NBA coming to OKC
The NBA’s relocation committee is coming to town on March 25 to tour the Ford Center and meet with business leaders and the Sonics ownership group. NBA Commissioner David Stern as well as several other league executives will be here. You can read more details in our story here.
Stern, meanwhile, dealt another sharp blow to Seattle on Wednesday….
“The one benefit I have from a misspent youth as a lawyer is that I would never make any odds on any litigation other than to say that I think the odds are increasing that the team will go to Oklahoma City. Event though I were a betting man, I wouldn’t bet on the exact timing of it.”
Two nights earlier, Stern had this to say to a Portland television station….
“I never say never,” Stern said of a potential replacement team in Seattle. “I’m only focusing on the reality of the current situation. And we’ll see what happens down the road. If the expressed desire to bleed current ownership for three more years is acted upon, then we’ll take the bleeding with them and the chances of there ever being a franchise in Seattle again are not very good.”
Meanwhile, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is scheduled to hold a press conference today at 5:30 Central Time to announce a KeyArena renovation plan. There are stories throughout the Seattle media of local investors interested in buying the team from the Sonics Oklahoma-based ownership group and sharing the bill of the remodel with the city and state.
This appears to be the first step in that process. The only problem is, Clay Bennett is unyielding in his refusal to sale the team. Add to that, Bennett and Co. just won big Tuesday night with the passing of the Ford Center tax. So it looks like these new efforts in Seattle might not come in handy until Seattle lands a replacement franchise.
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Comments
DM,
Your response to this Seattle fan’s emotional response is representative of the strategy that David Stern, Clay Bennett, and the rest of the folks abducting the Supersonics hope to employ: turn down the volume of the Seattle fans, because if the voice is taken from the powerless, then injustice is free to reign.
This strategy is their only hope because there are no good arguments for why Clay Bennett should continue to attempt to move the franchise. He came in under false pretenses and he refused to negotiate once we realized what he was doing. As excited as anyone in Oklahoma is to get an NBA team, there is no basis to defend Mr. Bennett’s actions. This is a clear cut case of right and wrong. This isn’t your last chance for an NBA team, but it is your final opportunity to show how thick your moral fiber really is.
DM,
So would you say that it is personal with Stern or that the motivation in his threats to Seattle remains maximizing financial leverage? Knowing that Stern has a predictible pattern when it comes to securing publicly financed arena deals for the owners he represents is it really any different this time? It seems to me it might be since I personally have not seen this same kind of rhetoric from him before. Publicly, he’s behaving like the NBA God.
~Chris
(Chris, I do think it’s sort of personal with Stern. I think it has been since he testified before the state legislature in February 2006 in an attempt to drum up support for a $200 million KeyArena renovation. That’s when Frank Chopp coldly refused his pleas, basically saying thanks for coming, don’t let the door hit you on your way out. Then Initiative 91 passed November 2006 and Stern seemingly has been turned off since. -DM-)
if this gets through the washington state legislature, the bog will not and cannot, okay the move. bennet will be forced to sell, and purchase the memphis club. everybody will be happy. like i have said before, it really makes no difference which club your little town gets. you will certainly lose it with in ten years!!
So if Seattle fights to keep Bennett and the Sonics (Actually, they arent the Sonics…they are an abomination of Bennett’s doing) to their lease, Stern is going to punish the city by blocking a team to move here in the future? Its official. Stern and Bennett have completed their hijack and now are even turning down the ransom. I believe that OKC deserves a team, but to move a team that has 41 years of history? 14th largest market? Does it seem right to anyone?
tyler, stern cant block anything! its up to the owners. stern doesent have half the power that he seems to think. remember stern works for the owners. the only thing the other owners wanted to see in regards to seattle, is movement. we have shown that, stern and bennetts attempts to censor the rest of the nation, have failed. now our legislature has got to get off thier ass!! all the reasons why they said no to bennett were actually justified. this new local group(which could buy and sell bennetts group by about 30 times) and new proposal is exactly what the legislature was looking for. now, no more exscuses get it done!!
This story is bittersweet for me. I live in Seattle, but am from OKC originally.
I’m so excited about OKC getting a NBA team. My parents attended Hornets games, and said the turnout and support was amazing. I also know OKC has been wanting to “go pro” with sports, but didn’t know if the economy would support it. WAY TO GO OKC!!
The Sonics leaving Seattle, however; is very sad. We have a huge following for all sports here, and there are fans that are very devestated. I’m not a basketball fan, but I believe the fans are a huge component to a teams success. If the fans are that upset at the team possibly leaving, then maybe they should have done something before now. It’s too late for the crying!
Let’s put this vote into perspective…
When the Sonics won the NBA championship they set NBA attendance records that still stand today.
The number of people that voted yes in OKC is about equal to the largest crowd to attend a Sonics game in that era.
Now to put the wealth of Ballmer into perspective…
He could purchase a house in OKC for every single one of those voters and still be worth more than Clay Bennett.
HEY DM, I LEAVE THE CAPS ON BECAUSE AS A 30-YEAR FAN OF THE SONICS, I WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW HOW YOUR LIL DIRTY CITY IS TRYING TO TACKLE GOLIATH AND STEAL 40+YEARS OF HISTORY. SEE, UNLIKE OKC, IM NOT TRYING TO SWEEP IT ALL UNDER THE RUG. WE HAVE BEAT THE PANTS OF 4 OTHER CITIES THAT TRIED THE SAME THING. THERE WILL NOT EVER BE A “TONE IT DOWN” ATTITUDE HERE. YOU GUYS INCLUDING YOUR LIL MAYOR WHO ACTUALLY VACATIONS HERE IN MY LOVELY CITY DIDNT WANT A FIGHT., BUT, WALKED INTO A BIG ONE. WHY DOESNT YOUR MAYOR VACATION IN CUSHING OR SOMETHING. NO, HE SPENDS ALL HIS VACATION DOLLARS WITH US!haha! CMON DM, TRYING TO EMBARRESS A DIE-HARD SEEMS A LIL LOW FOR EVEN YOU!! SEE YA IN JUNE MR. MAYOR!!
MIKE U.
JUST LIKE MR. STERN SAID, “I WOULDNT BE A BETTING MAN ON THE TIMING”, IN OTHER WORDS, DO NOT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH!hahaha! HE HAS OBVIOUSLY LISTENED TO OTHER OWNERS BESIDE CUBAN, WHO , HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERN OF OKC’S SMALL MARKET, AND THE REVENUE THAT WONT BE AROUND TO SHARE AMONG OWNERS. I USUALLY DISAGREE WITH MR. CUBAN, BUT, HE IS “IN IT, TO WIN IT”, AND, TOTALLY UNDERSTANDS THE ECONOMICS OF ANY NBA FRANCHISE COMING TO OKC. CANNOT WAIT FOR THE TRIAL IN JUNE. MR. BENNETT BETTER HAVE A LIL MORE CONTROL OVER HIS ANGER (UNLIKE THE KIND HE DISPLAYED TO THE FAN WHO WAS HECKLING HIM AT KEYARENA), AND, PUT THE RABBIT EARS TO THE SIDE, BECAUSE WE “REAL” FANS WITH A 40-YEAR HISTORY WITH THE TEAM IS GOING TO OUT IN FULL FORCE. JUST LOOK AT ALL THE GREAT PUBLICITY YOUR LIL TOWN (NOT BIG ENOUGH TO BE A CITY), IS GOING TO BE GETTING WORLDWIDE AT THE TRIAL. SEE YA IN JUNE OKIE’S!!
(There’s a key at the very left of the keyboard with the words “Caps Lock” written on it. Press it. — DM)