Oklahoma City Council Members Iron Out Issues In Hosting Sonics
Naming rights and maintenance funding were "among the issues brought up Tuesday as the Oklahoma City Council got its first chance to discuss a proposed agreement to host" the Sonics at the Ford Center, according to Dean & Estus of the DAILY OKLAHOMAN. The council "unanimously agreed to set a final vote on the letter of intent" between the city and Sonics owners for March 25. Councilman Pete White "questioned whether the $20,000 a year the city plans to set aside for maintaining the team's practice facility will be enough." White: "There are things in this that will come up later, and one of them is the rehabilitation of the practice facility." However, Councilman Sam Bowman said that he "understood" the $20,000 was "only for general upkeep." Bowman: "The city essentially will be taking care of those wear and tear capital repairs at the practice facility, but improvements will be by and large the team's responsibility." City staff said that they would "take another look at the money they have set aside" for maintenance, but "insisted it wasn't meant as a funding source for major improvements." White added that both council members and Oklahoma City residents "should be prepared for the team to generate millions of dollars from a provision allowing the team to resell naming rights" to the Ford Center. Meanwhile, the council yesterday also awarded a $250,000 contract to The Benham Companies to "continue its work on architectural and engineering plans" for Ford Center renovations. Benham received an initial $250,000 contract in December, but that contract "required Benham to study what needed to be upgraded at [the] Ford Center and to come up with renovation concepts" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 3/19).
SEATTLE: In Seattle, Greg Johns reports city leaders yesterday said that they will "continue working toward a solution to keep the Sonics in Seattle," despite NBA Commissioner David Stern calling the city's newest bid to upgrade KeyArena a "late PR stunt." Stern indicated to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that Seattle's efforts are "too late in the game and that if Mayor Greg Nickels had 'done this a year ago, we wouldn't be having the conversation.'" An NBA relocation committee next week will tour the Ford Center and prepare to "make a recommendation either for or against" Sonics Owner Clay Bennett's relocation request at the April 17-18 NBA BOG meeting in N.Y. Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said that the city "continues looking into ways to come up with an additional $75[M] in funding to complete Nickels' recent $300[M] plan to upgrade KeyArena" after the state Legislature last week "declined to offer late help." Ceis: "There's nothing to report. We're still working on stuff. It'll probably be another week or so" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 3/19).
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