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Pastimes : NNBM - SI Branch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mannie who wrote (72136)	7/1/2008 11:23:39 AM
From: altair19	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 104154

Mannie, <there were several million less motos on the street, that's for sure!> Yup, cigarette smoke and diesel. Altair19

To: Mannie who wrote (72136)	7/3/2008 12:37:06 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 104154

NBA's Sonics Can Leave Seattle for Oklahoma City (Update1) By Erik Matuszewski July 2 (Bloomberg) -- The SuperSonics will relocate to Oklahoma City in time for the 2008-09 season after owners of the National Basketball Association franchise agreed to pay up to $75 million to Seattle to tear up its stadium lease. Under the settlement, Sonics owner Clay Bennett will pay $45 million to the city immediately, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said at a news conference today. He'll make another $30 million payment in 2013 if the Washington State Legislature passes funding to renovate the 46-year-old KeyArena and Seattle doesn't get another NBA franchise to replace the Sonics. ``I don't feel victorious,'' Bennett said at a news conference in Oklahoma City. ``I'm pleased that there's certainty. I'm pleased that what's behind us is behind us and I'm thinking a lot about all the work that we've got to do.'' Real estate and investment manager Bennett said in November that his ownership group planned to move the Sonics because of a lack of support from the public, government and business for a new home to replace KeyArena, where the Sonics have played since their inception in 1967. Seattle will keep the Sonics name for a possible future team. Seattle is a ``first-class'' city capable of serving as home for another team, NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement. $300 Million Remodel City, county and state officials are discussing a plan to rebuild KeyArena for $300 million, Stern said, and will have to have public funding for the project in place by the end of 2009 for an NBA team to return to Seattle within five years. ``If this funding were authorized, we believe KeyArena could properly be renovated into a facility that meets NBA standards relating to revenue generation, fan amenities, team facilities and the like,'' Stern said. Although Seattle filed a lawsuit seeking to hold the Sonics to their lease, NBA owners in April voted 28-2 in favor of allowing the franchise to relocate to Oklahoma City. The team's lease is the worst in the NBA and the Sonics lose about $30 million a year, Stern has said. The city argued the Sonics had to remain in Seattle for the next two seasons. Bennett had previously offered to pay $26.5 million to get out of the lease. The settlement was reached hours before U.S. District Court judge Marsha Pechman was due to issue her ruling. Bad Blood If the city had won, ``all that would have gotten us was two years and we would have had a very bad relationship with the NBA,'' Nickels said. A group called the Seattle Center Investors, which is led by Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, is interested in having an NBA team in Seattle. Ballmer, Seattle property developer Matt Griffin, Costco Wholesale Corp. CEO Jim Sinegal and other local investors were involved in a proposal earlier this year to buy the Sonics and pay for half of KeyArena's renovation. The effort failed when the state legislature wouldn't authorize tax revenue. ``The NBA will keep SCI and the city informed if opportunities arise in the next five years for franchise sale, relocation and/or expansion,'' Stern said. Today's settlement has no effect on a separate lawsuit filed by the former Sonics owner, Starbucks Corp. Chairman Howard Schultz, which is seeking to rescind the sale, city officials said. If Schultz wins that lawsuit, the settlement is voided, they said. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net Last Updated: July 2, 2008 21:46 EDT