Sonics to Split?
Tomorrow, April 5, the Basketball Club of Seattle, a group of 58 Sonics investors headed by Howard Schultz, will meet to discuss … well, nobody knows, exactly, but the rumor is that the Sonics are up for sale. Starbucks CEO Schultz has already claimed that the Sonics have been offered a “blank check” to move to an unnamed city; Oklahoma City, Las Vegas, Kansas City, MO and Bellevue are among the reputed contenders.
The Sonics, Seattle’s oldest pro-sports franchise, have threatened to move because the city and state have refused to provide a new $200 million-plus tax subsidy to upgrade KeyArena. (The last upgrade, just 10 years ago, set taxpayers back $76 million, and the city continues to pay $2.6 million a year toward retiring those construction costs). Already, city and state lawmakers are looking at ways to upgrade KeyArena and keep Seattle Center afloat without a pro-basketball franchise; yesterday, city council president Nick Licata met with state House Speaker Frank Chopp to discuss ways to pay off the remaining debt on KeyArena and provide funding for the arts. “The discussion we had was not contingent on the Sonics remaining in Seattle,” Licata says.
The City of Seattle should have included a "Put up Or Shut Up" clause in their last dealings with the Sonics.
Put a winning team on the floor and the money will flow. Keep putting a mediocre team with a lackluster management and the fans will stay away.
It's pretty simple, really.