Sonics, Seattle To Finalize Agreement, Settle Ownership Of Assets

Bennett To Retain Ownership Of Sonics' Championship Trophy, Banners

MAKING THE MOVE: The SEATTLE TIMES' Allen on Saturday reported "most of the front-office staff at the team's downtown office ... will remain in Seattle for at least the next three months." Sonics Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Brian Byrnes is among a "few upper-level executives" who have already been sent to Oklahoma City, but the rest will "remain in Seattle until the [WNBA] Storm season concludes." Every Sonics employee will "receive a bonus for staying with the team the past two years," and those who do not move to Oklahoma City "will be given severance pay." Anyone who leaves "can negotiate a relocation package; however, employees were told to expect a decrease in salary because the cost of living is lower in Oklahoma City." Team sources indicated that "only a handful of employees have expressed interest in leaving" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/5). But Sonics employees indicated that there "remains a great deal of uncertainty regarding the relocation and who is actually headed to Oklahoma." Bennett several months ago "apparently offered packages to team employees who wanted to relocate." But in Seattle, Gary Washburn reported those packages "never were confirmed and there is widespread discussion around the Sonics' downtown offices regarding who is going to leave with the team." There has been "no notification regarding a relocation date or when the new team will officially begin conducting business in Oklahoma" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 7/4). Sonics radio announcer Matt Pinto Thursday said that he "plans to join the team in Oklahoma City." However, Sonics PR Dir Tom Savage said that TV announcer Kevin Calabro, who has been with the club for 21 seasons, "will not be making the move" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 7/4).

Over 11,000 Fans In Oklahoma City Have Expressed Interest In Season Tickets

LET'S MAKE THE DEAL: In Seattle, Jim Brunner reported Seattle leaders "deny that they caved" in settling the case with the Sonics, but rather they "came to believe what the NBA and Bennett had been saying for months: Even if the city won the case, the Sonics would leave in two years, and bad blood with the NBA would prevent Seattle from getting another team." Settlement talks "began quietly about three weeks ago, just before the trial's start," and negotiations were "mostly by phone and e-mail." Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer "played a pivotal role in the talks" by calling NBA Commissioner David Stern to assure him that Ballmer's Seattle Center Investors are "committed to acquiring another team to play at KeyArena -- provided state and local politicians approved a $300[M] upgrade." Brunner noted the city "tried to hold out for a guarantee from the NBA that Seattle could receive an expansion team or another franchise." Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr: "We wanted one. We didn't get one" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/6). But also in Seattle, Art Thiel wrote by "accepting a poor settlement ... the city abdicated its responsibility of stewardship." Nothing in the NBA's statement of support to help Seattle get another team commits the league to "anything substantive." The gesture was "another fig leaf to give cover to [Seattle] Mayor Greg Nickels and the City Council that was pushing him to settle." The $45M that Bennett must pay Seattle is "nice, but it gets the city only to even on its investment in KeyArena." Nickels and a council majority "could not stand the thought of the public blowback they anticipated in the event of a loss" in the case. Thiel: "It should be up to the private business community to determine the worth of replacing [KeyArena] with a new convention center commensurate with the marketplace, and the value of finding for it pro sports tenants. Is there anyone who trusts government to pull it off?" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 7/4).

Schultz Wants Judge To Force Sale Of Sonics To "Honest Buyer"

CROSSING INTO POLITICS: In Seattle, McGann & Galloway reported Seattle gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi and his allies Thursday "wasted no time saying [Washington] Gov. Chris Gregoire was to blame" for the Sonics leaving. Additionally, the Building Industry Association of Washington Thursday "began airing radio ads lambasting Gregoire for the Sonics' departure." But Gregoire Deputy Communications Dir Laura Lockard said that Gregoire "would not 'point fingers' and instead 'believes it is time for us to come together and get an NBA team in Seattle.'" To do that, the state Legislature "by the end of next year will have to authorize the city's use of local taxes to help refurbish KeyArena." State lawmakers, who have "repeatedly rejected similar proposals," said that "they'll consider the idea again." Some said that a deal "could be worked out, but that is far from a certainty" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 7/4).

Cuban Says $75M Payment Will Be Unable To Make Up For Seattle's Loss Of Sonics

REAX: In L.A., Kurt Streeter wrote under the header, "SuperSonics' Move Leaves A Bitter Taste." Streeter: "David Stern, what are you thinking? You're allowing a team that has been one of the pillars of the modern NBA, a team with an NBA championship and three appearances in the league finals, to giddy up and gallop from one of the world's greatest cities, resettling in ... Oklahoma?" (L.A. TIMES, 7/6). In S.F., Bruce Jenkins wrote it was Stern who "happily guided and supported this brutal injustice to the city of Seattle." Jenkins: "Go ahead, Dave, put on a cowboy hat. Get a lasso, and some chaps. There you go. You just traded class for a ruse" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/5). In Baltimore, David Steele wrote, "It's plain depressing ... to see an NBA franchise instantly find a home in a smaller, more remote media market in the heart of football country, solely because it had slapped together a top-notch facility on blind faith" (Baltimore SUN, 7/6). However, in Portland, John Canzano wrote, "I don't blame Stern, Schultz or Bennett for the Sonics leaving as much as I blame apathy and market diversification. Because I don't think Seattle lets its NBA team go if the people there had cared enough to make the franchise feel like a priority from the beginning of this muddled process" (Portland OREGONIAN, 7/6). In Tacoma, Chen & Pacey reported Sonics fans Thursday had mixed reactions to the news of the team's departure. Some fans said that they "were done with the NBA and others hoped to get another team soon" (Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 7/4).

Print This Article