The city just raised our parking tax, added a employee head tax, just sold our Sonics to Oklahoma City for $75 million. Mayor Nichols is pimping the taxpayers. We will never have another team here as long as he is in office. So long Mayor Nichols.

How does Seattle win in this deal? Bennett gets what he wanted, which was to buy out the last two years. Seattle gets an illusory future promise. There is no way the state legislature will pass any type of funding when the state is projecting budget shortfalls through 2011, and there is no way that they will raise taxes further, out of fear of retribution or fear of slowing an economic recovery.

So the $30 million follow on payment is illusory and Bennett got the team for $45 million, which is a pretty good deal for Bennett. That's $22.5 in fixed costs per year, which could easily be made up in licensing agreements and ticket sales in the first two years. Bennett forgoes any losses and costs in the two years he would have stayed in Seattle.

Seattle must have had a bad case in court. That's the only thing I can think of as to the reason why Seattle would agree to this. Maybe it's time for Nickels to go.

Good Ridden's! The Mayor thnks we got a good deal? Well that show's what an idiot he is, Or thinks we are?
It was about getting paid! We did, Now use it wisely and help out the people in Seattle that need it, But as usual he's going to waste it by upgrading Key Arena in the hope's of getting another NBA team here.
As before the people of the State of Washington are going to be getting the old shaft and have another stadium forced upon them, Even though the majority don't want it! Because we are supposedly the best sports fans around? HA! B.S.!
The majority of people in this state are of the wave kind of sports fans! We only go to a game if whatever team is having a winning streak! Ever see the Mariners back when they had less than a 500% season? About 2000 people is all went to the games in the Kingdome!
Go Back East to anywhere say like Chicago,Green Bay? They are sold out no matter how the team is doing! NOT HERE! Only if were having a great season will they ever sell out! And even then probably not!
The people that run this City and State want you to send them your paychecks, then they'll take out a small portion of what they think you might need to get by and they will keep the rest for themselves becuse they need it more than you!
In other words the fine people in this state are bending over for the mayor and state rep's and they are drilling us without even giving us any lubrication FIRST!
Say NO to anymore money going out for spoiled sports team owners and players!
Take care of our children and people first!
Fire ALL of them!

Are you serious??? Do they think we got a great deal
from losing the NBA. That's just a shame and now your hoping that the legislature is gonna approve some tax to get a $300 million dollar arena built. You've got to be kidding. We are already paying for a tax on two stadiums. They seriously need to consider their decision on the settlement. They need to guarantee another team.

The mayor SOLD OUT NO NBA Again with the politicians we have.

kiss your job goodbye mayor nckel's, you have betrayed the basketball fans of seattle, good luck in the next election you are history, traitor, M.C. Becker

Why would we want the NBA back? Let's be real here folks... put down the double crack latte that Schultz has had you Hindu cows hooked on for years and smell that dung in the air. David Stern is king crook of the NBA. He swore up and down the Key Arena, just 10 years ago, was a state of the art facility. Of course when his back door deal with Bennett came around it was way easier to say the facility was terrible and that the city, state and fans must not care about basketball. Listen hard Seattle because all of you are still hooked on the coffee tit of Schultz and somehow this isn't getting through... THE NBA HAS SCREWED US!!!! NOT JUST A LITTLE BUT F'ING HARD!!! WHY BRING THEM BACK?!? Let Bennett, Stern and the rest of the NBA have their stupid club without the Seattle market. I'm leaving this state if they build a new facility to cater to an organization that blatantly spat on all of us who were fans (and those who were not). Oh and someone lynch Nichols please. How many more failures is this loser going to chalk up for us anyway. Seattle gets $30mil if the state spends $300mil. I'd love 10 minutes with this moron in a room alone... I guarantee you this level of incompitance is only going to continue unless voters in this state kick Lil' Chrissy and Fat Nichols out! Oh... and BOYCOTT STARBUCKS!!! DOWN WITH SCHULTZ!!!
P.S. I personally was against renovating the Key again and I'm still against it. Renovating it 10 years ago was a stupid idea as well because it made things worse in my opinion (anyone ever feel like they were going to fall out of the nose bleed section and land 20 stories below on the court?). Still this level of ignorance is mind boggling. I need a drink (definitely not coffee) just get my head around the math these morons are praising in this deal!

I hope the NBA some day comes back to Seattle. I hope Nickols gets voted out of office. I hope Key Arena gets renovated, it was a state of the art arena 10 years ago but that was ten years ago. Technology changes fast. I just wish the so called sports fans in Seattle were real Sports fans and until we get rid of our fair weather fans and get real fans I do not think any of my hopes will happen.

We'll lets hope not the NBA has already used enough of their Anti-trust tactics to wring a lot of money out of our state. Hope Clay and the EX super sonics enjoy their new home in Oklahoma. They need to rename the team right now. They could call them the Oklahoma Soad Busters.

Its time to get rid of Nickels and all of his cronies at city hall. The same goes for all of the crooks in Olympia as well.

The simple answer is yes.

Should things have gone down the way they did? No.

Once again, Howard knew the Sonics would be moved to Oklahoma before/when he sold them.
As for getting another NBA team here.....Not with my taxes, thank you.

As for Mayor Nickols......Ugh. That man needs to go....anywhere but Seattle.

Who cares!!!

Who Cares.
Hope They Take the Sonics Fan Base with them.

In answer to the question, SHOULD NBA comeback?? Its all economics.

Im from Baltimore, When the Colts left For INdianapolis in Feb '83, the city went through the same as you guys.
& Baltimore fought and fought and fought for an expansion team, but was passed over saying with Philly & DC so close, it was impractical. Finally got the Ravens in '95ish

When the Ravens won the Super Bowl, It was GooseBumps.

So, If some NBA owners think Seattle is a Gold mine, They'll Be back. But with Mayor Pickles and Commrade Gregoire taxin anything that moves, and Environmentalists requiring a labyrinth of paperwork and fees and fines and taxes to do ANYthing in WA, it might be a while.

* Hopefully the Sonics do not come back until the NBA fixes its business model. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for an NBA team. If the NBA team cannot cover all cost through their own revenues, we do not want them in Seattle. I am glad the Sonics are gone so we do not need to be concerned about the drain on taxpayer dollars.
* It is the NBA that is to blame for the Sonics leaving Seattle. The professional sports model is broken and needs to stop using tax dollars to support their profits. There are only a fraction of people within the community that benefit from sports teams, yet they are asking for the entire community to pay the bill. Only when more communities step up and say "no tax dollars for pro sports teams" will the teams be forced to live within their means. I am proud of Seattle for standing up and saying no to this blackmail by the Sonics.
* I will surely give my support to any politician who wants to spend fewer tax dollars on sports teams. Any politician that agrees to spend tax dollars on sports stadiums, when there are so many other critical issues that are not being addressed, should be shown the door.
* The pro sports business model has become more costly, and spending money for these types of luxuries with tax dollars can no longer be tolerated, especially in this economy. The "Save our Sopnics" mentality should shift priorities, think of the broader needs of the greater community instead of asking other tax payers to pay the cost of their own personal self indulgences.
* In this economy, for the forseeable future, it will be impossible for the Sonics to return until the NBA business model is fixed so taxes are not required to pay salaries to millionaire sports players.

In my opinion good riddings. The Sonics have a great history but its a history. What have they done for us lately. Presently they are awful. They have only been to the playoffs 3 times in the last 11 years and got bounced in the first round twice and semi's once. Since the 97-98 season they were a .500 team at best. I actually hope we don't get another NBA team enless there is a future owner that wants to put money into it and make it successful.

Here's my plan that won't nail every consumer in this state if they want to build a new arena future. How about tacking a 1% or 2% tax on sporting event tickets and stadium purchases. And only use that tax for developement on future stadiums and arena's.

Another thing to look at is a income tax on professional athletes. A modest 1 or 2% tax can collect enough money to finance future projects.

Bottomline is this its time that the elected officals in this state start doing things in a preventive nature and plan for future issues. You politicans work for us (the people). I think its time to start firing some of these politicans that can't seem to think and do their jobs as we expect them too. If they spent as much time planning for the future and executing plans as they spent pointing fingers. The Sonic's wouldn't be moving, We wouldn't be stuck with a "Lame Duck Arena", and we WOULDN'T be paying $4.50 a gallon for gas.

Seattle, Olympia, D.C. heres a idea. "DO YOUR JOBS!!!"

why don't you people? do? what we did in vancouver b.c. canada. we built a arena, for nhl hockey and nba basketball. with out any funding from the government. it was done so with private money. it is state of art. it was built in 1994. what caused the nba to leave vancouver for memphis. was the decline in the canadian dollar. since the american athletes. were paid in u.s. dollars. vancouver actually averaged about 15 to 16 thousand paid people per game. far better than charlotte or memphis doing now. you people new this problem existed years ago.
while you were playing in kingdome. you should have been building a suitable arena
for the sonics. it really goes to show. how smart you people really are!!!

It would be nice to think the NBA will come back. Unfortunately our legislature can't get out of their own way and are incapable of getting anything done. They've got to go. At lease Mayor Nichols fought to keep the team until he turned yellow at the end. There was not even a hint of an attempt to save the team from anyone in Olympia. The NBA season will kick off right around election day. That will be perfect timing for us to take our bitter feelings and vent our frustration at the polls. The Governor's inaction will cost her. Rossi is already pouncing at the opportunity to woo the jilted sports fans vote, and he'll be riding those votes right into office.