OKC...

I wonder what Clay Bennett and the other Sonics owners -- who leave Seattle all the time for their homes in OKC -- think about what she had to say.

************************




Friday, April 13, 2007 · Last updated 1:53 p.m. PT
Sonics bill makes progress in Legislature
But time running out for team this year

By CHRIS McGANN
P-I REPORTER

OLYMPIA -- A tax package for the Seattle Sonics' new arena finally passed out of the gate Friday with an oral vote from the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Related content

· Details of arena funding package

With just a week left in this year's Legislative session, proponents breathed a sign of relief that the bill, Senate Bill 5986 is finally moving. But vote openned the stage for lawmakers' first unrestrained public condemnation of the plan.

"This is so insane," said Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina. "I can not see how we in the Legislature can subsidize Ray Allen for $16 million a year when we cannot pay a starting wage starting wage for a teacher of $34,000…we talk about state of the art facilities but when it comes to education, we have 2,000 portables in this state. We have schools where you can't drink the water."

The Sonics' new, Oklahoma City-based ownership has said that the team's current KeyArena home is inadequate and that they may move the team out of state if they don't get a new facility.

The proposal being considered in Olympia would allow King County to raise up to $300 million for the new arena had been slightly modified in hopes of building support for the measure in the House.

The new proposal would only use local taxes for the $500 million stadium, the County could also use sales tax credits worth $227 million could be used for the arts and sports facilities such as youth ball fields or paying off KeyArena.

The proposal leaves many decisions such as putting the plan before voters, or the nature of the lease agreement to King County to decide. It essentially just authorizes the county to extend the taxes that were levied for the other pro-sports stadiums.

Ways and Means Chairwoman Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, said those who criticized the plan because it does not provide assurances that the team will not pull up stakes ten years from now are underestimating the strength of the region.

"Why would anybody leave here and go to Oklahoma City? Have you ever been to Oklahoma City? I have," Prentice said.

Prentice is now asking for a meeting with the governor and the caucus leaders from the House and the Senate in hopes of bringing the legislation to a floor vote in the Senate.

Senate leaders have expressed concerns about calling for a vote that could be viewed as damaging for some members, only to see the bill languish in the House.

Since House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, does not support the bill, he could stop any further progress with the Legislation by holding the bill down on his side.

[Easy180]

For those interested...I linked a form you can email to this lovely congresswoman in the Attn all who have any pride in OKC thread

I'm now just downright rooting against Seattle to lose out on the Sonics

[mranderson]

"I've been on here almost a year mra....We are all fully aware of your dad's prestige and far reaching influence by now....I think it's also safe to say your dad has had and will have no influence whatsoever on Bennett's decision regarding the Sonics"

And you knew my dad? Hum. Interesting. How else could you try and guess what influence he had and on whom he had it.

Sir, I knew my dad better than you. Just think about that.

[PUGalicious]

As usual, MrA, you missed the point.

[Kerry]

I can tell you how we know what Bennett's intentions are. He clearly stated that he wanted to bring an NBA team to OKC. I don't know how it can get any clearer than that.

[HOT ROD]

when would a public vote take place, if it did?

IF, and a very big IF, there was a public vote, it would not take place until september or so. That is becuase

IF and an even bigger IF, the bill passed the legislature, King County would mandate a public vote - which would require the articles to be agreed to and assembled into a public vote. This process takes time and surely King County would stall as much and long as the WA legislature is doing.

Surely then, the public of King County will not pass the tax and it would all end.

But this is hypothetical, lots of hurdles would need to pass before we even begin to start talking about a vote.

The Senate bill ONLY moved out of the "ways and means committee", which Margarita Prentice is Chair of. I would expect this would be the case since she IS chair and IS from Renton - the site of the would be built arena. She has the MOST vested interest in the SONICS arena - so she is doing whatever she can to try to PUSH the bill through the Senate.

What some of you might have missed, is that the bill has been voted in committee numerous times and has JUST NOW!!!! passed the Ways and Means committee. Next stop, the regulatory committee. Less than one week, for it to pass that committee and make it to the Senate floor for a vote.

DONT count on it! Margarita has NO influence on that committee and IM sure they will not get everything worked out in time for a debate and floor vote in the Senate. IF, and a big if they were to do so, I seriously doubt it would get a majority of yea on the floor caucus.

Then there is the EVEN bigger IF and even unsurmountable IF, it were to pass the HOUSE. This is impossible, because the Speaker of the House, Chopp (Seattle by the way), said the bill is dead in his house - and NO house committee has even cleared the house version in the same fashion as the Senate Ways and Means did last week. There are little if any proponents of this in the HOUSE, and the finance committee at the HOUSE, where the bill currently resides - just isnt interested in it - at all.

So, bottom line - the bill will not make it out of the Washington Legislature. Even IF and a big IF it were to pass the Senate, the house hasn't even cleared committee and wont. Therefore it will NOT make the floor of the house for a vote - and wont make it off the hill.

And you can bet your bottom line there will NOT be a special session for the SONICS. There is not any support for such, as Governer Gregoire asked each house for a poll of support (if there were support, perhaps she'd extend the session). So far, her office hasn't even been privy to the "results" of the poll and has no idea how the bills "officially fare" in the legislature other than . .... Not Interested.

No matter what "positive" the papers end up publishing next week (from Seattle), rest assured - the bill will not make it pass the legislature UNLESS they extend the session. That also would have to be voted on (I think) which I can't see legislators who are adamently opposed to the SONICS arena voting to extend the session so that they can consider it. ...

I only hope, that shortly after next Sunday, April 22, Bennett meets with the NBA board in preparation to avoid a lame duck season in Seaattle which would SURELY further bring down the NBA brand. I hope they will grant him a special exemption and allow him to move the team. $30M or so to buy out Key Arena lease would be worth it considering the profits to be made in OKC.

The Hornets were successful and most of the profit made was shared with New Orleans. In OKC, the SONICS would have the ENTIRE market, tickets to T-shirts and trinkets, resulting in CASH. Besides, Im sure the city would give Bennett a relatively inexpensive but lengthy lease agreement at the Ford Center.

And Bennett, being a proud resident of Oklahoma City, will move the team to his hometown - so Prentice has her answer to "who would want to go to Oklahoma City?"

Answer, ... the NBA SuperSonics!!!

[Nixon7]

I only hope, that shortly after next Sunday, April 22, Bennett meets with the NBA board in preparation to avoid a lame duck season in Seaattle which would SURELY further bring down the NBA brand. I hope they will grant him a special exemption and allow him to move the team. $30M or so to buy out Key Arena lease would be worth it considering the profits to be made in OKC.

That's what I am hoping....I don't know what else could be done (over the summer) if the legislature doesn't come through this week? Private contributions? Paul Allen, Bill gates? Thanks for your insight Hot Rod!! ...but I am trying not to get too optimistic!

[HOT ROD]

Paul Allen already owns the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA and in Seattle, he owns the Seattle Seahawks. He got a sweet deal on Qwest Field Stadium in Seattle and the NBA wont let an owner have more than one franchise - so he's out!!!

Bill Gates has no intentions of owning a team or building a stadium. He is one of the most frugal and philanthropic persons in the world (lickily for everyone) so he spends his money on those efforts. While he does often attend games, he is not interested in owning one.

There are other billionaires and millionares at Seattle East Side suburbs and Tacoma suburbs mainly - but they were not interested in the SONICS when it was locally owned, so why all of sudden would they pony up $500M+ of their 'not hard earned' cash for the SONICS who are now owned by people from Oklahoma City?

The bottom line is, the SONICS require public funding. Aside from the stadium - MASSIVE improvements are needed to Renton's infrastructure in order to accommodate 20,000+ fans 41 nights of the year (NBA alone). There is ONLY TWO freeway (I-405 and State Highway 167) through/into Renton; both are already Maxed out with 4 lanes of travel and two HOV. And this is with Renton's largest employer, Boeing, currently at a LEAN state (less than 5,000 employees at its Renton plant and only 500-1000 others in office buildings in Renton, myself included). Traffic is a nightmare in the area, already the worst in the region.

So this would have to be fixed, which would require the state to pony up dollars (in addition to the $300M+ being asked for by the SONICS for the arena). This fact is NOT published by the SONICS yet everyone who lives here is well aware of the true total cost of a Renton arena.

This is why there is little if any support for this and why it will surely fail and OKC will be the new home of the team. Everyone knows this, whether they admit it or not.

[Pete]

Over the weekend, the governor arranged a meeting for Monday (today) of the senate and house leaders to guage the level of support for this bill.

It sounds like if the house speaker is still so strongly against it and therefore cutting off any real support in that body, then the senate probably wouldn't even bring the bill up for a vote, although they may have the votes on their side.

It seems like if everyone is quite sure the bill won't get passed by the house, they may just drop the whole matter.

We should know more later today, but there's a decent possibility the whole thing may just die very soon.

And in any case, the session ends in a week and this will be the last chance to pass any type of incentives before Bennett's self-imposed deadline of early next fall.

[Pete]

Mon April 16, 2007

Sonics arena deal could die tonight
From Staff Reports

OLYMPA, Wash. — A meeting Monday between Washington's governor, Christine Gregoire, and legislative leaders could decide the fate of a new arena for the Seattle SuperSonics — which could pave the way for the team to move to Oklahoma City.

The leaders will meet at 7 p.m. Oklahoma time Monday, trying to determine if there is enough support in the house to pass the proposal, which would give King County the authority to devote up to $300 million in local hotel, restaurant and car-rental taxes to help pay for a $500 million arena in Renton.

House speaker Frank Chopp has been a vocal opponent of the proposal, but according to reports would bring it to a floor vote if there is enough support.

According to the Seattle Post-Intellegencer, that may be tough.

"Not only are there few House Democrats who support the plan, there is a large and vocal group within the caucus that hate it,” wrote Chris McGann, in the P-I's political blog. "So it boils down to Republican support. No doubt the only way the bill could pass out of the house is with a good measure of GOP votes. I just checked – insiders on the Republican side of the aisle say that the number of people who want the bill is in the single digits ... low single digits.”

The Sonics were purchased on July 18 by a group of Oklahoma City businessmen, led by Clay Bennett. The group immediately began pushing for a new arena and reaction in Seattle was immediately negative.

"I must say I was disappointed (in the Seattle reaction),” Bennett said two days after the purchase. "We're serious business people. What we say is what we mean. I would have hoped for a little more accommodation of our true intentions.”

Then again, the owners made their backup plan clear from the beginning.

"If we get to the point where it is at an absolute standstill, we'll bring them to Oklahoma City,” Bennett said.

Oklahoma City was the two-year home of the New Orleans Hornets, who relocated following Hurricane Katrina and played their final game in the Ford Center on Friday. They plan to play all of their games next season in New Orleans.

[Easy180]

Mon April 16, 2007

Sonics arena deal could die tonight
From Staff Reports

OLYMPA, Wash. — A meeting Monday between Washington's governor, Christine Gregoire, and legislative leaders could decide the fate of a new arena for the Seattle SuperSonics — which could pave the way for the team to move to Oklahoma City.

The leaders will meet at 7 p.m. Oklahoma time Monday, trying to determine if there is enough support in the house to pass the proposal, which would give King County the authority to devote up to $300 million in local hotel, restaurant and car-rental taxes to help pay for a $500 million arena in Renton.

House speaker Frank Chopp has been a vocal opponent of the proposal, but according to reports would bring it to a floor vote if there is enough support.

According to the Seattle Post-Intellegencer, that may be tough.

"Not only are there few House Democrats who support the plan, there is a large and vocal group within the caucus that hate it,” wrote Chris McGann, in the P-I's political blog. "So it boils down to Republican support. No doubt the only way the bill could pass out of the house is with a good measure of GOP votes. I just checked – insiders on the Republican side of the aisle say that the number of people who want the bill is in the single digits ... low single digits.”

The Sonics were purchased on July 18 by a group of Oklahoma City businessmen, led by Clay Bennett. The group immediately began pushing for a new arena and reaction in Seattle was immediately negative.

"I must say I was disappointed (in the Seattle reaction),” Bennett said two days after the purchase. "We're serious business people. What we say is what we mean. I would have hoped for a little more accommodation of our true intentions.”

Then again, the owners made their backup plan clear from the beginning.

"If we get to the point where it is at an absolute standstill, we'll bring them to Oklahoma City,” Bennett said.

Oklahoma City was the two-year home of the New Orleans Hornets, who relocated following Hurricane Katrina and played their final game in the Ford Center on Friday. They plan to play all of their games next season in New Orleans.

Is that a new quote from Bennett??.....I don't ever remember him saying he would move the team to OKC...Just that it was presumed

[Pete]

No, that quote was from last summer when he first starting talking about a new arena deal.

I think he mentioned it again when he set the October 31, 2007 deadline.

[Easy180]

Guess I should have known that...Why the heck are some people still throwing around Kansas City for ?

Oh well...Might know our answer within the hour

[HOT ROD]

No answer yet, no news coverage either. I would have thought the news would eat this one up. But as soon as I hear something, i will post.

[Nixon7]

bring them on in '07-'08!

[HOT ROD]

I hope today will show how uninterested we (Seattle) really are about the SONICS and will be the indication

1) for Oklahoma City to start meeting to fully shell-in the luxury amenities into the Ford Center, since the city already has the funds in place and has said they would shell-in the amenities when it is clear a permanent team is coming
2) for Oklahoma City to start plans on building a world-class practice facility near OCU
3) for Bennett to begin to develop plans to meet with the NBA board to determine whether they would allow him to move the team to OKC in 2007 or have a 'lame-duck' year in a top 15 market which would further diminish the NBA brand
4) for Bennett and the city to develop plans to negotiate the lease on Ford Center, which I'd hope would probably not have a high rent but would have a long tenure enforced by a prohibitively expensive clause should such tenure be broken
5) for Bennett to begin closed door negotiation with the city of Seattle on a Key Arena buyout

We'll see! I'll inform as soon as I know something.

[jbrown84]

Where near OCU is there land to build a practice facility?

[HOT ROD]

tons and I hope that is the location because it will revitalize that area and connect it moreso with the rest of the city. There's many areas near OCU where a facility could be built. Plus, it could serve as a facility for OCU's NCAA basketball venture. Such a facility would be world-class and be a major recruiting tool to visiting basketball recruits.

[HOT ROD]

UPDATE:

The meeting conveigned by WA Senator Margarita Prentice to discuss the future of pro basketball with the governer and heads of the Washington legislature has begun. Although a decision is not out yet, there are some interesting points which were just noted on a local Seattle tv station:

1) the meeting began an hour later than was originally scheduled. This could be a clue to the amount of interest or lack there-of for support of the SONICS and their Renton arena

2) the news station reported that preliminary reports indicate there is a lack of support and that may pave the way for the bill to die on the hill.

Keep in mind, these are preliminary and speculative raised by the KIRO television newscast 6:43pm PST based on what they currently know. I will keep you informed of any new updates.

[Kerry]

For those interested, you can monitor latest developements at Seattle Sports Radio.

950 KJR - Seattle's ONLY All Sports Station

The station is already calling them the Oklahoma City Sonics

[HOT ROD]

Update.

KJR radio in Seattle - just announced that the meeting has concluded and that there will be "No Action" on the SONICS new arena plan. That it lacks support so no action will take place.

Bennett, start making plans for Oklahoma City!!!

[Kerry]

It's official - arena deal is dead

[Kerry]

You beat me with the news hotrod - stupid streaming delay did me in.

[HOT ROD]

UPDATE:

SONICS ARENA DIES IN OLYMPIA

Sonics arena hopes dead in Olympia

[Kerry]

Since the team was bought at a discount I am sure Bennette has enough money to cover the buyout.