Here come the moving vans.
After 41 years in Seattle, the Sonics are moving to Oklahoma City.
The City of Seattle settled its Key Arena lease dispute with the Sonics and its Oklahoma City ownership group led by Clay Bennett. The deal lets the Sonics out of the remaining 2 years of their arena lease for $45 million. The figure could reach as high as $70 million should Seattle fail to obtain another NBA franchise within the next 5 years.
I really don't have too much to say about the matter other than I feel sad for Sonics fans. I know what it's like to lose your team, my Raiders left us high and dry in Oakland back in 1982.
There still remains an outside chance the Sonics could come back to Seattle as former Sonics owner and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who sold the team to Bennett's group, has a pending lawsuit against Bennett claiming that he and the OKC ownership failed to make a "good faith" effort to build a new arena that was written into the sale of the Sonics by Schultz to Bennett. Bennett was unable to secure public financing to help build a new arena in the Puget Sound area during his nearly two-year ownership of the team.
Naturally, many Sonics fans think Bennett is Darth Vadar for moving the team to OKC. However, according to a recent poll (sorry, just overheard it on sports radio here this morning, so no link), Schultz is viewed as the real evil incarnate. And I agree with that.
Did Schultz, who sold the team to Bennett, honestly believe a group from OKC, which had been looking for a NBA franchise for years and was the temporary home of the New Orleans Hornets after Hurricane Katrina, really wanted to keep the Sonics in Seattle? That's laughable. Schultz knew damn well Bennett had no intention of ever keeping the Sonics in Seattle. And Schultz's "good faith" lawsuit has about as much chance of surviving as does a fart in a stiff wind.
Schultz, not Bennett, is the real asshat in all this.
So that's that. Seattle loses a beloved sports team, but gets a few bucks in return that will likely be blown on Mayor Greg Nickels' vacuous "green" programs.
I'm sorry Sonics fans. I really am.
