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Kings Staying Put (was Sonics coming back)

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KB

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Found this interesting with rumors of the Kings being up to re-location, wouldn't be surprised to hear about either the Bobcats, Hornets or Raptors as other teams that come up in the conversation also

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8365013/seattle-agrees-plan-build-new-nba-arena

Seattle agrees on arena deal
September 11, 2012, 5:02 PM ET

SEATTLE -- Efforts to bring the NBA back to Seattle took a giant step forward in a revised arena deal announced Tuesday, with investor Chris Hansen agreeing to kick in more money for transportation improvements near a proposed new arena, personally guaranteeing the city's debt -- and offering to buy everyone a beer.

The plan for the $490 million arena, which could also host an NHL team, represents the best shot at bringing the NBA back to Seattle. The SuperSonics ended their 41-year run here in 2008 and skipped town for Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder.


Though formal votes are still required, Tuesday's announcement effectively gave Hansen, a San Francisco hedge-fund manager, and his fellow investors, including Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Peter and Erik Nordstrom, of the department store clan, the green light to begin shopping for an NBA team.

The deal calls for $200 million in public financing to be paid back by arena-related taxes and rent. Under new terms announced by the City Council, Hansen would double to $30 million the reserves required to be kept on hand in case the arena's finances don't perform as expected.

Should the reserve run dry, Hansen would cover the balance himself. He agreed to be independently audited to assure that he's worth at least $300 million.

And at the end of the 30-year use agreement for the new arena, the city could force Hansen to buy it back for $200 million or make him pay to have it torn down should the team move on.


The three City Council members who announced the deal said the new terms mark a significant improvement for taxpayers over the original deal reached between Hansen and Mayor Mike McGinn in May. A council committee is expected to vote on the agreement Thursday, and the full council could vote as early as Monday. The King County Council already approved the earlier deal but would have to approve the changes as well.

"This agreement could fundamentally change the model of how public-private partnerships involving sports franchises are structured," said Councilman Tim Burgess.

Hansen, a Seattle native, early Facebook investor and big Sonics fan, said the talks were difficult, but that he was happy to be able to find common ground with the council. He thanked the fans who supported him through the process, and -- though not actually part of the deal -- he offered to buy a celebratory beer for anyone who shows up on Thursday evening at FX McRory's, a bar near the planned site of the arena.

The initial plan for the deal drew objections from the Port of Seattle, which expressed fears that putting a third sports facility in the neighborhood south of downtown -- next to the Seahawks and Mariners stadiums -- would choke crucial transportation corridors that support 30,000 jobs in the region and generate $3 billion in annual revenue.

The new agreement calls for $40 million to be put into an account to improve the mobility of freight in the area, an amount state Rep. Judy Clibborn described as a down payment that could be used to recruit further investments from the port and other organizations.

The port issued a statement Tuesday saying it would review the deal. The statement said the Port of Seattle Commission appreciates the council's efforts to revise the original proposal to respond to concerns.

The deal also includes $7 million in new money for KeyArena, where the Sonics used to play. The city would have sole discretion over spending that money.


Kris Brannon, a fan better known as "Sonics Guy," attended the news conference decked out entirely in Sonics yellow and green.

"I'm just overjoyed," he said. "Chris Hansen is just like us. He's a fan, and he wants to bring basketball back to Seattle."

---

Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattl

Wuck #247

Source: Kings sold to Sacramento group for $535 million

Ken Berger, CBS Sports
<time class="storyDate" pubdate="" datetime="2013-05-17T04:40:11Z">May 17, 2013 12:40 am ET

</time>CHICAGO -- David Stern's powers of persuasion and a closed path to Seattle resulted in the sale of the Kings on Thursday to a group that will keep them in Sacramento, a league source confirmed to CBSSports.com.

The franchise that only months ago seemed ticketed to Seattle was sold to the group led by software magnate Vivek Ranadive for $535 million, the source said. The agreement, signed by both sides, is subject to approval by the NBA's Board of Governors.


The franchise valuation increased by $10 million above the $525 signed offer from the group led by Ranadive that Stern mentioned on Wednesday after the league's Board of Governors meeting in Dallas. The league's owners voted 22-8 on Wednesday to reject relocation of the Kings to Seattle, effectively killing the Maloof family's agreement to sell the team to the Seattle-based group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer.


Approval of the sale, which requires three-fourths of the NBA's ownership representatives to pass, is expected to be swift and without incident. The purchase agreement is signed by both parties, the league source confirmed, which Stern indicated on Wednesday would represent all but a green light for the team's ownership to be transferred.


"If there is a signed document, we would in quick order convene by conference call the advisory finance committee, which has vetted, as far as you can go without a vote, the Ranadive group," Stern said.


The agreement between the Maloofs and the Ranadive group represents the final hurdle, pending league approval, in a three-year battle to keep the team in Sacramento. Mayor Kevin Johnson and city officials fended off an attempt by the Maloofs to move the team to Anaheim, then put together an ownership group and an arena deal to persuade NBA owners that the city remained capable of supporting the team.


The Hansen-Ballmer group initially agreed to buy 60 percent of the Kings from the Maloofs based on a franchise valuation of $525 million. It subsequently increased its offer to $625 million, with the difference between the two groups' offers essentially represented by the lack of a relocation fee with the team staying in Sacramento. Also, since the team is not moving, the new owners will not have to repay an estimated $76 million owed to the city of Sacramento.


In a last-ditch effort to be awarded the team, the Hansen group made what was characterized as a "backup deal" to buy 20 percent of the team from the Maloofs for $125 million and keep the team in Sacramento temporarily. But league sources told CBSSports.com that owners who'd already decided that relocation was not the preferred outcome saw through that deal and Stern dismissed it on Wednesday as a non-factor in the discussions.


League owners never weighed in with a vote on the proposed sale of the team to the Hansen-Ballmer group, but the agreement became moot once the Board of Governors followed the 7-0 recommendation of the relocation committee to reject the proposed relocation. The only hurdle left for Sacramento will be to follow through on the funding and construction of a new downtown arena, for which a plan has been passed by the City Council using an estimated $258 million in public funds.


Stern and incoming commissioner Adam Silver said on Wednesday that they regretted having left the Seattle market in 2008 when the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City. But Seattle is left to hope it can land a future relocated or expansion team with no promises from the NBA.

"Just our promise of fair dealing and ultimate consideration down the road," Stern said.



 
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Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

Good for Seattle.
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

Do they just bring back the Supersonics? Or did they see what happened with the Browns and decide to start new?
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

Here is another article, some info is the same but it's a local writer


http://seattletimes.com/html/jerrybrewer/2019119848_brewer11.html

Favorable, innovative arena deal a boon for Seattle
September 11, 2012 at 10:09 AM - Jerry Brewer

Chris Hansen should never have to buy a beer again in his hometown.

It wouldn't just be a gesture of appreciation for the investor with a heart of Sonics green and gold. It could be a necessity. Considering the dough he's about to put down to build a new Seattle arena and lure an NBA team, he might have to reduce his going-out money.

Then again, looking at all the concessions he made to consummate a deal in Sodo, he probably is now part-owner of all the local suds, anyway.

Whatever the case, will every Sonics-missing fan raise a glass?

The hardest part of this comeback quest is all but over now. The Seattle City Council has reached an agreement with Hansen on his $490 million arena plan. And for once, the city's annoying affinity for process, debate and universal pacification appears to have resulted in a digestible situation for Hansen, the Port of Seattle and all businesses concerned with how even more Sodo congestion will affect their bottom line.

Capitalizing on a clever idea, the City Council negotiated with Hansen to get him to redirect some of the tax revenue generated by the arena — which he's planning to use to repay up to $200 million in bonds he's asking the city and county to float him — to help make road improvements in Sodo. Hansen is now pledging to put $40 million into Sodo traffic mitigation. He's also putting another $7 million into a different fund to improve KeyArena. And the Hansen group, which also includes Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Peter and Erik Nordstrom, still will put $290 million toward building the arena, which is almost 60 percent of the cost.

The original deal was an intriguing and fair one that Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine took seriously and polished before it became public. Now that the City Council has revised it and Hansen has stretched himself even further, this is one of the most favorable and innovative arena deals reached during this modern wave of sports palaces.


It gives Seattle an opportunity to get the NBA back on its own terms, which is only proper given the way the league uprooted the team and moved it to Oklahoma City four years ago after 41 years in the Emerald City.

Hansen is making an even larger investment than he planned, but for the 44-year-old who was raised in Rainier Valley and idolized the Sonics legends of his childhood, this isn't one of the hedge funds he manages from his office in San Francisco. This is personal. Over the past seven months, he has gone from mystery man to magic man, inspiring 6,000 fans to join him at a rally in Occidental Park in June and handling a sometimes-contentious process with great class and pragmatism.

He has taken Seattle from feeling bitter and robbed and devoid of a solution to believing that the NBA will return someday — and bring the NHL along with it.

There are still fine points of the arena plan that we must wait out. A state environmental review is required. When the Metropolitan King County Council amended and approved the agreement on July 30, it also included that an independent economic analysis study must be done before final documents are signed. But those hurdles pale in comparison to getting to this point.

Barring a major snafu, the fun is about to begin. Hansen is about to begin shopping for an NBA team. It could go as quickly as buying the imploding Sacramento Kings, or it could be a prolonged journey that takes four or five years. But as long as the arena deal stays together, it's safe to be giddy on occasion.

Let's put it like this: Now that Seattle truly has its act together, it's not a matter of if the NBA will return. It's a matter of when. The same can be said about the inclusion of the NHL.

The NBA has always said it wanted to be in Seattle if the arena issue could be resolved. NBA commissioner David Stern, one of the villains in the Sonics' departure, doesn't want messing over Seattle on his legacy, and he's expected to retire within the next two years.

Seattle has done its part in this redemption tale. Soon, it'll be time for the NBA to do what's right, provided one of its 30 franchises can't succeed in its current city.

Hansen has been anticipating this part of the process for quite some time. He has a cordial relationship with Stern and the NBA. He still needs to partner with someone interested in owning an NHL team, but that search just became easier.

"We have some really cool ideas about things we can do to show the NBA that Seattle is a city that wants and deserves a team back," Hansen said months ago.

Pressed for information, he smiled and said, "You'll just have to see when we get to that point."

We're there now. Let us see. Let us see.

Raise a glass, but save the really good stuff for later.

This is just the beginning of joy for Sonics fans.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com; Twitter: @Jerry_Brewer
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

I hope Seattle get their Sonics back.
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

Go Seattle! I hope they get a team back.
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

Seattle needs to get the Sonics back before any other city can get a team.
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

I thought the plan was for them to get a "new" expansion team of the Sonics and not have a team move there.
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

I thought the plan was for them to get a "new" expansion team of the Sonics and not have a team move there.

With the state some of these teams are in like the Bobcats and Kings already speaking about moving it wouldn't make sense to dilute the talent pool even more by adding two more teams, at least imo

It would make more sense to get rid of a 2 to 4 teams or move a few teams like the Raptors/Bobcats to new cities
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

YES. Sonics were my favorite team to play in those old N64 basketball games when I was a kid.
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

Imagine how horrible it must feel to be a Supersonics fan. You lose out on the team that just played in the NBA Finals and has as bright of a future as any team in the League with 4 guys that played in this past Olympics and capable All-Stars. What might you have instead? Perennial duds Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Bobcats or Toronto Raptors. It's better than nothing, but only barely.
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

...with investor Chris Hansen agreeing to kick in more money...

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Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

Anything to make Ice Cubes' "Today was a Good Day" make sense again...
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

Imagine how horrible it must feel to be a Supersonics fan. You lose out on the team that just played in the NBA Finals and has as bright of a future as any team in the League with 4 guys that played in this past Olympics and capable All-Stars. What might you have instead? Perennial duds Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Bobcats or Toronto Raptors. It's better than nothing, but only barely.

Imagine? I fail to see how any Browns fan needs to imagine what that feels like.








Also... the Kings have some pretty decent talent. I'd rather have the Kings roster than start as an expansion team.
 
Re: Seattle building new NBA arena

Imagine? I fail to see how any Browns fan needs to imagine what that feels like.

Also... the Kings have some pretty decent talent. I'd rather have the Kings roster than start as an expansion team.

All you would have to do with that Kings roster is move Evans as well as Jimmar for picks and a team oriented vet. Wouldn't be a bad build on something like that

Though the Kings are probably going to need more than just player personal moves
 

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