Slog - Comments on Expropriate the Sonics

Comment by SeMe

SeMe — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:43:23 -0800

Im in! This team is going to be awesome. Theyre going to finish last this year, which means they pick high next year and can get that elusive big man.

Where is AG on this?

Comment by Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:54:22 -0800

fuck that. we dont NEED a basketball team or any sports for that matter.

Comment by elenchos

elenchos — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:56:09 -0800

Bullshit! When I said to buy the team the whole freaking Slog mocked me as some kind of naif! But now some big shot sports writer says it and suddenly it's cool?

You guys would, like, totally start drinking PBR if some trend setter told you it was hip to drink PBR.

Comment by Cale

Cale — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:57:51 -0800

can we use the proceeds to pay for decent mass transit?

Comment by Cale

Cale — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:01:33 -0800

elenchos-

apparently you haven't been to portland recently. pabst is already hip. that is, if you consider hipsters to be hip.

http://www.thebrewsite.com/2005/08/03/pbr_portland.php

Comment by seattle98104

seattle98104 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:02:41 -0800

No. No right minded Seattlite will do this. Really, how many Sonics fans are there? Two? Three maybe?

Shit, I ain't paying for this waste of a breath team playing the most boring sport ever.

Comment by Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:02:44 -0800

I still think the idea is stupid elenchos whether you suggested it or some sports writer did.

Comment by monkey

monkey — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:04:51 -0800

A group of Seattle investors already approached Bennett with that idea and he rejected it. He doesn't want to sell it. He doesn't want to keep it here. He bought the team for OK.

Comment by Poll Watcher

Poll Watcher — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:33:01 -0800

Monkey-
If the city or state declares eminent domain over the team - it doesn't matter whether or not Clay wants to sell.

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:34:40 -0800

That makes Portland officially the last place in the country to fall for the "PBR is hip!" notion that has previously destroyed the brains of the entire country.

I think the city should buy the Sonics and THEN move them to Tulsa, and make the players -- none over 5'8" -- wear long pants and collared shirts and those sneakers that light up when you take a step. Who's with me?

Comment by Timothy

Timothy — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:34:59 -0800

This is the only style of Pro Sports ownership that I think makes sense in the future of Pro Sports. It's the only thing that I think can combat the feeling that teams have no basis, anymore, in the town in which they exist.

I'd buy a small amount of stock in public-owned sports teams. Not city-owned, per se, but publicly owned.

Comment by lostboy

lostboy — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:38:29 -0800

When the Sonics go, the worse-than-usual rush hour on Sonics game nights will go with them.

If we want to claim some ownership, how about we tell the Mariners they owe the city an ownership stake for the way Safeco Field was financed.

Comment by elenchos

elenchos — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:46:13 -0800

Well, they -- all these teams -- do owe it to us. The city and the state. A state owned team could play some of it's home games on the road in different parts of Washington. People in Spokane and the tri cities have earned the right to see pro sports play in their towns every once in a while. A lot of good things would happen if the teams were run for the benefit of the people instead of their spoiled owners.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:01:28 -0800

Considering how many of us already put down deposits for Seasons Tickets to the Seattle GR Killers, who needs the Sonics?

It's footy for me, mate!

Besides, so long as we keep the Storm, the formerly named Sonics are OK! Go!

Comment by pgreyy

pgreyy — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:07:56 -0800

I'm waiting until the end of the Corporate Wars, when Rollerball becomes the national sport...and I can cheer on the Houston team and the best player of the game, Jonathon E...who makes me question the futility of my life and the inevitability of total corporate control.

JON-A-THON! JON-A-THON!

Comment by JMR

JMR — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:16:21 -0800

Municipalization means turning the Sonics into a public utility; call it a kind word for expropriation. Basketball fans should press the state of Washington to sue for the right to buy the team back from Clay and his cronies.

Maybe Seattle should have tried to buy Boeing, too.

Comment by JMR

JMR — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:21:26 -0800

The Sonics should get their new arena, but instead of the proceeds going to build another wing on Bennett Manor, the funds would go to rebuilding the city's health care and educational infrastructure.

Zirin assumes that the team is some sort of cash cow, but for many owners the big payoff is the appreciation of the team's value over time. The last ownership group was losing money year-over-year but got it back con gusto when they sold it to Clay.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:50:36 -0800

oh, the PI is doing an editorial on this in the weekend paper, by the way.

Ponzi schemes work that way too, JMR.

Comment by JMR

JMR — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:02:11 -0800

Ponzi schemes work that way too, JMR.

There's already a group of Seattle businessmen (including a former investor from the Schultz group) talking about buying it from Clay. Charles Ponzi would be proud.

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:17:08 -0800

You're forgetting another benefit of team ownership, one that wouldn't be available to the city: tax writeoff. Businesses that show accounting losses can be very useful. But cities don't pay taxes, so nothing to write off.

Comment by elenchos

elenchos — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:37:46 -0800

Has anyone ever added up the total economic drag on a city that goes through a hysterical effort to keep each of their pro teams ever 5 or 10 years?

Comment by unPC

unPC — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:24:47 -0800

If the gov't takes it by eminent domain the gov't has to pay fair market value for it. Leading to a huge tax increase. Not gonna happen.

Shouldn't happen till we take care of education, health, ped safety, e cars and transportation and few other more important things...

Comment by grumpypants

grumpypants — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:40:25 -0800

I've been making this argument too (and I'm not a sports fan) but no one seems to listen. The city should just buy the team. We fund them anyway- we pay for their phat new arenas and covered fields, we provide special event mass transit, we deal with traffic congestion, etc. Why do cities give so much free stuff to privately held enterprises? People identify with the team- it's "their" team. So let's make it their team for real. And then they won't leave or demand shiny new buildings they don't need.

Comment by ...

... — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:57:47 -0800

the sonics are the red headed stepchild in the Seattle sports family which is about to have another addition...a brand new baby Soccer team! There is no room for Sonic anymore...You will be adopted by Oklahoma city. Go Sounders (or whatever it will be named)

Comment by YAY THE SONICS ARE LEAVING!

YAY THE SONICS ARE LEAVING! — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:00:36 -0800

YAY! now I never have to turn on my tv and see your hideous yellow and green booger jerseys!

Comment by Sportsfan

Sportsfan — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 12:09:55 -0800

Will

Your beloved Storm and Seattle's MLS team will be playing duting the same time of year.

Of course the PC types never mention the the violece and hooliganism associated with world soccer that makes the NBA look tame by comparison.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:53:00 -0800

I promise to not provoke violence at both games.