Sonics Lawyers Pressured Nickels To Say City Will Not Miss Team
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Sonics' Attorneys Seeking To Prove That
Seattle Will Not Miss Sonics If They Relocate |
Lawyers for the Sonics' owners last month tried to get Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels in a deposition to admit that the team's departure "would have little impact on the city -- and would even have the benefit of improving traffic around KeyArena," according to Jim Brunner of the SEATTLE TIMES. The Sonics' lead local attorney, Brad Keller, asked Nickels, "Can you identify any specific company that was considering locating here that told you that an important consideration to them was that Seattle had an NBA franchise?" Nickels answered no, but said that "professional sports are a part of what makes 'a great city.'" Brunner notes part of the Sonics owners' "strategy in the lease lawsuit" against the city of Seattle "has been to prove that Seattle no longer cares for the team and won't miss it." The team's attorneys have asserted that the Sonics' relocation to Oklahoma City would cause "no net economic loss" for Seattle. Nickels in his deposition did admit that the Sonics' exit "would be a boon in one sense -- reducing the game-day traffic." Keller also asked Nickels about San Diego, which has seen its two NBA teams relocate to L.A. and Houston. Nickels, when asked if he considered San Diego, without an NBA team, a "world-class city," said, "I consider it a fine city. Second to Seattle or third, maybe fourth best on the West Coast" (SEATTLE TIMES, 5/15). Nickels in his testimony, which became public yesterday, said he had attended "four or five" Sonics games in the last 10 years (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 5/15).
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