Professional basketball in the form of the stolen Seattle Supersonics is moving to down town Oklahoma City. Sorry Bartcop but this one is just ridiculous.
The Sonics have played basketball in Seattle since 1967. Seattle is considered to a big market town. Oklahoma City is not. So why would you move a relatively successful franchise move out of a big market city and drop it into Oklahoma? Because the new owner of the Sonics, one Clay Bennett, pulled a fast one on the city of Seattle.
Bennett claimed when he bought the team in 2006 he would do everything in his power to keep the team in Seattle. At issue is the aging Key Center where the Sonics play. According to his agreement with former owner Howard Shultz, Bennett was to deal with the arena issue. Yet emails between himself and his partners show that they had every intention from day one of moving the team to his hometown of Oklahoma City.
What is amazing is the fact that the NBA owners approved this move. Bye Bye Seattle hello Oklahoma City. Pro basketball in Oklahoma, good luck.
Are you aware that the NBA’s New Orleans franchise played in Oklahoma City as the home team after Katrina? Attendance was good. Fan support was excellent.
You weren’t under the impression that the billionaire owners of NBA teams were interested in anything but the bottom line were you.
Sorry, but I guess you have to go cry in your latte.
–Volt–
Comment by Volt — April 19, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
You missed the point. Oklahoma City in the long run may be a successful NBA city, it is the way the franchise landed there.
Comment by N — April 19, 2008 @ 7:19 pm