JimBob
07-02-2008, 08:33 PM
Sonics coming to Oklahoma
By The Associated Press
7/2/2008 4:43 PM
Last Modified: 7/2/2008 7:48 PM
SEATTLE -- SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett could end up paying $75 million to move his NBA franchise to Oklahoma City this year, and he won't be taking the team's name or colors with him.
Bennett agreed to settle a lawsuit with the city of Seattle, bringing an end to a contentious relationship that resulted in a trial in which the judge had been due to issue her ruling Wednesday.
"We made it," Bennett said after stepping to a podium featuring the league's logo and the letters OKC. "The NBA will be in Oklahoma City next season."
Bennett said the move would start Thursday and the first focus would be on the SuperSonics' players.
Bennett announced that the settlement calls for a payment of $45 million immediately, and would include another $30 million paid to Seattle in 2013 unless the state Legislature in Washington authorizes at least $75 million in public funding to renovate KeyArena by the end of 2009 or Seattle obtains an NBA franchise of its own within the next five years.
"We believe this is a fair and appropriate resolution to the litigation involving the Sonics and the City of Seattle," Bennett said. "We are pleased that the uncertainty is lifted for our players, staff and Oklahoma City fans who can now make plans for the immediate future."
Bennett said he and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels signed a binding agreement Wednesday, which would be formalized later, that keeps the SuperSonics' name, logo and colors available if Seattle gets a replacement franchise.
"I was always amenable, as part of a negotiation process, to reserving the name for Seattle fans. I feel it's appropriate and we wish Sonics fans and the City good luck in their efforts to develop a modern NBA arena and return pro basketball to Seattle in the future," Bennett said.
The settlement came six days after the trial concluded, and allows the NBA franchise to head to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season. In April, the NBA Board of Governors approved Bennett's application to move the team to Oklahoma City, pending the outcome of the trial between the team and the city.
It does not cover a pending lawsuit filed by Starbucks Corp. chairman Howard Schultz, who is seeking to regain control of the team he sold to Bennett in 2006. Schultz claims that Bennett did not follow through on an agreement to negotiate in good faith for a new arena in Seattle for one full year before seeking relocation options.
The trial was centered on the lease agreement between the city and the team that called for the Sonics to play at KeyArena through the 2009-10 season.
Sonics lead attorney Brad Keller contended that Bennett should simply be able to write a check to satisfy the final two years of the lease. Keller argued that the "specific performance" clause the city rested its case on should not apply in a garden-variety dispute between tenant and landlord.
During the trial, the Sonics also made much of what they called underhanded tactics designed to drain Bennett financially and keep the team in Seattle.
Bennett and his ownership group, the Oklahoma City-based Professionally Basketball Club LLC, previously offered to pay the city $26.5 million in February to buy out the final two years of the lease. They were rebuffed, and now could end up paying nearly three times that much.
By The Associated Press
7/2/2008 4:43 PM
Last Modified: 7/2/2008 7:48 PM
SEATTLE -- SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett could end up paying $75 million to move his NBA franchise to Oklahoma City this year, and he won't be taking the team's name or colors with him.
Bennett agreed to settle a lawsuit with the city of Seattle, bringing an end to a contentious relationship that resulted in a trial in which the judge had been due to issue her ruling Wednesday.
"We made it," Bennett said after stepping to a podium featuring the league's logo and the letters OKC. "The NBA will be in Oklahoma City next season."
Bennett said the move would start Thursday and the first focus would be on the SuperSonics' players.
Bennett announced that the settlement calls for a payment of $45 million immediately, and would include another $30 million paid to Seattle in 2013 unless the state Legislature in Washington authorizes at least $75 million in public funding to renovate KeyArena by the end of 2009 or Seattle obtains an NBA franchise of its own within the next five years.
"We believe this is a fair and appropriate resolution to the litigation involving the Sonics and the City of Seattle," Bennett said. "We are pleased that the uncertainty is lifted for our players, staff and Oklahoma City fans who can now make plans for the immediate future."
Bennett said he and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels signed a binding agreement Wednesday, which would be formalized later, that keeps the SuperSonics' name, logo and colors available if Seattle gets a replacement franchise.
"I was always amenable, as part of a negotiation process, to reserving the name for Seattle fans. I feel it's appropriate and we wish Sonics fans and the City good luck in their efforts to develop a modern NBA arena and return pro basketball to Seattle in the future," Bennett said.
The settlement came six days after the trial concluded, and allows the NBA franchise to head to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season. In April, the NBA Board of Governors approved Bennett's application to move the team to Oklahoma City, pending the outcome of the trial between the team and the city.
It does not cover a pending lawsuit filed by Starbucks Corp. chairman Howard Schultz, who is seeking to regain control of the team he sold to Bennett in 2006. Schultz claims that Bennett did not follow through on an agreement to negotiate in good faith for a new arena in Seattle for one full year before seeking relocation options.
The trial was centered on the lease agreement between the city and the team that called for the Sonics to play at KeyArena through the 2009-10 season.
Sonics lead attorney Brad Keller contended that Bennett should simply be able to write a check to satisfy the final two years of the lease. Keller argued that the "specific performance" clause the city rested its case on should not apply in a garden-variety dispute between tenant and landlord.
During the trial, the Sonics also made much of what they called underhanded tactics designed to drain Bennett financially and keep the team in Seattle.
Bennett and his ownership group, the Oklahoma City-based Professionally Basketball Club LLC, previously offered to pay the city $26.5 million in February to buy out the final two years of the lease. They were rebuffed, and now could end up paying nearly three times that much.