Save our Sonics

[pscot]

For those of us who are past the moaning stage, the guys over at sonicscentral.com are taking a pro-active approach, with bumper stickers, posters and a little fundraising. According to the deputy mayor, Tim Ceis, those of us who want to keep the Sonics and the Storm are not making enough noise. The mayors office is hearing a lot from the antis and very little from those who support the teams. If we want the teams to stay we need to make our voices heard. Write to the politicians. Write to the media. Call in to talk radio. And check in at sonicscentral.com, the best team blog in the NBA. Go Supes.

[pscot]

1. A new, multi-purpose facility for basketball?

Brian Robinson, in a long post at Sonicscentral.com, speculates that there has been a change in the way the Sonics quest for a new venue is being perceived. He says things may be moving in a whole new direction. He explains it better than I could so I quote him at length. This worth reading.

"I was struck today by the generally optimistic reaction to Mr. Bennett. Essentially it is the first time I can remember any optimism in this discussion for nearly a year.

For whatever reasons the words spoken by Mr. Bennett seemed to resonate well with the press and politicians, particularly those who had a few moments of one-on-one time with the Oklahoma businessman. He appears to be extremely convincing during these sessions and has generated positive feedback in almost all instances. Even Seattle politicians, thought to be out of the picture were positive in their reviews.

Over the last week a critical new piece of information has emerged which has been partially responsible for the sudden sense of optimism. Upon closer review it appears that Oklahoma City’s Ford Center is not the jewel it was originally thought to be. The arena was constructed between 1999 and 2002 the now 4 year old facility cost a mere $93 million dollars. Differences in land and labor costs between Oklahoma and Seattle cannot offset the fact that this Arena was not built on an NBA budget. While it may be a fine home for Arena Football and even the NBA on a temporary basis it is not a long term home for an NBA team. In fact it may not even compare to Key Arena in terms of it’s ability to generate revenue. Compared to a new regional facility it is severely lacking in the very amenities that the NBA has looked for in Seattle. Upon second look and despite extremely favorable lease terms The Ford Center may not be the slam-dunk opportunity that many had portrayed it to be.

"Now that people have come to understand that Oklahoma City does not hold an insurmountable edge it appears that they have started to actually listen to Mr. Bennett. In his first significant public appearance since announcing the purchase on July 18th he scored a crucial point in his meeting on Wednesday. Without giving any details or promises he used the appeal of Seattle’s most popular summer hangout, Safeco Field, as an opportunity to redefine the argument slightly. Referring to a Tuesday visit to the Mariners home field Mr. Bennett described a future NBA arena as a world class amenity to the region. Where arguments of “competitiveness in the NBA marketplace” have failed to capture anyone’s attention it seems as if dreaming bigger and better may have some appeal.

Safeco Field as a destination has proven to be an absolute treasure. Each baseball season millions of fans and visitors visit the venue to bask in the countries most moderate and pleasant summer weather, enjoy sweeping views of the great city, and one of the best fan experiences this side of Pac-Bell Ballpark in San Francisco. In addition to being a great place to attend a game it has proven to have broad appeal for the most casual of fans simply as a place to go for a great afternoon or evening out. Envisioning a new arena with similar indoor opportunities seems to have intrigued people. Perhaps we could fill our winters with not only NBA Basketball, but NHL Hockey or Arena League Football. It is not too much to imagine a rotating series of shows and displays, a building that provides benefits for our community not just during sporting events, but on a daily basis, throughout the year."

[maxsolomon]

2. there is no reason Key Arena cannot be that facility

in fact it nearly already is. they are losing their practice facility to the Gates Foundation, but there's no reason a replacement can't be built just north of the Key where the Northwest rooms now sit.

its just that the Sonics' owners don't control ALL the revenue streams. rather than being trapped in a parking lot in Renton, as NBA owners prefer, Key Arena patrons can eat in any number of restaurants that Clay Bennett does not own, stay in any number of hotels that Clay Bennett does not own, park in any number of garages that Clay Bennett does not own, and buy mercahndise at any number of retail stores that Clay Bennett does not own.

just picture the joy of driving from Seattle to Renton for a 7:30 start. you'd need to leave at 5:30, min. Bellevue? where, exactly? on the Safeway distribution warehouse site?

this region does NOT need a new arena. Key Arena is a great place. the Sonics are gone, and begging is unbecoming.

blame the Ackerleys, Howard Schultz & the giant house of cards that is the modern NBA, with its product of selfish, ignorant, glandular freak millionaires, not Licata or the City.

[pscot]

5. 64% of the people who go to games

live on the east side. If you live in Northbend and want to see a game at the Key, you have to leave at 5:30 to make a 7:30 start. The old safeway warehouse site in Bellevue is handy to both 405 and 520, and is a fifteen minute ride from Seattle. It's in an underutilized, light commercial area that just screams out "develope me". The "blame game" is both unbecoming and unproductive. What's needed is a viable solution that everyone can live with. Nobody can force Seattle to participate in this process, but just because Seattle doesn't care to play is no reason for the region to lose the Sonics. Like the congressman from Philadelphia said to the FBI agent, "Money talks, bullshit walks".

[pscot]

14. Interesting new developments

It would seem that the new owners aren't letting any grass grow under their feet. This this post from Sonicscentral is based on an article in todays Times:

"Bennett arrived in town last Thursday to attend the final home playoff game of the Seattle Storm. While it was not actively reported he remained in Seattle, scheduled to depart yesterday, so that he could continue talks with local leaders. As was made clear in this article conversations with Bellevue Square owner Kemper Freeman went extremely well. Bennett met with Freeman for an extended period on Tuesday and the conversation went so well they had a followup meeting scheduled for Wednessday. Talks were described by the team as extremely positive.

Rumor has it that Bennett has been scoring big in his meetings and that a deal is coming together more quickly than anticipated. It is likely that a new arena proposal will be on the table even earlier than the December date listed in the (Times).

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003224315_sonics25e.html

"I feel like I've known this guy for 20 years," Freeman said. "I feel really good about what he's thinking, what he's saying, what he's going to do."

Bellevue would appear to be a leading contender for a new arena. The city has a 900-acre stretch of aging warehouses and office parks slated for redevelopment near Interstate 405 and Bellevue-Redmond Road.

The area includes at least one potential site: the old Safeway distribution center that sits on 75 acres near three freeways.

Bennett has said the current KeyArena does not fit his vision of a "world-class" entertainment complex that could host professional hockey and other events. But he is serious about figuring out whether a new arena could be built at Seattle Center, Kneeland said.

Freeman and Bennett agree a new arena must be a busy, multiuse facility with exhibition space, concerts and retail.

[Pierzin]

3. Just say No to corporate Welfare to the rich!!!

There is no reason to build another facility for another pro sports team, whose objective is to make money on taxpayer subsidies. This city has already built two, and one of those was for one of the richest men in the world, no less.
Get a grip.

[pscot]

4. But just suppose such a subsidy

resulted in major economic benefits for the area in which it was built. Suppose the public got an adequate return on its investment. Wouldn't that legitimize the use of pulic money? That's where the discussion seems to be headed now. It could result in a win for all involved, the public included. Would you still be opposed if the city made a fair return?

[maxsolomon]

7. hell no i wouldn't be opposed

i LIKE the NBA, despite its flaws.

but that is not the NBA business model - cities are supposed to subsidize millionaires & be grateful.

[Pierzin]

8. That is a slippery slope to walk down, my friend. No way.

Corporate welfare is corporate welfare. Middle-income taxpayers are now paying more money than ever before, while multi-millionaires are getting off with Gigantic tax breaks. Corporations as a whole get so many breaks, they now pay less as a percentage than they did in the Eisenhower era, leaving the tab for all government services on guess who? You an me bub. Joe Six-Pack and Betty Bus Driver. So no. No subsidys for corporations, no corporate welfare for billionaires like Howard Schultz or whoever now owns the Sonics, no no no no.
This city has already built two stadiums. The powers that be gave a break to the one of the richest men in the world! For his own profit! Excuse me? That doesn't make you retch? When was the last time the government offered you a huge tax break or gave you a truckload of hundred dollar bills?
Let the Sonics go and good riddance to their greedy out of town owners. Let people wake up and smell the coffee, man. Let's get real. When are our leaders going to stand on principle and tell these moneygrubbers, hey we already built you a stadium, no more toys? If you don't like it, go!:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

9. That is Miz Betty Bus Driver Bubba!

And like she says it,s gonna cost you and it,s gonna cost me.Just say hell no,no,no to that, and all that. If you want,na ride this bus you have got to pay the fare.
No free rides. And no free zones for the rich either. Just say no!
And no more King dome over costly implosions.The tax shelters cannot withstand the impact.
If you want to play ,you have got to pay, unless ofcourse you are poor Richard, because he,s too poor to pay!

[WA98296]

6. Agree totally!

[larry barr]

12. Sonics Welfare

Enough is enough for helping sports teams build things - The money needs to be used for its citizens like roads etc.

[ElkHunter]

10. When Key Arena underwent a renovation in the 1990's...

...part of the selling point was that the building would be made compatible for NHL hockey. The NHL wanted the Seattle market and even scheduled exhibition games in the Tacoma Dome. But the plans were changed and the building is not suitable for the NHL. Hell, after Key Arena was built we even lost the building for concerts during Bumbershoot.

If there were plans in the new proposal to make the building compatible for the NHL I MIGHT support it. But that isn't going to happen. As far as I'm concerned the Sonics can take their ball and find a new home. I could care less if they remain in the Pacific Northwest.

[pscot]

13. That last remodel

was the equivalent of putting earings on a pig. Seattle Center and the Key are 50 years old and have outlived their useful life span. It's time to bulldoze the whole 40 acres and start over. The city realized that when they brought in Disney's Imagineering group to design a remodel a dozen years ago. The only problem was they met with a little opposition. It spooked the administration. They got cold feet and bailed on their own plan at the last minute. Had they followed thru then, we might not be having this conversation now.

Let me make a couple of things clear. I think large corporations are out of control and need to be brought to heel by the Feds. I think their taxes should be raised, labor and anti trust laws vigorously enforced and multi-nationals that want to do business here should pay thru the nose for the privilege. Corporate scoflaws should be doing hard time, and their assets confiscated. I don't think public money should be used to line corporate coffers. In that regard, sports arenas are small potatos compared to the level of thievery taking place in Iraq and New Orleans. That does not mean, however, that Public and private resources cannot be usefully combined to serve some communal purpose, to the mutual benefit of all concerned, which brings us to Clay Bennett. Mr. Bennett is, by all accounts, a man of his word. He is apparently moving forward with the idea of a new facility. The sense of grievance, the cynicism and the knee jerk anti-business attitude that seems to animate much of the opposition strikes me as being, at the very least, premature. What harm is there in allowing the man to make his case? If he's just another gold digging schmuck we'll know soon enough.

[maxsolomon]

15. BULLDOZE the Key?

when did the city bring in DISNEY IMAGINEERS? that turns my stomach - disney treats people like rats in a maze, who's only purpose is to be turned upside down & shaken till all their money falls out.

[pscot]

16. The Disney proposal was rejected

after considerable public outcry. As I remember it the main reason was sticker shock; the price was around $400 million. I think there was also a sense that it was too synthetic, too magic kingdom. But the idea of a major overhaul was sound. The Seattle Center is old and rather shabby. The city has been fighting the ageing process with a tuck here and a lift there, but it's past time to start rethinking the whole idea of what the Center should be. At the time the "Disney Version" seemed too over-the-top. It wasn't "Seattle". But the city has changed so much in the last 15 years... As for shaking people until their money falls out of their pockets, that's exactly what Safeco Park is all about and people seem to love it. I guess it all depends on how well it's done.

[maxsolomon]

17. Pane et Circenses

bread & circuses, the chief interests of the Roman Plebian class.

the times they are not changing.

[WA98296]

11. Pro Sports teams can afford to save themselves.

[Diane R]

18. I'm tired of paying for Sports Stadiums

We live in Spokane. We never attend the Seahawk or Sonics games and have seen just one Mariner game.

Yet, when we visit our three children who attend the UW and have to stay in a hotel, we pay exorbitant hotel tax (about $27 for a $150 a night room...which is the low end these days) to support those pro teams.

We've tried to get tickets to the Mariners in the past (not this year), but all the good seats are sold to Puget Sound Season ticket holders. We ended up paying high rates for the seats that Seattle people didn't buy. Add that to the cost of a hotel, and few people from the East Side (east of the mountains) can really afford to take a family to a baseball game. Yet our taxes are used to support the teams.

I hope the Sonics leave. Not because I don't want people in Seattle to enjoy basketball, but because we can't afford to subsidize their fun anymore.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

19. The golden hoop at the end of the rainbow

It pays for itself ,than the Sonics practice in Spokane ,to prepare for season.

Anybody sport the hoop de doop lottery, $1.00 per ticket .

Everybody wins, and Spokane gets a stadium too! Put on a road trip that you won,t even believe, and presto ,change o . do you believe in Magic!

And I am sure you know where this is going!
Whats fair is fair I say.