Oh Dins...

[SunCoastSooner]

Keep Sonics in Seattle? Minority owner says that was never the plan
By GREG JOHNS
P-I REPORTER

Aubrey McClendon says he is "under a self-imposed gag order" regarding the business of running the NBA franchise, but that didn't stop the Sonics minority owner from telling The Journal Record of Oklahoma City that the group's desire is to get the team out of Seattle.

In a long article about McClendon appearing in Monday's Journal Record, the 48-year-old acknowledged the financial benefits of Seattle's larger market.


AP
Sonics owner Clayton Bennett, right, with Oklahoma City businessman and team minority owner Aubrey McClendon, has said repeatedly that he prefers to keep the team in Seattle.
"But we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle. We hoped to come here," he said. "We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even, we'd be thrilled."

McClendon, the chief executive of Chesapeake Energy, did indicate the group would continue providing Seattle the first opportunity to keep the team by coming up with a plan for a new arena. When the Oklahoma-based conglomeration bought the team a year ago, Bennett set an Oct. 31 deadline for a new facility agreement to be in place. Otherwise, he said he'd file for relocation with the NBA.

"They've got 60 days to make some decisions they haven't been willing to make in the past year," McClendon said, "and if they make them in a way that satisfies Clay, then the team will stay there. If they don't meet the requirements he's laid out, the team will move, and Clay has indicated they'll come to Oklahoma City."

Bennett tried to generate interest in a $500 million "world-class multipurpose arena" in Renton, but that proposal died in the Legislature in April. He recently called on Mayor Greg Nickels to serve as a catalyst among area political and business leaders to keep the team in Seattle, but when Nickels continued proposing KeyArena as a viable option, Bennett said he didn't think it would be worth meeting with the mayor.

The Sonics' current lease agreement runs for three more seasons at KeyArena, which was rebuilt in 1994-95.

One of eight partners in the Professional Basketball Club approved by the NBA in October, McClendon has previously kept a quiet role in the Sonics and Storm ownership group.

"Clay is my good friend and general partner in the club, so he speaks most accurately and eloquently for the club," McClendon told The Journal Record. "However, I'm very excited about Kevin Durant and the other draft picks we had.

"I think we have a team that probably has as much on the ball for the next five or 10 years as any team in the league."

McClendon was part of a group, along with Bennett, that tried to buy the New Orleans Hornets and bring them permanently to Oklahoma City after that club began playing its home games at the Ford Center after Hurricane Katrina.

He was a prominent and visible front-row fan of the Hornets during their two-year stay in Oklahoma.

"I've now been really caught up in the excitement of the (Sonics) because there is a certain stamp of 'we've arrived,' and the people of Seattle kind of look down their nose at us and think these guys are trying to climb the civic ladder," McClendon said. "They take pride in Seattle not needing an NBA team to be considered a world-class city. That's probably true -- they don't.

"But I think for Oklahoma City to distance itself from other midsize cities, I think enthusiastic support of a well-run, successful NBA team says a lot about the spirit of this community. We've got a can-do spirit, and we've got a fan base that's turned out. This is a sports town; nobody ever knew it was a pro sports town. I think it is."

In addition to Bennett and McClendon, the Sonics ownership group includes Tom Ward, chairman of SandRidge Energy; Jeffrey Records, chairman of MidFirst Bank; William Cameron, chairman of American Fidelity Assurance; Bob Howard, president of Mercedes-Benz of OKC; Everett Dobson, chairman of Dobson Communications; and Jay Scaramucci, president of Balon Corp.

All eight owners are based in Oklahoma. Bennett has said he's not interested at this time in adding minority owners from the Seattle area.


THE PARTY LINE
Sonics owner Clayton Bennett has said since buying the team that his preference is to keep the Sonics in the Seattle area with a new arena. Comments by minority owner Aubrey McClendon published Monday contradict that claim. A few examples of Bennett saying he would work to keep the Sonics in Seattle:

JULY 19, 2007

"I assure you no one has worked harder to get a new arena. I've said repeatedly I'm willing to engage in any arena process that's out there. Private business can be the solution. Let's pass the hat and see how we can make this work."

FEB. 26, 2007

"I'm open to whatever the right answer is, whatever leadership recommends and whatever's right for this region."

FEB. 22, 2007

"We intend to be successful in Washington. I still think we've got a lot of life left in this deal."


P-I reporter Greg Johns can be reached at 206-448-8314 or gregjohns@seattlepi.com.

Just thought I would get your thoughts on this since you are the resident U&L NBA expert.

[Dinsdale]

Didn't read your whole article, but I've seen enough of this in the last couple of days that I'm sure there's nothing new in it.

Anyhoo... I guess it shows what kind of idiots we're dealing with -- When they bought the team, I know there was a "good faith" clause in the deal that the new owners had to do everything possible to keep the team in Seattle.

Now, these genius figure that now their extortion scheme is going to work out in their win/win scenario, they should come out and tell everyone that they never had any intention of honoring the agreement they made.

Have fun with that, Oklahoma. Sounds like you're dealing with some real "character guys" there.

I've been looking forward to the renewed I-5 Rivalry, but can't say I really care that much. A Blazer's Bitch is a Blazers Bitch, regardless of locale.

[Moorese]

I have no interest in supporting a Supes club owned by the current group of gaybashing thumpers, nor will I contribute a penny to help the current owners build an arena. As far as I'm concerned, they should move the team and leave the name behind.

[SunCoastSooner]

Didn't read your whole article, but I've seen enough of this in the last couple of days that I'm sure there's nothing new in it.

Anyhoo... I guess it shows what kind of idiots we're dealing with -- When they bought the team, I know there was a "good faith" clause in the deal that the new owners had to do everything possible to keep the team in Seattle.

Now, these genius figure that now their extortion scheme is going to work out in their win/win scenario, they should come out and tell everyone that they never had any intention of honoring the agreement they made.

Have fun with that, Oklahoma. Sounds like you're dealing with some real "character guys" there.

I've been looking forward to the renewed I-5 Rivalry, but can't say I really care that much. A Blazer's Bitch is a Blazers Bitch, regardless of locale.

Oklahoma already knows what they are getting. They've had these guys running virtually every aspect of Oklahoma professional sports for over 2 decades now.

[RadioFan]

As far as I'm concerned, they should move the team and leave the name behind.

If the team is moved, I hope you're right.

This idiocy of keeping team names after they move needs to go. The only thing "Sonic" about this team in OKC is the fast-food chain. Hell, it would be better to just change the team's colors to red, yellow and blue if they move. (Sonic's corporate headquarters is in OKC).

Of course, Stern will never let an actual name change happen. And the flip side is that even if he did, OKC would vote for the "Oklahoma City Switzers" or the "Oklahoma City Boomers" or something moronic, no doubt.

But I'm not cynical nor anything.

[SunCoastSooner]

As far as I'm concerned, they should move the team and leave the name behind.

If the team is moved, I hope you're right.

This idiocy of keeping team names after they move needs to go. The only thing "Sonic" about this team in OKC is the fast-food chain. Hell, it would be better to just change the team's colors to red, yellow and blue if they move. (Sonic's corporate headquarters is in OKC).

Yeah because Tinker isn't located in the OKC metro area...

[RadioFan]

Yeah because Tinker isn't located in the OKC metro area...

Tinker is home to KC-135s and AWACs, though I guess technically fighters are occasionally repaired there. It's a stretch, at best.

[SunCoastSooner]

Yeah because Tinker isn't located in the OKC metro area...

Tinker is home to KC-135s and AWACs, though I guess technically fighters are occasionally repaired there. It's a stretch, at best.

It's home to a lot more than that RF. Tinker has an inventory of over 2,200 aircraft; which include the B-1, B-2, B-52, C/KC-135, E-3, VC-25, VC-137, F118 and 25 other Contractor Logistics Support aircraft.

I believe the B1 and B2 are supersonic capable...

[King Crimson]

i doubt the name changes if the OKC move happens....though i do agree with RF that a popular vote or "corporate imaging task-force" would come up with something incredibly lame and high on the cultural cliche/sound like D-League or Arena Football name: like, Rattlers or Red (Dirt) Devils or Billy Ballers (kidding).

[Diogenes]

As far as I'm concerned, they should move the team and leave the name behind.

If the team is moved, I hope you're right.

This idiocy of keeping team names after they move needs to go.

Kind of like L.A. is famous for it's lakes and Utah for it's great Jazz culture?

[Dinsdale]

There's whispers of a local group buying the Supes back.

Considering what a douche Bennett is, I think that would be best for most parties, particularly the Seattle fans (both of them), the team, and the entire NBA.

I'd love to see OKC get a team, since they would obviously support one, without a doubt, but I'd rather see someone besides Bennett bring it there. I very much doubt he's above trying to hold OKC hostage to get his way, and I'd rather see a team with a little integrity in the ownership join the league, rather than having a supreme dickweed influencing the Association.

[OUMO]

Come on guys, Oklahomans pick great team names.








At least in beats the Houston Texans.

[indyfrisco]

At least in beats the Houston Texans.

[bada]Who doesn't?[/bing]








Ooops..forgot about the Gayduhs.

[Goober McTuber]

Oklahoma already knows what they are getting. They've had these guys running virtually every aspect of Oklahoma professional sports for over 2 decades now.

Oklahoma professional sports? I laughed.

http://www.50states.com/sports/okla.htm

[SunCoastSooner]

SEATTLE -- The Seattle SuperSonics' new owner told the NBA on Friday that he plans to move the team to Oklahoma City.

Clay Bennett had set a Wednesday deadline for having a plan to replace KeyArena, which he says is outdated. He and the city are in a dispute about the arena lease.

He has until March 1 to file for relocation with the NBA if he wants the team to play the 2008-09 season anywhere besides Seattle. The Sonics are the city's oldest major professional sports franchise.


So Long, Seattle
If the Supersonics are allowed to relocate from Seattle to Oklahoma City, it would be the third time this decade that an NBA team has pulled up stakes. Others to do so in the last three decades:

Switching Surroundings Old city New city
2002 Hornets Charlotte New Orleans
2001 Grizzlies Vancouver Memphis
1985 Kings Kansas City Sacramento
1984 Clippers San Diego Los Angeles
1979 Jazz New Orleans Salt Lake City
1978 Clippers Buffalo San Diego

Bennett briefly backed off his deadline, not wanting to distract from the start of the season. He watched Thursday night's home opener against Phoenix from his suite, spending most of the second half chatting with Hall of Famer Bill Russell while fans chanted "Save our Sonics!" during the game.


"Today we notified commissioner [David] Stern that we intend to relocate the Sonics to Oklahoma City if we succeed in the pending litigation with the city, or are able to negotiate an early lease termination, or at the end of the lease term," Bennett said in a lengthy statement.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed the league received notice and is referring the matter to the owners' relocation committee.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said the latest development was "no surprise'' and the state will "continue to work with others on the arduous process'' of keeping the Sonics and the WNBA's Storm.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett called the news a "significant step'' but urged caution.

"The history of sports is littered with franchises that intended to relocate, said they would relocate and for whatever reason didn't relocate,'' said Cornett, a former television sportscaster. "Things change. I don't anticipate anything changing, but things do change.''


Bennett became owner just more than a year ago and also owns the WNBA's Seattle Storm. He bought the Sonics from a local group led by Starbucks Coffee chairman Howard Schultz for $350 million and has said the club is not for sale. Schultz, also unhappy with KeyArena, and his group paid $200 million for the team in 2001.


Caple: 'Cash-Us Clay'

Clay Bennett's announcement that he wants to move the Sonics is an elaborate game of truth or dare, writes Jim Caple. Story


Bennett is trying to void the final two years of the lease. The city wants to hold the Sonics to the agreement, which calls for the team to play at KeyArena through the 2009-10 season.

Bennett said the team lost $17 million last year because of the lease. The Sonics had sought arbitration to decide the matter, but this week a federal judge blocked the team from seeking an escape through arbitration. That kept alive the city's attempts to gain a court order forcing the Sonics to play in Seattle.


Bennett championed a proposal this year for a new arena in the suburb of Renton that called for about $300 million in public money. The plan failed to get backing in the state Legislature.

"We now understand and respect that there is very limited public support for such a public investment," Bennett said.


Bennett long has said he had no intention of splitting the Sonics and Storm, but appeared to hedge on that Friday. He said plans are not set for the WNBA team, which will play the 2008 season in Seattle.


"Mr. Bennett's announcement today is a transparent attempt to alienate the Seattle fan base and follow through on his plan to move the team to Oklahoma City. The deadline for notifying the league of his intent to move is March 1," Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr said. "Making this move now continues the current ownership's insulting behavior toward the Sonics' dedicated fans and the citizens of the city."


Sonics 'intend to relocate'

Statement from Seattle SuperSonics & Storm chairman Clayton I. Bennett: Story

"The move today was no surprise," Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said. "We continue to work with others on the arduous process of keeping the Sonics and Storm in Seattle."

A few hours before Bennett's announcement, a group of local investors offered to buy the Sonics and keep the city's oldest major league professional sports franchise from moving.

The group headed by Dennis H. Daugs, a private wealth manager and managing director of Lakeside Capital Management LLC, issued a news release Friday saying it had written a formal letter of interest to Bennett.

"We want to recapture the spirit and love of basketball in Seattle by bringing the Sonics and Storm back to local ownership," said Daugs, a former minority owner of the NBA franchise.

Dan Mahoney, a spokesman for Bennett, had no comment on Daugs' offer, other than to reiterate that the "teams are not for sale."

"This town loves the Sonics and Storm," Daugs said in the statement. "We have a genuine appreciation of the fan base. We respect the many loyal fans and we want to build a populist movement to keep the teams here. We believe there is strong local support for the Sonics and Storm."

They'll be in OKC before all is said and done.

Dins nobody besides Bennet is going to bring a pro team to OKC. The Gaylords are the only other money bags in the area and they have hitched their trailer to the Nashville area as far as pro sports are concerned.

Statement from Seattle SuperSonics & Storm Chairman Clayton I. Bennett:

On behalf of the owners of the Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm, I am disappointed that our efforts over the last fifteen months to foster the development of a new multi-purpose arena in the Greater Seattle area were not successful. From the beginning, it has been my absolute hope and expectation that we would be able to secure the necessary governmental commitments to build a successor venue to KeyArena. Even though our proposal for a new state-of-the-art multi-purpose facility to be built in Renton was thoughtfully developed by a world-class team, was financially reasonable and was realistically attainable, we were unable to persuade the Washington Legislature to vote on our bill. The region is still in need of a modern building, not just for the Sonics and Storm, but also for the broad commercial and quality of life benefits such facilities provide.




We now understand and respect that there is very limited public support for such a public investment. As we stated on July 18, 2006, and have stated on many occasions thereafter, KeyArena is not a viable modern venue for the NBA and if a successor facility is not identified by October 31, 2007, we would evaluate our options, which would include relocation. Given the clear lack of public, political, and business support for a new multi-purpose arena, plus the enactment of Initiative 91 as a City of Seattle ordinance following a public vote authorized by the Seattle City Council itself, and the significant operating losses the businesses are now incurring, we have no option but to commence the NBA relocation process.




Today we notified Commissioner Stern that we intend to relocate the Sonics to Oklahoma City if we succeed in the pending litigation with the City, or are able to negotiate an early lease termination, or at the end of the lease term.




We have not made a decision regarding the future location of the Seattle Storm. We appreciate the deep local interest and support for the Storm and have begun to evaluate a future course of action for the team.




Notwithstanding the uncertainty and difficulty of this challenging time, we remain completely committed to the success of our basketball teams. We will continue to provide our players, coaches and staff the tools and support they need to be competitive.




We are also completely committed to providing our fans a first class basketball, entertainment and social experience. We will do all we can to ensure that our fans, sponsors and marketing and broadcast partners enjoy the highest value from their relationship with the Sonics and Storm.




There have been many in the region who have provided courageous, visionary support to our efforts. We sincerely appreciate your hard work and friendship in this difficult process.

[Dinsdale]

I didn't read every word of the articles, but I don't think Bennett has the slam-dunk he thinks he does.

There's a little matter of a legally-binding contract.

But what I think gets lost in this, is that the city spent about $100 million renovating that building, just for the Sonics within the last 10 years. I haven't been to the building in the last ten years, but I understand there's nothing wrong with it.

But walk a mile in Seattle's shoes -- they spent $100 mil in public funds to basically subsidize a private business, and they damn sure deserve the return on the investment they were promised and are legally entitled to.

And the alternate proposal is to build an arena in Renton. Brilliant.

Now, I don't live in Seattle, nor have I ever lived in Seattle (used to be a kinda-sorta part-time Tacoma resident, almost kinda sorta), but I'm quite confident that the city of Renton isn't in Seattle. And from what I know, knocking off work at 5:30 in Seattle, you'd be in quite the rush to make it to Renton for a 7:00 tipoff, since Seattle traffic blows serious monkey chunks, and heaven forbid someone from Everett or somewhere wants to catch a game. I suppose it works out great if you live in the Inland Abomination, or if you work at Kenworth or Microsoft, but If you're on the non-soccer-mom side of I-5, you've got a jaunt ahead of you. Hell, I bitch about having to go a few miles up I-5 to get to the Rose Garden Arena, since it's adjacent to a humongous clusterfuck in the form of the I-5/I-84 interchange. But at least I can hop a bus or a commuter train and get dropped off at the front door, and there's lots of options for me to get there by some off-the-beaten-path backroads through the hills, if I'm really worried about the traffic -- Renton doesn't enjoy that same luxury, to the best of my knowledge(if Mooreses has some secret info about getting around the 405 nightmare, I'll stick it in my memory banks for my next visit, should I ever have the misfortune of being on the Wrong Side of the Lake again, which is likely).


There's just so much stupid surrounding this story, it's kind of crazy. Good luck with that Bennett douche if you get stuck with him... my condolences.

[SunCoastSooner]

There's just so much stupid surrounding this story, it's kind of crazy. Good luck with that Bennett douche if you get stuck with him... my condolences.

I won't be getting stuck with him regardless. I live in Florida and am a Spurs fan regardless of what team moves to a city I spent 3 1/2 years of my life in the metro area of. My ties and bonds are stronger to the San Antonio/Austin area than they ever will be to OKC even with considereation to my choice of College education.

[OUMO]

At least in beats the Houston Texans.

[bada]Who doesn't?[/bing]

RACK!