its one thing if a smaller arena that is design to work as a smaller venue. Its another if its suppose to be the major venue in the city. Key arena is our major arena venue and its crap. Again OVG is lucky they figure out how to fix it up and make it into a functional modern state of the art arena while dealing with restrictions which is what it should been 23 years. If we had a competent owner that actually cares about the city and the fan-base, the late Barry Acklery didn't give a damn about anything else but himself and didn't want to share the arena with anything else. His ignorance cost us our NBA team by making it too small.
NHL to Seattle Volume XVI - It's Official. Seattle to join the league for 21-22 season.
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its one thing if a smaller arena that is design to work as a smaller venue. Its another if its suppose to be the major venue in the city. Key arena is our major arena venue and its crap. Again OVG is lucky they figure out how to fix it up and make it into a functional modern state of the art arena while dealing with restrictions which is what it should been 23 years. If we had a competent owner that actually cares about the city and the fan-base, the late Barry Acklery didn't give a damn about anything else but himself and didn't want to share the arena with anything else. His ignorance cost us our NBA team by making it too small.
@CHRDANHUTCH
Seattle is complicated and much can be traced backed to Barry Ackerley.
Key Arena is considered a landmark in Seattle along with the Space Needle for the 1962 World's Fair. The renovation of Key Arena was botched badly back in 1995 and the Sonics demanded that the arena would not be compatible for a NHL team.
I can't explain why Howard Schultz decided to sell the team to people in OKC and David Stern just looked the other way unlike Sacramento that he decided was worth saving.
My understanding is this renovation will mean the signature roof stays intact but everything below will be gutted.
Seattle is complicated and much can be traced backed to Barry Ackerley.
Key Arena is considered a landmark in Seattle along with the Space Needle for the 1962 World's Fair. The renovation of Key Arena was botched badly back in 1995 and the Sonics demanded that the arena would not be compatible for a NHL team.
I can't explain why Howard Schultz decided to sell the team to people in OKC and David Stern just looked the other way unlike Sacramento that he decided was worth saving.
My understanding is this renovation will mean the signature roof stays intact but everything below will be gutted.
@CHRDANHUTCH
Seattle is complicated and much can be traced backed to Barry Ackerley.
Key Arena is considered a landmark in Seattle along with the Space Needle for the 1962 World's Fair. The renovation of Key Arena was botched badly back in 1995 and the Sonics demanded that the arena would not be compatible for a NHL team.
I can't explain why Howard Schultz decided to sell the team to people in OKC and David Stern just looked the other way unlike Sacramento that he decided was worth saving.
My understanding is this renovation will mean the signature roof stays intact but everything below will be gutted.
My understanding was there was no one else "willing" to keep team in Seattle. He sold to to bennent on a "promise" to keep the team there. Bennett lied. He intentionally lied. And intentionally made it impossible to get an arena built in Seattle. David Stern is implicated in this issue. He allowed the team to move based on a lie.
City of Seattle former mayor at the time instead of enforcing the lease, decided to give up the team just to get the debt repaid.
The whole moving of the sonics was why Stern intentionally and illegally (IMO) intervened with the sale of the Kings to Hansen and forced the Maloofs to sell only to a group that will keep them there. Only cause he didn't want to have another Sonics relocating issue as he was on his way to retiring from being commissioner of the NBA. He wanted his legacy.
@Fenway I get that but I disagree in the respect to Seattle pursuing what is now happening, to say that Seattle couldn't have at least tried in the last decade to pursue what they currently are in that process of achieving....@CHRDANHUTCH
Seattle is complicated and much can be traced backed to Barry Ackerley.
Key Arena is considered a landmark in Seattle along with the Space Needle for the 1962 World's Fair. The renovation of Key Arena was botched badly back in 1995 and the Sonics demanded that the arena would not be compatible for a NHL team.
I can't explain why Howard Schultz decided to sell the team to people in OKC and David Stern just looked the other way unlike Sacramento that he decided was worth saving.
My understanding is this renovation will mean the signature roof stays intact but everything below will be gutted.
5
to simply say KASC renovation was botched in 1995 also lies solely on the County that approved that then, not just the a blanket statement stating that fact, which goes back to thread I
THEN WHY, TOMMY WAS OKC ready for pro basketball, whether it was Bennett or anyone else, OKC had shown they were ready to go, the same could've been stated about Charlotte's 1st Hornets franchise who elected to go to New Orleans
As an outsider, I will simply say that Seattle has a complicated and entrenched political system. Just look at the saga involving the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct into a tunnel and public transit there is a mess. Officials there did agree that the Kingdome was a disaster and they made things right for the Mariners and Seahawks but they refused to address the Sonics concerns.
It has nothing to do with OKC being ready or not. Bennett wanted a team and wanted a team in OKC and David Stern helped his buddy get that team to OKC.
KevFu
Registered User
Are those two things related? OKC being "ready" for NBA basketball has nothing to do with Seattle. I mean, Kansas City and Quebec are "ready" for NBA/NHL teams venue wise... it would still be really devious to let an NHL/NBA team be sold to a "local owner who promises to keep the team in the current market" and then turns around and bails for KC/Quebec without making any real effort.
The NHL has made new owners sign 7-year no relocation agreements as part of some team purchases (Carolina most recently).
Yet, everyone knew from day one that Bennett was moving to OKC as soon as he possibly could. There was piles of email proof.
Plus they could carve out a RSN for the Oklahoma region that while less than Seattle was still healthy.
I never saw an event at the Kingdome but I remember sitting next to the late Larry Whiteside of the Boston Globe watching a game at Stade Olympique in Montreal and saying to him this has to be the worst baseball park ever. His reply was "Never been to the Kingdome I take it".
KevFu
Registered User
I’m unsure what you’re arguing and why. It’s been categorically proven as fact — in a court of law, no less — that Clay Bennett bought the Sonics with the intent to move the team to OKC as soon as humanly possible.
- He bought the team on October 24, 2006 (with a clause of ”use good faith best efforts” to get a new lease or arena in Seattle, for a term of 12 months).
- In April of 2007, he asked NBA executive Joel Livitin if there was any way to move the team to Oklahoma City next season, rather than have a lame duck season in Seattle.
- In September 21, 2007, he applied for arbitration on the issue of whether the team could break its lease.
That’s not “good faith best efforts to stay” for 12 months. That’s not even six months.
He made one attempt to stay in Seattle: asking for $500 million arena that would cost the taxpayers $1.1 billion to be built for him, when the last NBA arena (built a year earlier) cost $260 million, and the Arena he moved to cost less than $90 million to build.
If Gary Bettman let Tilman Fertitta buy the Flames, made one demand for a $2 billion arena and then announce the team was moving to Houston 11 months later… what would happen to a poster here who defended those actions?
David Stern was appalled when officials in Seattle, King County and Washington State rebuffed what he considered to be appropriate demands.
Right now Seattle is by far the largest market without a winter sports team.
KevFu
Registered User
The Sonics deserved a $500 million dollar arena. Seattle wouldn't build it, so he let them move to an $89 million dollar arena?
It’s absolutely inconceivable that Stern didn’t know the Sonics were bound for OKC as soon as possible.
Here’s some snippets from the New York Times’ 2005 article about the Hornets playing in OKC after Katrina:
- “When David Stern mentioned Oklahoma City to me…” the Hornets' owner, George Shinn
- Stern directed him to this metropolitan area of 1.13 million people. Five major local companies were ready as investors, led by the city's premier businessman, Clay Bennett…
- From 1993 to 1998, (Bennett’s wife's family) was a part-owner of the San Antonio Spurs, and he sat on the board of directors.
- Bennett also led Oklahoma City's unsuccessful bid for an N.H.L. expansion team.
- "I would be surprised if we go through this and somehow don't have a team." (Bennett Quote).
Welcome to Oklahoma. Please Stay Awhile.
In November of 2005, Stern said OKC was the top choice for the next NBA market, but expansion wasn't likely. They'd be top of the list for relocation.
Then Stern approved an ownership group of Bennett and minority owners, all of whom were OKC investors, to buy the Sonics (despite a bigger offer).
The minority owners of the Sonics were the co-founders of Chesapeake Energy. Not specifically mentioned by the NYT article among the local companies, but they’re the second-biggest OKC company. Who’s name is on the arena now? Chesapeake Energy.
One of the co-founders and minority owners gave a quote to an OKC paper: "We didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here.” Here being OKC. Before the year of “good faith best efforts” to keep the team in Seattle was up.
Like I said, this would be like Bettman saying "Tillman Fretitta is buying the Flames to keep them in Calgary."
Centrum Hockey
Registered User
- Aug 2, 2018
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Stern and the league office have admitted they regretted treating Vancouver the way they did but they have Never expressed similar feelings about Seattle
Stern regrets Vancouver expansion - Sportsnet.ca
Seattle media enraged by NBA commissioner David Stern's OKC comment
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superdeluxe
NAFO
So basically the NBA still does not want Key Arena which means a second arena if Seattle wants the Sonics back. Let's say another arena comes together and the NBA returns. What happens then? The NBA arena will have the premier tenant and wont have the transportation issues. Think Key Arena will compete with non hockey events? Not likely.
Either way, Key Arena will not bring an NBA team back. If one does the city will lose big time.
DougieMellon
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- Sep 4, 2018
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brewski420
Registered User
Everything you are saying has no basis in fact. Who says Key won't bring back the NBA? Certainly not OVG. And they are this close to bringing the NHL to Key. Five years ago I said no way to that!! Two years ago even!!
The city has already won imo.
Btw thats 100% bogus by what ESPN person has said. Tim Leiweke made comments about it and said it was bogus. We already have an ownership group ready for that NBA team. David Bonderman who is our NHL majority guy wants the NBA team for Seattle. Key arena under the renovations will not be a problem. The NBA has to sign off on it before construction has started.
Please don't be continue to spread incorrect information.
superdeluxe
NAFO
Thanks for your input, do you have any receipts besides Brian Windhorst and his 'source' ?
Until there is a commitment from the NBA one cannot say that an opinion or speculation is fact or that this is bogus. One can certainly say however that sharing Key arena does not appear to be in the NBAs interest.
BKIslandersFan
F*** off
Why? It seems like it’s better option than spending billions of own money to build a separate one, especially considering they will have to split the concerts and events with NHL arena. Which then makes the project even less appealing I reckon.
Again you are speculating based on bogus comments by the ESPN person. He intentionally ignored 2 factors 1) NBA must sign off the arena before construction 2) we have a NBA minority owner of the Boston Celtics as our main NHL guy that went on the record saying he will sell his shares of the Celtics to own the NBA Seattle team. 3) No one in the right mind would spend another 700 to a billion on building another arena in Seattle or in the region on top of paying for the expansion fee for the team itself.
So please stop claiming that the NBA has no interest in the renovated key arena. They don't care where its at as long as a building happens that meets their specs which it will.
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