With David Stern's stern and stoic face announcing the twenty-eight to two decision by NBA owners to allow the Seattle Sonics to move to Oklahoma City pending the result of legal action scheduled for June 16th. The only question in that case is whether the Sonics move next year, or in 2011. The NBA does not regard Key Arena as a state of the art facility, and the city, county, and state leaders could not figure out a way to help extend existing tax bases to help publicly fund an acceptable facility to retain an NBA franchise.
FULL CIRCLE
Key Arena is built on the site of the old Seattle Coliseum. It was the first arena in NBA history to have a game rain out because of water on the floor. The owner in those days was Barry Ackerley. The NBA told Ackerley that no more games could be played at the Coliseum, so he rigged a deal with the Kingdome to keep the team running. Attendance at the Kingdome set NBA attendance records, but it was a terrible venue for basketball.
Ackerley proposed a deal through which he would trade some green belt land he owned for part of the property Safeco Field sits on now. He proposed building a state-of-the-art facility that would also meet NHL standards. The city turned him down. The reason: they did not want to permit a building that would compete with the Colliseum.
Ackerley worked a deal for the Tacoma Dome for two years, and told Seattle that it was their problem to rebuild the Coliseum to meet NBA standards within those two years. If it were not done, he would be working a deal in San Diego, which has lost both its Rockets and Clippers! He also demanded that the space not be used to try to accommodate an NHL team, which has a higher minimum seating capacity.
This was truly the first time a team owner held a city responsible for full investment in a publicly-owned facility, while depriving them of the revenue they had come to enjoy spending. The city learned the value of the flow of money from 13,000 fans gathering in the community to spend money forty-one times a year. They offered up the larger Key Arena, which met minimum NBA standards. Ackerley entered into a terrible lease agreement through which the team gave up significant revenues as its contribution to repayment.
Ackerley sold the team to a group headed by Howard Schultz of Starbucks fame. Schultz grew up as a fan of the Sonics! He teamed with Wally Walker, who was a member of the championship and runner-up teams from 1977-79. They tried several times to rework terms of the lease agreement to no avail. They asked for extensions on existing bonds and taxes for sports stadiums. The predicted repayment is far ahead of schedule, and the funds could be used for improvements to the facility.
Politicians apparently feel people are getting tired of hearing about funding stadiums for professional franchises, and no one went to bat for the extension. Apparently, the feeling was Howard Schultz can afford it. I guess no one considered that he became a billionaire not losing $30 million per year on an investment.
OILY CLAY
I do not know why Howard Schultz sold the teams to a group led by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett, but there was little doubt in anyone's mind why the group wanted to buy an NBA franchise: Oklahoma City was the beneficiary of the New Orleans Hornets needing a place to play after Hurricane Katrina. Oklahoma City does not have the market of Seattle, but the team will be able to draw sufficiently for the ownership to make money.
Mr. Bennett's approach was a bit different. He had promised Howard Schultz to make a good-faith effort for a year to keep the team in Seattle. He made proposals to the Seattle City Council, the King County Council, and the State Legislature. David Stern even came to appeal for public contributions into a public building. All were denied.
He asked Oklahoma City for some public funding and tax concessions. Voters approved them. He applied for relocation with the NBA. Only Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban and Portland Trailblazer owner Paul Allen voted against the proposal.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The public benefits from professional sports franchises in many ways. Key Arena has lost its major tenant, and local businesses lose potentially 18,000 customers forty-one times a year. It is unlikely that any other attraction would draw as many people into a city center for the purpose of spending money. There will be staff that will not be necessary on nights that the team would have played at home.
In addition to the impact locally on jobs, state sales tax revenues will decline proportionately to the tax on $100 jerseys, $4 hot dogs and cokes, and $7 beers multiplied by forty-one times 18,000. This money will not be fully recovered through other local attractions.
There is no way to lose an NBA franchise, and improve the local economy and tax revenues.
STORM LEFT BEHIND IS SIGHT TO BEHOLD
Clay Bennett sold the Seattle Storm to a local group. The local ownership has made significant signings during the off-season! If there is any justice in the world, the Seattle Storm ownership will thrive in Key Arena! The only other professional team beside the Sonics to bring a championship to Seattle since 1909 is looking like a future wing in the WNBA Hall of Fame!
Added to MVP Lauren Jackson and all-world Sue Bird, are former MVP Yolanda Griffiths, all-star Swin Cash, and four-time champion Cheryle Swoopes! This team will be impossible to defend! Comparatively, the Celtics did not acquire this much talent in the off-season last year!
Key Arena works fine for WNBA games. Often the upper bowl is closed off leaving the available seating the best seats in the arena. The team that has been put together by local ownership deserves to sell out every game! If they do, then the extra attendance on those 16 games, and the likely playoff run, will offset some of the revenue losses! However, it will be deficient to compensate for the loss of the Sonics, not to mention that it could have happened with the Sonics here under local ownership.
WILL SEATTLE GET ANOTHER NBA TEAM?
The possibility of Seattle getting another NBA team was left open by David Stern, but he made it clear that it would take a new facility and public cooperation to get one. This is not something that is peculiar to the NBA. Stern mentioned Houston as one of the cities that passed tax legislation to enhance the team's facility. Houston previously had lost its Oilers, wanting to leave them in the Astrodome after building a stadium for the Astros.
Once people realize the impact the Sonics had on the local economy, there will be groups that come forward attempting to lure a franchise back to Seattle. Seattle would have needed to build a state-of-the-art facility to retain the Sonics. It will still need to build that facility.
The group will either attempt to buy a team from an owner in a weaker market, or will apply for an expansion franchise. Either way, it will cost significantly more for the group to obtain a team than it would have been to work with Howard and Wally when we had the chance to.
Howard Stern has threatened a lawsuit to get the team back alleging Clay Bennett did not act in good faith to keep the team in Seattle, but it has slim chances at best. Former Senator Slade Gorton, who settled a lawsuit against baseball over the Pilots for the expansion Mariners, will be representing the city over the lease issue on June 16th.
Key Arena is fine for the Seattle Storm of the WNBA! They will do well selling enough tickets to meet NBA standards, and probably will!
With still no support for funding an arena, though, the only issue is whether the Sonics move next year, or in 2011.