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Nice.
I'm hopeful the Sonics fans get to keep the team they've supported with passion.
http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/...-250-000-fine/
The iron fist of David Stern says you should shut up, Aubrey McClendon. The Sonics minority owner, who two weeks ago told a newspaper his buddies never intended to keep the team in Seattle, got smacked up for a $250,000 fine by the league, reports Percy Allen of the Seattle Times.
McClendon's a fat cat energy baron, though -- even a gross sum like a quarter-million is a 'September budget for imported cheese' or something for guys like Aubrey. A potentially bigger penalty, though? The city of Seattle is pissed, and it looks like they're going to take it out on McClendon and buddy Clay Bennett. From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Greg Johns:
Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis, who said in June that any lease could be renegotiated, now is drawing a much firmer line in the sand. [...]
"Their desire to leave town is really not the city's problem," Ceis said Wednesday. "That is their problem. They bought a team that they knew had a lease through the 2010 season. We think staying is their best option. [...] We think Mr. Bennett should work with us to that end. Or perhaps they bought the wrong franchise. Maybe they need to consider that. They may have ownership on paper, but the Sonics are still Seattle's team."
Well it's good to know a year into this mess, civic leaders in Seattle finally seem passionate about getting a solution. Even letting the fans soak up an extra two years of Kevin Durant goodness would be a victory at this point.
Nice.
I'm hopeful the Sonics fans get to keep the team they've supported with passion.
that, owners should be able to move their teams wherever the they want
Maybe, but they said they were staying when they bought them and then said they had no intention of staying.
Shouldn't they be held accountable?
Does that apply to a future owner of the Spurs not satisfied with the AT&T Center?
I just find it funny that the City Council now is trying to pass a law to force them to stay.
I think they're angry over the realization that the ownership group hasn't been straight with them from the get-go.
I would be too.
I know it's a business, but staying true to your word should be expected.
The Sonics fans are really into their team, I'm glad that the team may stay.
They have been in the bottom 10 of attendance the last 5 years (and I couldnt find attendance before that, so who knows), I dont know if that really screams into their team
Last edited by mardigan; 08-23-2007 at 01:06 PM.
I lived there from '97-'04.
Key Arena might not fill up but the fans that are there are passionate.
I have only been in a few NBA arenas, but that place rocked no matter who they were playing. (We were at 15-20 home games in any given year while we lived there.)
And again, what matters to me is the blatent lying this new ownership group did. The fans deserve better even if the arena doesn't sell out every game.
Havent the new owners been saying all along that they wanted a new arena?
Key Arena is like 13 years old, and the owners want a new arena, I can completely understand where they are coming from. The OK city fans sold out pretty much every game with a team that wasnt even theirs. I can understand ownership wanting to move the team
They've sold something like 90% of their tickets even while the team has sucked post-Kemp and Payton. Most fans, no matter the sport, no matter the city, are fair-weather fans. They show up to watch winners and shun losers. It's very rare for losing teams to be a big draw.
I don't know the specific terms of the lease, only that it runs through 2010. If there is no escape clause for the Sonics, the Seattle has about a year to bend over and build another arena for them.
Well thats part of the problem man, the stadium only holds like 17,000, so even if they sold out every game, they would still be down the list on the attendance records. Thats just not enough max people to be able to fit into a stadium.
Everyone wants a new arena, it's been an issue for years.
I also understand where the new owners are coming from, my problem with them is they weren't up front about it. (Like Findog said.)
Don't give the fans hope that you'll be the ones to work with the city and solve a long standing issue and then say you never intended to. That's just a ty thing to do.
That's why it cost the guy $250,000.Don't give the fans hope that you'll be the ones to work with the city and solve a long standing issue and then say you never intended to. That's just a ty thing to do.
Not much else to be done though.
Except build an arena for them of the next NBA team that wants to move.
I'm glad it did cost him.
And like the article said,
"Well it's good to know a year into this mess, civic leaders in Seattle finally seem passionate about getting a solution. Even letting the fans soak up an extra two years of Kevin Durant goodness would be a victory at this point."
If I were still there I'd consider it a victory too.
By that logic, shouldn't SA get an NFL team based on how well they supported the Cowboys pre-season games over the years?
The man owns the team and he can do whatever he likes, just quit displaying these owners as the victims because they are not being allowed to move to another city where they can make even more money than their current location.
Clay Bennett says the Ford Center in OKC fits his needs but KA does not. FC was built in 2002 for $90 million and it has 48 luxury suites. It seats about 20,000. KA had a $110 renovation in 1995. KA has 58 luxury suites. And in the interview that McClendon gave, he states that the team would not be as financially viable in OKC as Seattle, but it was their goal all along to bring professional sports to OKC, breaking even would just be the cherry on top.
Against the backdrop of that, Bennett is requesting the Seattle taxpayers foot a new arena for him to the tune of $500 million. I don't know what $90 million in 2002 dollars is today, but it's not $500 million. If I go into a Subway franchisee and note that they're selling a turkey sandwich for $45, does that mean I'm not hungry enough to eat if I refuse to pay that price? Bennett is asking Seattle to consent to a rape, and when they say no, he can throw up his hands and say he tried to get a new arena done, which was a legally-binding condition of the sale, that he make a good-faith effort to keep the team in Seattle. He hasn't done that.
Here you have musical chairs involving two teams (Sonics and Hornets) and three markets (OKC, Seattle and NOLA). For the life of me, I don't know why Stern wants the teams in the two worst markets. I understand OKC fans did their part by supporting the Hornets very well during their stay. Stern should either move the Hornets to Seattle and keep the team name and colors there and the "Hornets" cease to exist, while allowing Bennett and Durant to head to OKC, or he should let Bennett buy out George Shinn and keep the Hornets in OKC.
The Oklahoma City Tornadoes are going to resemble the Kings pre-Maloof brothers. They simply won't be able to retain and acquire top talent given the financial base and given that OKC can't compete with Miami, New York, LA and Chicago when it comes to intangibles. Only an owner willing to go into lux tax territory can make it work in a smaller city.
It is way cheaper to build in OKC than Seattle.Against the backdrop of that, Bennett is requesting the Seattle taxpayers foot a new arena for him to the tune of $500 million. I don't know $90 million in 2002 dollars is today, but it's not $500 million.Looks for "Orly" picture with Peter Holt in it.Only an owner willing to go into lux tax territory can make it work in a smaller city.
Point taken. I'll amend that to owners willing to spend money or win the lottery when a once in a lifetime player is draft eligible.
Do you think there's a $400 million difference in property values between OKC and Seattle?
It's not the same as showing up to EVERY home game played there, not some pre-season crap. They sold out multiple times at the arena they were playing at, and had VERY GOOD numbers during the times they didn't sell out. I think they sold out HALF of the games that were played, and those weren't even playoff games.
Kevin Durant looks pretty good.Point taken. I'll amend that to owners willing to spend money or win the lottery when a once in a lifetime player is draft eligible.There's no way it could be the same arena design, but the land and construction cost differences between the two could be quite significant.Do you think there's a $400 million difference in property values between OKC and Seattle?
I know Seattle is expensive, I'm not sure about OKC.
I agree with ChumpDumper, I think the difference would be significant.
Yeah, no offense, but the Spurs would only be compe ive without Duncan, not dominant.
Lets see what happens when his era ends...like 8 years from now. Lucky bas s....
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