Its About to Get Real Ugly in Seattle - City Sues Sonics
Mon, 2007-09-24 20:51 — Berger
As I've been saying since the day Clay Bennett's group (Professional Basketball Club LLC) purchased the Sonics from Starbucks king Howard Schultz, we're headed for a showdown in the Puget Sound. The worst kept secret in the NBA is that Bennett and his fellow Oklahoma City investors never actually intended to keep the Sonics in Washington state unless they were bowled over with an incredible offer for a new arena. The taxpayers of Washington state and state officials have spoken loud and clear telling Bennett that they won't pay for a new facility for the Sonics. Bennett has been tough with state officials and is standing by his 10/31 self-imposed deadline to render his decision about the future of the NBA team - and whether he will keep the team in Seattle or move them to Oklahoma City.
Well, this battle between Bennett and the City heated up today after the City of Seattle filed a lawsuit against Bennett's group to keep the Sonics from moving at the end of the upcoming season. In a nutshell, Bennett and Company thought that they'd pay off the remainder of the arena lease (expires in 2010) and head on down the road to OK City. Not so fast Clayton. The City of Seattle says that the team must play in Seattle for the duration of the lease and that paying it off and skipping town goes against the terms of the lease agreement.
This lawsuit by the City comes after Clay Bennett said Friday the club has requested an arbitration panel to rule that the NBA franchise does not have to play the final two seasons of its lease at KeyArena, arguing that the contract allows a negotiated buyout.
Again, my take on this is that Bennett has been lying since day one. He signed a "good faith" agreement with the NBA when he bought the team telling them he'd make every effort to keep the team in the city they've called home for 40 years. But he never intended to actually keep the team in Washington. All his business resources are in Oklahoma City and he wants to be the hero who brings a permanent team to the city.
I think Bennett has done irreparable damage to his chances of remaining in Washington by making it clear that he wants nothing to do with a long term solution in Seattle. He's alienated city and state officials and he's angered the fans and taxpayers. The interesting thing to watch, in addition to the numerous legal proceedings that will take place over the next several months, will be how drastically the attendance at Sonics games decreases this season. How will the people and businesses in Washington state react to a lame duck franchise? And if by some chance the Sonics are forced to remain in Seattle until the lease expires in 2010, will people simply count the days until the lease expires and the moving trucks arrive or will there actually be some support for Kevin Durant and company when they take the floor?
Also, will Seattle ever be able to lure another NBA franchise after the Sonics leave town? For the record, the most "portable" franchises in the NBA right now are New Orleans, Milwaukee and Memphis. Will one of those franchises eventually move to Seattle after the Sonics leave?
Whatever happens with the Sonics in Seattle will likely set off a chain of events in the NBA and start the carousel in motion.
Watch this one carefully and we'll discuss it more indepth on our show this week/weekend.
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New ownership of the Seatle Suersonics
I think the new owners acted in bad faith, therefore their contract to buy the team should become null and void.
I think the City, the State and the fans all over would step up to the plate to get a new arena if those prevaricating bullies would just take their little marbles and go home. Someone else, hey,even Paul Allen, might like to invest in our Supersonics.
Gary Payton, start an investor group, you can do it..
Response to your article
I couldn’t agree more with you that “Bennett has been lying since day one.” He never intended for the team to stay in Seattle, but instead had his own best interests in mind and wanted to move to Oklahoma City as soon as possible. Thus he set an arbitrary, unobtainable date for the city to come up with enough cash to erect a new arena. He knew that Seattle had just paid for Safeco Field and Qwest Field, two very expensive, state-of-the-art stadiums for two amazing and well-loved Seattle franchises. The Sonics, on the other hand, have had atrocious years recently. Why would the city of Seattle want to pay for a new arena for a team that has made the playoffs only 3 times in the past 10 years?
How do you think this will affect the team in the long run? I can almost guarantee that attendance will go down, but will the team even try anymore. Will they be the laughing stock of the Western Conference? Granted they now have one of the more electrifying players to come into the league since Lebron James, but can that really make that big of a difference to a team with absolutely no leadership? This team is a train wreck waiting to happen.
You pose the question as to whether or not the city of Seattle will ever be able to lure another professional NBA franchise to the city or not. I don’t think they will. The city feels betrayed by Bennett’s group and the team in general. I can’t see a lot of support from the city when another franchise comes calling and their only demand is that “the city brings together enough money to build a new arena.” That definitely is not going to happen. Good luck getting another franchise, Seattle, this one is over.
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