Bye Bye Sonics

[irvman21]

These are the same geniuses that prevented me from get clam chowder while going over to Bremerton because shutting down the food service on the Ferry system for over a year made more sense to them than negotiating a reasonable contract. Also, the whole making gambling on the internet a felony thing.

[Dids]

irvman,

You're confusing king county/the city of Seattle with the state of washington, which is a really bad idea.

I don't know how I feel about this. I don't feel like the city has an obligation to fund an arena, but clearly a professional sports team is a value add to the city, and at least something of an economic benefit.

However, for all his bitching, Schultz sold the team for 100M more than what he bought it for, and I don't buy for a second that he really lost 60M over the course of owning the team. Almost every owner who bitches about operating at a lost ignores how much these teams gain value over time.

I would hope that everybody would just work together. It doesn't help that our city council has a few idiot reactionaries, and that previous history here has set people so steadfastly against any funding for our stadiums.

I still wager they won't leave, mostly because I think the team in NO will end up in Ok City before the Supes do. Also, I'm not that broken up if they leave, because we're a top 10 media market and Stern will try and get a new team in here PDQ.

[WayAbvPar]

There is plenty of blame to go around here. The Schultz ownership group were overly optimistic and naive, and then totally crapped the bed by bitching incessantly in public. The local government has been peevish and unwilling to lift a finger for the most part.

The biggest culprit? The NBA. Their game is [censored] boring, and their business model totally unworkable. I thought I heard this morning that only like 20% of the franchises in the NBA operate in the black? I am too lazy to check it out, but that wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Who loses? The fans, just like always. I remember listening to Sonic games with my dad in the car when Bob Blackburn was broadcasting. I remember watching them lose a playoff game to Phoenix when Gar Heard hit a fallaway at the buzzer (I was distraught, but the Sonics came back to win the series). I remember being heartbroken when they lost to the Bullets in '78, and then overjoyed when they won it all in '79. I was only 9- I ran outside as soon as the game was over, fully expecting that the entire area would be screaming and yelling in celebration. I didn't yet understand that EVERYONE doesn't watch sports (something I still don't fully understand).

I will cry when the moving trucks come. I may not be an NBA fan, but I have loved the Sonics for as long as I can remember. Once they are gone, I will never watch another NBA game.

[ThaSaltCracka]

The NBA is clearly the most at blame. I started a thread a few months ago where I said Stern is the worst commish in sports and I completely believe it. The NBA will continue to survive based on the individual talent in the league, but its run is over. I don't think we will ever see the NBA return to its glory days.

[Dids]

I think faulting the NBA is slightly missing the boat.

If you are to believe what folks say, if the Sonics had sold out every game, they'd still be losing money because of the terms of the lease (IIRC they generate no revenue from concessions and other revenue streams that teams typically benefit from in their arenas) and the lack of box seats.

The fact that there isn't massive fan demand to keep the Sonics in down may be attributed to a lack of interest in the NBA. However, I tend to think that Seattle is just a town that's pretty front running, and even if the overall quality of the NBA was high, the Sonics aren't going to generate much support given that they've been mediocre for most of the past 5 years.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
If you are to believe what folks say, if the Sonics had sold out every game, they'd still be losing money because of the terms of the lease

[/ QUOTE ] I am not buying this.

[irvman21]

[ QUOTE ]
The NBA is clearly the most at blame. I started a thread a few months ago where I said Stern is the worst commish in sports and I completely believe it. The NBA will continue to survive based on the individual talent in the league, but its run is over. I don't think we will ever see the NBA return to its glory days.

[/ QUOTE ]

The NBA as a whole set records for attendance and profitability this year, despite the fact that the quality of the league is down. The leauge's outlook is brighter now than it has been since Jordan left. I despise Stern for the way he sacrifices quality for revenue and for ignoring the worst officiating in all of sports (except the judges in the Roy Jones Jr Olympic fight in Korea), but I don't see how he factors in negatively with this situation.

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
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Btw...Would you support a tax deal that put taxpayers funds to help expand Microsofts campus? How about Starbucks? Boeing

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C'mon Bernie, tax cuts are routinely given for things like this. It's just not as highly publicized. When GM decides to open a new car plant, guess what the determining factor is in the final location? That's right, whichever state/city/municipality gives them the sweetest deal.

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True.

But what if GM, after being in their location for a couple years, now wants to now upgrade the facility with taxpayer dollars? Would people want to pay for that?

b

[bernie]

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I'm actually glad Nickels, who I'm not a fan of by any stretch, nixxed the sonics proposal.

[/ QUOTE ] He shouldn't be applauded for making a decision any other mayor would have done. Instead he should be criticized for not finding a solution that would work for both sides.



[/ QUOTE ]

Many mayors would've, and have in seattle, caved in and gave the sonics what they wanted.


[ QUOTE ]
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Btw...Would you support a tax deal that put taxpayers funds to help expand Microsofts campus? How about Starbucks? Boeing?

[/ QUOTE ] I would support Tax cuts for MS and Boeing, but definitely not for a "retail" store like Starbucks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Imo, sports teams are just like private 'retail' stores.

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It will certainly be a huge hit to downtown Seattle, especially right around that arena.

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Not if the Trailblazers move up here. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I still don't think it will be that huge an impact.

b

[Dids]

[ QUOTE ]
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If you are to believe what folks say, if the Sonics had sold out every game, they'd still be losing money because of the terms of the lease

[/ QUOTE ] I am not buying this.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't buy that they'd be losing money, but I do by that they wouldn't be making enough to be happy.