Sonics officials push action on KeyArena

By Jim Brunner

Seattle Times staff reporter

Venting frustration with Seattle's city leaders, Sonics officials said Wednesday time is running out on the basketball team's prospects of staying at KeyArena after the current lease expires in 2010.

In a briefing with reporters, Sonics Chief Executive Wally Walker and Executive Vice President Terry McLaughlin said the organization needs to make a decision about its future in 2006.

"Everybody thinks in terms of 2010 as being a long way out and we can deal with that problem later," McLaughlin said. "We can't deal with that problem later. We need some decision immediately."

City leaders have failed to unite behind a plan to renovate KeyArena and negotiate a more lucrative lease for the team. The NBA Sonics and WNBA Storm franchises say they've lost $58 million since 2001, and they blame the lease, which requires arena revenues to be split with the city.
(Under terms of the lease, even if the Sonics and Storm sell out every regular season game, they lose money. David Stern has said repeatedly that it's the worst lease in the league -AS)

Walker said that without strong local political support, the organization expects that for a second straight year, it will fail to persuade state lawmakers to approve taxpayer financing for a KeyArena expansion. "We felt we'd be in Olympia with legislation that would already be crafted by now," Walker said. "That's still not impossible to have happen, but it's unlikely, bordering on remote."

State House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler called Walker's assessment accurate.

"I haven't heard anybody say it's dead, but I think he's wise to assume that it would probably be a pretty tough sell," said Kessler, D-Hoquiam.

In some ways, Walker said, the Sonics organization's prospects have diminished since last year, when the Legislature rebuffed a proposal to pay for a $200 million KeyArena expansion.

Last year, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels hired a lobbyist to promote the Sonics legislation. But in October, the City Council passed a resolution forbidding any such lobbying efforts without prior council approval.

McLaughlin called the resolution "not a friendly message" to the Sonics.

Councilman Nick Licata, one of the resolution's sponsors, said the council needs to look at KeyArena as a city-owned asset, not just as a home to professional basketball.

"I think that there is a significant difference between making KeyArena work for the public and subsidizing the Sonics," Licata said. The council is scheduled to receive a briefing on KeyArena options Monday.

Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said city officials need to take their time to come up with a plan that serves the team and Seattle Center. "I understand [the Sonics'] frustration, but you have to build some kind of agreement around the right solution, and right now they don't have that," Ceis said.

Meanwhile, if the Sonics want to explore other options, such as moving or building an arena elsewhere, Ceis said, "we don't feel threatened by that."

Walker and McLaughlin yesterday repeatedly stressed that the Sonics owners will honor the lease and are not threatening to leave.

The Basketball Club of Seattle, a group of 58 investors led by Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, purchased the Sonics in 2001 for a reported $200 million.

Asked whether the owners would contribute money to an arena expansion, Walker on Wednesday pointed out that the Sonics have spent more than $100 million on the arena since 1995.

City officials have been awaiting advice from a citizens task force appointed by Nickels. The group is studying what improvements might be needed at the arena, where a $76 million renovation was completed in 1995.

The group has looked at options ranging from a $200 million makeover to smaller fixes costing $100 million or less, said Bryce Seidl, president of Pacific Science Center and a member of the task force, which is to complete its work in February. The group also is studying whether KeyArena could be operated profitably without the Sonics.

(GM Wally Walker stated in interviews today that if the WA State Legislature doesn't make moves on this by the end of 2006, they're gone. They've already opened the phone lines to preliminary proposals from different cites. Vegas anyone? - AS)

I don't know all the details of this lease or whatever, but physically there's nothing wrong with Key Arena, so quit yer bitchin'!!

It's not like we're selling out games either, so they certainly don't need to enlarge the size. It's a nice, comfortable arena if you ask me.

It's got the smallest seating capacity in the league, and among the fewest suites in the league. Those are huge problems if you ask me.

I don't know the answer to this question:

When is the last time we sold out a regular season game?

Most of the second half of last season.
You know damn well no one goes to sporting events in Seattle unless the team is in first place.

You have to wonder if this could have been avoided if Ackerley would have remodeled the Colliseum with a design that attracted NHL ownership.

Fucking yuppie fan base.

The NHL wouldn't have succeeded here.

Who knows? If it became the new "hip" thing (see Sonics, followed by Mariners, followed by Seahawks), I think a team in Seattle could have had a nice little run. Built in rivalry with Vancouver, converted T-Bird's base, emergence of local youth hockey, etc. Thing is, we'll never know since Ackerley was greedy and didn't want to share the winter sports spotlight.

I agree with AS. Hockey wouldn't work here.

I say that because I'm from here and I hate hockey.

Exactly. Ackerley was an asshole. I'm not sure how hockey would play now, but at the time Ackerley was being a dick there was a lot of interest in hockey. The NHL was looking at Seattle as a front-runner for expansion, the T-Birds were packing the Mercer Arena, and for the occasional games at the Coliseum there were pretty big crowds. The time was right to build a franchise. Instead we got a half-assed renovation. The building is tired and ugly. They got what they deserved.

I think Howard should move his team to Yakima. I bet they'd build him an arena.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... cs19m.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... ell19.html

There's about 100 stories in the Seattle newspapers this morning to read.


Basically, the Sonics and Storm were sold to a group led by Oklahoma City businessman Clayton Bennett. Bennett has long expressed the desire to bring a team to OKC. The group is giving the city of Seattle 12 months to put together a new arena package, and that just isn't going to happen.

I'd be shocked if the Sonics were in Seattle for the 2007-2008 season.

the pittsburgh penguins were almost sold for 175 million, but apparently the potential owners (from canada) had stated they wanted to move the team if no areana was agreed upon soon. they then withdrew their offer and implied the NHL would not let the team move

this sucks

The Sonics also need to begin talk of how they can get anybody to play a season for them without somehow getting the idea they're worth $10 million a year.

They had better not move, otherwise I might have to find a new team.

this would suck. this franchise has a lot of history...

You like the Sonics too? Cool.

I just cannot imagine Basketball being popular in Oklahoma. Maybe I am wrong.

huge GP and Kemp fan when I was a kid, but I'm a loner in Laker land. OK wouldn't be too bad, OK St and OU have had fairly sucessful programs. I could see it happening, but I would think NO would move their first.

Ahh, neat. I don't envy you, being surrounded by Lakers fans. We have plenty over here, but you have it 10,000 times worse.

I meant to say and NBA team, not Basketball in general. I knew that they had some popular college teams. I would love it if the Sonics could stay in Seattle, but I just don't see it happening.