1979 Watch Party

Buckley’s on Queen Anne is hosting a Game 5 watch party through 11 pm tonight.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2159884207382707/?ti=as

By Sixth Man on 06.01.19 12:30pm

Nice to see some content on SR again, thank you Brian!

Note: Cascadia SN has done a great job keeping us in the loop on all arena and hockey news during the Sonics Rising Hiatus, I know a number of writers here have been writing for them, so thank you all!

I am curious if you have more to elaborate on regarding "substantive new developments in 3-6 months…" The bullet point above that one discusses that the NBA will be a "no" on expansion right up until the point they are a "yes", are you expecting some developments from the NBA regarding expansion or relocation, or from the Bonderman Bruckheimer group and their intentions/plan to acquire a team, or both?

Obviously I am excited for the NHL team even though I’m not much of a hockey fan, but I am starving for some momentum regarding the Sonics, so I am extremely excited to hear some is coming sooner than later.

By itsanospreybich on 06.01.19 1:39pm

Thanks for replying!

I’m in the same boat as you are, trying to get excited about hockey, generally supportive of it but also at my heart I’m a hoops guy. I made a decision not to actively participate in CSN or the whatever NHL site SB Nation puts out because as much as I try I’m not there yet, my passion is the NBA.

Taking some time off here has been necessary just to provide some distance from the conflict and also to try to figure out what the right use of this forum is going forward. If we can contribute positively to the dialogue and outcome I want to be a part of it, if not we can close up shop and at least internally feel like we accomplished something helping a building get built.

One of the things I’ve been doing is looking through old articles and re-reading both my commentary and others to figure out where we were wrong, where we were right and how we can do better in the future. In that reading I caught very clearly that nobody likes "cryptic comments" from me It creates a tough balance because on one hand I want to push knowledge out to the fans. I think it’s important to fill the void and sooth some of the anger people feel over being so powerless for so long.

On the other hand the earlier we talk about things the less likelihood of being accurate, especially in matters of timing. There are lots of ideas and plans put forward that never come to fruition, get delayed or modified in some way from the original plan I heard rumblings about. Some of the things I think may happen I’ve been told directly about, but many are inferred or repeated by someone who heard it repeated by someone else so I have to consider the odds that it could be gossip or exaggeration.

As stated I don’t think the commissioners office is suddenly going to say "We’d love to expand to Seattle and are going to start answering questions about it whenever asked." Their official position will be murky and reserved right up until the point where they say "We’ve formally opened the expansion/relocation process." IMO at that point it’s a done deal, the announcement will mark the end of the courtship, not the beginning.

Some of the types of things I think you may see are a greater Seattle presence at games. Chris Hansen discussed a plan every year (that I would have loved to have reported but never materialized) to purchase courtside tickets for Sonics fans to attend nationally televised games. I could see OVG doing something similar, but likely with with larger stakeholders. The infrastructure of a real franchise gives them tons of options to have Tim or Tod Leiweke, the Ackerleys or Wrights, etc.in attendance. It would not surprise me at all to see any of those folks at games this season with Silver or other league officials in games or providing arena updates in a visible forum.

I also think you could see greater league presence in Seattle, ostensibly to monitor the building progress. When I met with the CEO of AEG he described a critical meeting with Commissioner Bettman that he said "sealed the deal" for Las Vegas expansion. Essentially he said that there was a moment during construction where you could see the whole vision coming all together. He described that the rushed to show the business community, got everybody really inspired and then brought in Commissioner Bettman to tour the space. He said that being in the building, touching the concrete and having Las Vegas civic leaders pointing excitedly and saying "You see this over there? This is what it is going to be!" generated an enthusiasm that didn’t exist when it was just a concept. So I could see something similar with Silver who, in a best case scenario could make positive comments regarding the building without addressing expansion directly.

Lastly I expect OVG to just take some significant steps to demonstrate their interest and put to bed rumors that they aren’t trying for hoops. I don’t think there is much desire to take Mr. Bondermans ongoing NBA efforts fully public I do think they will find opportunities to push back against the narrative that they aren’t prioritizing the NBA. The could take the form of forming a formal NBA exploratory committee of some kind, fighting for the right to have an NBA ticket drive or just greater interactivity with the fans.

I don’t expect them to do nothing. They’ve been busy to this point but made very clear that, as the situation settles down, the status quo with NBA fans is not going to be acceptable.

By Brian Robinson on 06.02.19 9:43am

Awesome info, as usual Brian

And congrats on the pending addition to your family!

Just pure speculation, but I could see Bonderman selling his units in the Celtics as one of those subtle actions. There is an unrelated good "tax play" that a savvy investor like him could easily do with highly appreciated units (Opportunity Zone investing) but the PR from the move would also show he’s serious about bringing a team to Seattle by freeing him up from the one factor that would otherwise prohibit his involvement in an NBA team here.

I would much prefer an expansion team, but i think we could also start to see the long-term situation with Memphis start to come into conversation. I believe the first possible "out" in the lease is after the 2020/2021 season, which would correspond with the arena opening. I know there are a number of contractual hurdles that would make any move harder to pull off, but starting in 2021, it’s a possibility. The biggest hurdle is one where Memphis locales are in full control — attendance/sales targets. "average paid attendance" of 14,900; sales of the largest 64 suites; and club seat season-ticket sales of 2,500. If any of those are not hit next year (2019/2020 season), it would open that 2021/2022 window for possible relocation. So, this time next year we’ll probably know whether or not the team will have the ability to relocate if the owners want to sell or if the option is dead in the water. The other contractual provisions are not likely to be as much of a hindrance with the valuation gap between the "rich" and "poor" franchises getting wider than ever before. For example, the $63m fee to break the lease in 2021 would have been an enormous and likely prohibitive number 15 years ago. Now it’s a drop in the bucket and likely a number the acquiring group would factor into their bid. On the same token, the lease provides Memphis the right to spend 3.5 months after an offer is "accepted" to find a local buyer under the same terms. I just don’t think you’ll find someone in Memphis who is willing to pay $500m – $800m more than the market to keep the team in town. I’m obviously assuming the Seattle buyer would be looking at an offer in the neighborhood of $1.7b – $2.0b, which seems to be in-line with what the team could be worth in a "top 10" NBA city.

Now, the biggest hurdle is whether or not Robert Para wants to sell the team (and/or move it) and whether the NBA would permit that move. Those will remain big unknowns. However, it will either become a topic of conversation next summer or that conversation will be further delayed if Memphis hits those targets on tickets and sales.

By BBS117 on 06.02.19 10:57pm

Sonicsrosing lives! <img src="//fonts.voxmedia.com/emoji/unicode/1f60a.png" alt=":blush:" class="emoji">

Thanks Brian! Great to hear from you. I was afraid this site may have been a ghost town. All of your points about why things have been quiet around here make total sense. Your sequential hypotheses about "inevitability" make a lot of sense. Glad many got to celebrate today. It’s a way to keep the torch burning a bit. Thanks!

By 206er on 06.01.19 9:16pm

It may still be a ghost town

We’ve reinvented a bunch of times now and know that it’s possible. If positive momentum develops any of the stakeholders have the ability to bring it back to life if and when it can contribute.

For the record that option is open to all parties. I’ve always offered Sodo the opportunity to nominate or refer an author to make their case here and they have so far declined to take me up on it.

If it’s meant to be it will come back again. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the next series of articles and whether anyone reads them or not I hope that they are informative. If nothing else perhaps I’ll be able to look back 4 years from now and say "told ya that was going to happen :)". Also I’ve been working on a series of articles just interviewing Sonics fans and getting more info on how it’s been for them. If anyone from this site wants to get together sometime and contribute to that shoot me a message and lets get together.

Of course I also have another baby due…so there’s a real possibility that none of it happens

By Brian Robinson on 06.02.19 9:48am

Serious about NBA

There’s 2 symbolic things they can do to show they are serious:

1. Make green part of the color scheme of the new arena, including seats
2. Have the Sonics banners hanging in the rafters when it opens.

By seafan12 on 06.02.19 10:21am

They gotta...

Put the banners up!

By mooch206 on 06.02.19 8:18pm

That's a terrific idea

Can they do that?? I guess ultimately it’s up to Clayton and his gang in the dust bowl. They own all that and loan it to the city, right? Would be cool to have green as an inextricable part of the design for the Sonics and Mentropolitans. (Too bad green and blue are non-starters for colors because of the Canucks).

By 206er on 06.04.19 8:15pm

He's not going to say no to a fellow NBA owner in giving Seattle back control of their history if NBA gives us a team back

NBA would never allow Bennett to do that.

By gstommylee on 06.04.19 9:01pm

I thought seafan was talking about

hanging the banners as an homage to the Sonics BEFORE the NBA team was granted. Yo, Seafan, is that what you meant? It would make a pretty a pretty bold statement. I’m all for it. I think they’re just sitting over in MOHAI.

By 206er on 06.04.19 9:24pm

Oh i miss read then

My apologizes.

By gstommylee on 06.04.19 10:12pm

Yes

that’s what I meant. They should be hanging when the arena opens.

By seafan12 on 06.07.19 7:23am

That's rad

At least the 1979 one. Would be a great embellishment to a corner of the arena. Do until clay clay makes you take it down

By 206er on 06.07.19 11:21pm

The banner idea is a good one

I could totally see them "reaching agreement" with Clay Bennet or the league on use of the banners here locally as part of their efforts to establish legitimacy.

There is a joint use agreement in place that allows the banners to be displayed at Mohai but there is no reason that the agreement could not be amended for additional display in other areas. In fairness to those who shall not be named in OKC I’ve reached out several times regarding use of historical memorabilia and always gotten receptive and open responses. Very similar to the preseason game I think it just takes someone with juice and relationships to make it happen.

By Brian Robinson on 06.05.19 1:23pm

The name Sonics is also likely negotiable

One big sticking point to the 2012 deal was that Chris Hansens MOU required the team to be named the Sonics but there was never any indication of whether OKC would engage in negotiations to allow use of that name or if so how much he would charge for it. It was kind of an assumption that "he wouldn’t block the whole thing over the name, would he?"

There are some interpretations of the settlement agreement that would indicate that a Seattle team awarded to play in a renovated KeyArena is ENTITLED to the name, despite other portions of the contract not being enacted but most people think that because the renovation did not occur in time the contract is void.

I’d love to see this ownership reach a deal in principal to guarantee them the Sonics name if a franchise is ever awarded and license the use of name and colors until then. It would allow them use of the SuperSonics.com website and a whole bunch of other cool things.

Thats the kind of move you can only do if you have relationships with the league.

By Brian Robinson on 06.05.19 1:29pm

Can you imagine the backlash.....

If Seattle does get an expansion team & the OKC franchise did not approve the name of the Sonics return to Seattle!! Plus I do believe Adam Silver would make sure that happened. The Thunder aren’t even using that name & their fans don’t acknowledge the Sonics history in Seattle. Also in their arena they have a banner that says Established 08 not 67. Dang Greg Nickels allowing the Sonics name, colors and history having a shared history with OKC.

By WoodLandSonic40316 on 06.05.19 5:31pm

no clue about the deets

but i doubt the "backlash" would extend beyond the 360, maybe 509, area codes. I think the oklahoma team would allow the prospective seattle owners the use of all of that stuff because they’ve got they’re own thing going but I wouldn’t imagine a huge uproar would be influential. That’s all probably minimum 3 or 4 years away anyway.

By 206er on 06.07.19 11:31pm

Honestly i doubt the Bennett would do that especially against a fellow owner.

Bennnet will do what the NBA wishes to.

By gstommylee on 06.15.19 7:06am

I may be wrong

But I have a feeling an NBA club would have to be here to hang those banners in the rafters.I believe that’s part of why they were no longer hanging in KeyArena once the team went to Oklahoma City.

By Matt Tucker on 06.04.19 12:55pm

yeah, they're in MOHAI

He let the museum borrow the trophy and banner. I like the idea of hanging the banner in the corner of the arena until our friend from oklahoma demands for it to come done. I like your style seafan12!

By 206er on 06.07.19 11:24pm