Sonics Arena team declares "It's Game Time"

If you're visiting this site, it's for one reason: You want the Seattle SuperSonics back in the NBA. And unless you're new here (and even then, I mean... c'mon), you know that the biggest hurdle standing in the way of that dream is the construction of a new arena. And then, of course, you know that the biggest hurdle standing in the way of that dream is the vacation of a one-block strip of Occidental Ave between Massachusetts St and Holgate St. So, by the transitive property, if you're visiting this site, it means you want Occidental vacated. You're probably asking yourself, "self, what can I do to help get this street vacated?" Well, by now I'm sure you've RSVP'ed to the March 15th public meeting and will be there in your new "Make Seattle Super Again" t-shirt. But what else can you do? Well, the Sonics Arena team has you covered.

This morning, the group released a petition on SonicsArena.com, asking the Seattle City Council for the vacation in order to build a 20,000 seat arena for the NBA, NHL, and other events. From the site:

​Sonics Fans,

It's time to remind our elected officials how much support there is to BRING BACK OUR SONICS.

Throughout this long review process we’ve been driven by your passion for returning the NBA and NHL to Seattle. Now we’re asking you to once again show the Seattle City Council just how passionate you are.

The City Council will soon vote on whether to approve a "street vacation" for a section of Occidental Avenue South between S. Holgate Street and S. Massachusetts Street (see map below). This vote is a common procedure for when a publicly owned street is turned over for private use because a project — in this case, the Arena — has a public benefit. In fact, the Seattle Mariners received a similar street vacation before building Safeco Field.

To show your support for the arena, please sign our petition urging the City Council to approve the street vacation. This is an important step, since it will make the Arena "shovel-ready" and send a strong message that our city is ready to welcome back the NBA and NHL.

One more thing: If you can make it, come down to City Hall on Tuesday, March 15 at 5:30 pm to show the City Council how much support there is to bring the NBA and NHL to Seattle!

– The Sonics Arena Team

If the past is any indication, the numbers should be good. The last time Chris Hansen asked people to sign up for something, he received 44,877 requests for season tickets. "In addition to significantly exceeding our expectations, you all have sent a very clear message that all Sonic fans know in their hearts… that Seattle has and always will be a GREAT basketball city," Hansen wrote at the time. If the numbers are similar this time around, the City Council will know where the people stand, and that's firmly in the camp that wants the Sonics back. Game time.