NBA Franchise Notes: 76ers To Play One Final Game At Spectrum
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76ers Will Host One Final Regular-Season Game
At Spectrum Before Arena Is Demolished |
The 76ers next year will play their final game at the Wachovia Spectrum, a regular-season contest against the Bulls on March 13. The game will be part of the franchise's 60th anniversary celebration. The Spectrum after the '08-09 NBA and NHL seasons will be demolished to make room for Philly Live, a proposed hotel, retail and entertainment complex. Comcast-Spectacor Chair Ed Snider said in a statement, "In this, the last year of the Spectrum, we're thrilled to bring the Sixers back home to play one more time in the Spectrum. This night is designed for our fans to relive the great Sixers memories there and for those fans who were never able to see them play at the Spectrum" (THE DAILY).
DELAY OF GAME: In Seattle, Greg Johns reports Seattle city attorneys and Oklahoma City NBA franchise Owner Clay Bennett's Professional Basketball Club (PBC) yesterday agreed to "extend the deadline for completing the settlement agreement that allowed the Sonics to end their KeyArena lease and move to Oklahoma City." The PBC and the city "initially set an Aug. 1 date to wrap up their July 3 settlement, but now have asked [U.S. District] Judge Marsha Pechman to extend that to Aug. 18." Pechman's "original Order of Dismissal listed Aug. 6 as the deadline to reopen the case." That date "now would be Aug. 25." The "additional time is needed in part because of the possibility of a voters' referendum on the City Council's approval of the settlement" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 8/7).
DISAPPEARING ACT: In Oklahoma City, Mike Baldwin reports when the NBA released its schedule yesterday, the NBA Web site "linked to a page that listed the 'Oklahoma City Thunder schedule' and clicking on any of the Oklahoma City's 82 games took you to the url -- www.nba.com/thunder." But by yesterday afternoon, "the word Thunder was nowhere to be found on the Oklahoma City schedule page and all of the links pointed to www.nba.com/oklahomacity" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 8/7).
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