The NBA Relocation Committee has voted against moving the Kings to Seattle. So boo to that. I mean I get that one team out of several is very different from the only sport in town. It makes some business sense, although given how much of their money is the value of the teams, I’m not sure that making a team take a lower bid is a good value.
But whatever, I’m not a business owner who feels the need to have a city subsidize their hobby/side job. I hope those business owners know that while Seattle will be willing to put some of its bonding capacity up for the arena, we aren’t going to spend actual taxpayer money on one.
So, those of us who are hoping for a new team can hope that the unanimity of the deal means there will be an expansion team coming rather than the city getting fucked around.
Shorter David Stern – we prefer cities that reliably prostrate themselves for NBA owners.
I played bball in high school, and while I’m not a fan of the NBA game, a lot of people are. I hate the modern men’s pro sports model of getting cities to subsidize billionaire owners; that said, while Hanson and the city’s claims that their package meets the requirements of R-91 will doubtless be settled in court at some point if a team tries to come, it’s a great deal by pro sports standards. And the R-91 part will likely never get to trial, because no team is coming in the foreseeable future.
David Stern has now fucked Seattle, hard, twice, and this time is arguably worse, because it sets a precedent for other cities with teams with arena or market issues: use the threat of relocation to Seattle to spur the locals to come up with an arena and a better ownership group, and you can keep your team! Seattle is now set up to play the patsy for spurring such deals over, and over, and over again, or at least until Hansen, Ballmer, et al get tired of the charade. Meanwhile, according to an interview with Ballmer today, expansion is absolutely off the table, and given how many markets are losing money in operating costs under Stern’s wise leadership, it’s hard to imagine the economics of it making sense for other owners any time soon.
Stern apparently is bitter that not every local pol kissed his ring in 2008. I can hardly wait for that asshole to retire, and then maybe the NBA can be trusted as a partner to business with. But the template has now been set. I suspect Sonics fans are in for a long, long wait.
Bring on the NHL!
On the NHL front, I am sure Stern will probably work with the NHL commissioner to stop a relocation to Seattle in that league. Although we won the Stanley Cup long before any other title trophy existed. The 1917 Seattle Metropolitans.
Sacramento and the national sports media have repeatedly claimed that the difference between moving the Sonics to Oklahoma and keeping the Kings in Sacramento is that the locals (meaning state, county, city) “stepped forward” to save the team. In Seattle, they claimed that wasn’t true.
But that’s the easy answer by self-interested partis and lazy journalists. The initial discussion about the Arena remodel in 2008 never got out of the blocks before the team was sold to Bennett and Clay said the Arena was “off the table” as being non-suitable under any circumstances. His proposals instead involved a fool’s offer – the city, county, and state all kick in to build a new arena for Bennetts use, and pay all the bills, while he gets all the revenues, both during the NBA season and for all off-season events. It was an offer which he knew Seattle (or Renton, or Renton, or whatever) could not accept – so he announced they weren’t “working with him” and quickly left for Oklahoma.
Stern was complicit in all this. I caan’t wait for him to retire in 2014.
I believe Stern filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of the NHL commissioner in his fight to keep the Phoenix Coyotes. The founder of Research in Motion has this crazy idea that Hockey will work in Canada, and the Coyotes were his most recent attempt. The NHL commissioner seems the future of the league is in the American South and Southwest, even though Atlanta cannot keep a team. The Flames are now the Calgary Flames, and the Thrashers are now the new Winnipeg Jets, the old Jets, by the way, is the Coyotes. The RIM founder wanted to move the Coyotes to Hamilton,Ontario.
““stepped forward” to save the team. In Seattle, they claimed that wasn’t true.”
I was a season ticket holder and during the last years of the Starbucks guy there was a definite falloff of entertainment value for the buck. Anybody who went to the games knows that it was about more than just basketball, although many years they played some good ball. You might have Circ de Solei for half-time entertainment. It was fun, even during down years when they didn’t play so well. But towards the end of Shultz’s reign most of that went away along with Gary Payton. Some “Five Year Plan” that turned out to be. Then under Bennett they didn’t even try. A bad team on the floor with no other entertainment value. They wanted theyfan base to dwindle even more so Bennett and brainfucked twits could claim that Sonics fans didn’t “step forward”. No, we were tired of being screwed.
“this crazy idea that Hockey will work in Canada”
The country where they televise the Gordie “Mr. Hockey” Howe bio movie once a week is obviously no place to consider putting in another team.
@2 – absolutely! The NBA has a huge incentive to NOT to move a team to Seattle. As long as Hansen’s group is around, every owner looking for a new arena at public expense has the perfect foil. Why would any sane group of owners or David Stern ruin that arrangement by giving Seattle a team? They’re not stupid.
6) The Atlanta Thrashers moved relatively recently. Although one concern with Hamilton, is the potential of taking support from the Maple Leafs support. Then again, a new rivalry could start. The Hamilton CFL team has a good rivalry with the Toronto Argonauts. The Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, and still got a good following.
I guess one thing the NBA owners might be considering is that if they move the team from Sacramento, Sacramento would never again (anytime in the foreseeable future) qualify for an NBA expansion team. It just doesn’t have the economic pull or the media market to win out against other cities which would be vying vor the expansion team. But that seems a really crazy business model – keeping a team which is on the risk of economic failure, and passing on more credible ownership in a more viable city.
One of the questions left to be answered: If the Seattle investors back out (assuming the agreement is contingent upon a move), can the NBA force the exiting owners to sell to another ownership group? It’s pretty well known that Stern isn’t too happy with the existing owners and their high debt load and expensive lifestyle.
Seattle is now set up to play the patsy for spurring such deals over, and over, and over again, or at least until Hansen, Ballmer, et al get tired of the charade.
Which they won’t, so long as it works. And it will work for as long as Seattle has a vainglorious, frivolous political class which puts glitz ahead of substance. So long as our politicians remain willing to kowtow before wealthy and powerful interests, and ignore both the actual priorities a real city should have, and how the voters refused to pay the NBA’s extortion the last time around, we’ll get rich grifters working their cons around here. Even if we won’t ultimately be the ones scammed, someone else will, and our politicians will be morally culpable for the scams. (Not that they care, mind you; we don’t have those kinds of leaders here.)
The only contact Seattle should have with the NBA is a public trial of Darth Stern, Clayboy & the Redneck Mafia, and Howard the Schmuck for crimes against the city and citizens. Then after the defendants are found guilty, they should be condemned to a public execution – I would suggest a public stoning in Pioneer Square, preferably on a Sounders matchday, so the March to the Match can join in. And in a gesture of good faith to the good people of Sacramento, we should invite Kevin Johnson to cast the first stone.
FUCK THE NBA.
I’m not really a fan of NBA basketball. It’s been a long time since I’ve attended a game. (It was a game the sonics raised a conference championship banner to the rafters). But the entertainment factor of lights and music reminded me of pro-wrestling.
Seattle has great sport fans. The Sounders fans are great. Same with Seahawks. The Mariners might suffer from a more fair-weather fan base. Even though I find no interest in the product that the NBA offers, there is a loyal fan base. And they have been screwed by the NBA. Twice. If I were one of them, I’d seriously consider following a different sport.