 | finethenleave.com is throwing the Sonics a going-away party, Thursday May 11th, noon, at City Hall
"We'll toast the team, remember the good times, and collect going-away cards that we'll ask the City Council to deliver to the Sonics for us. We'll provide the cake and gold watch, you provide the memories. Bring a card if you can or sign one of ours. It's been fun, and we're sorry to see you go...but we're not about to dump $200 million tax dollars into Key Arena..." |
Unless your LA, losing professional teams can turn 1st class cities into 2nd class ones.
Don't believe me?
Check out Birmingham and Cincinnati.
Hmm...Cincinnati sounds like a 1st class city and Birmingham not.
Now check their populations, demographics, etc. Pretty similar, eh?
Guess where all the major company headquarters are. Guess where people move to take new jobs.
Be very careful...................
Posted by: LovinUSa on April 28, 2006 04:55 PMI'll only observe that there are more major company headquarters in Redmond than in Green Bay.
Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on April 28, 2006 04:58 PMAnd Green Bay is the far and wide exception as noted by all.
Posted by: Lovinusa on April 28, 2006 05:07 PMSymptom, not disease. The same factors that turn cities 2nd class make teams want to leave.
Posted by: brett on April 28, 2006 05:20 PMIt doesn't make a hoot what the commentariat gasbags say about the class of the city.
On second thought, one would think that a 1st class city would have sufficient well-heeled 'elites' to afford their own overhyped team, without dunning the citizens to help elevate the noses of the owners.
Posted by: Hank Bradley on April 28, 2006 05:37 PMNot one dime for another pro sports ripoff.
Posted by: Hinton on April 28, 2006 05:45 PM"With $200 million dollars, we could build permanent housing for the 2,000 homeless people in the county. Or we could just shelter them all—for 18 years. We could avoid closing our schools and maybe even build one downtown so families could live there. We could fund arts and other cultural events and build basketball courts all over town. Gosh, maybe we could even do something about all the traffic. "
There were very few San Diegans who shed a tear. Most were only unhappy because they missed out on a chance to pack the Clip's bags -- and give them a kick in the a$$ on their way out of town.
Posted by: FT on April 28, 2006 07:26 PMFor the Supes, its just unfortunate that the taxpayers got stuck financing two previous sports facilities in the last decade or so. Now most people have finally had enough.
As expected, the Seattle City Council is being a bunch of dillweeds and not working very hard to get some kind of deal done. Quite frankly, I would love to see the Sonics in Bellevue or Renton.
At least when I pay the Sonics every season for my seats, I have a pretty good idea what I will get in return. With the City of Seattle and King County, I just end up supporting a bunch of overpriced, ineffective projects or programs.
Quite frankly, having Sonics tickets is one of the few things that makes living in West Seattle somewhat bearable.
Posted by: Gary on April 28, 2006 07:58 PMIf Seattle (and the Sonics) had some real leadership, there would have been some solution to keeping the team here. But instead we get 200-plus million wammy, and a do-nothing council and mayor willing to sit back and watch 'em go, thinking "who needs ya!".
I dislike the stadium welfare program, and especially when the team threatens to leave. But the Super Sonics were the first major pro team here, and I have fond memories of hearing the games on my Dad's car radio (never used be on TV much back then).
Yes, the teams don't make a 1st class city, but the departure of the Sonics is yet another symptom of a city in decline (IMHO).
Posted by: Shaun on April 28, 2006 08:11 PMAnother question (at the risk of being too far off topic), if the Sonics go, what is to be done with the arena and the entire Seattle Center? It's not like major acts automatically flock there now, with competition from Tacoma and Everett. Maybe the city needs to get out of the arena business, based on its wonderful track record with carrying out other functions.
Posted by: moe on April 28, 2006 08:33 PMSo long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu;
So long, farewell, au revoir, auf wiedersehen;
YOU leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye -- Goodbye!
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!
with apologies to The Sound of Music!
Posted by: Cheryl on April 28, 2006 09:22 PMThis is a great piece sizing up the KeyArena debate - especially the reference to Sonics ownership - whose collective personal worth tops $2 billion - yet they want to chip in a paltry 4.5 percent of a new arena's true costs (while grabbing all the profit)...
Posted by: jackman on April 29, 2006 08:10 AMThis ownership group knew what it was getting when it bought the team - including the lease.
I would be much more willing to 'keep' the Sonics if somebody other than the current group were in charge - or at least pull their collective heads out of their arses and get rid of the current management team ... starting with the president. As it is, it's a poorly run franchise - on year 6 of the original five-year plan - and they want $200 million to re-do a facility that's 10 years old.
Nope.
Posted by: jimg on April 29, 2006 10:19 AMI personally wish the people of Seattle, who seem to have never met a tax they didn't like, all the best, and I encourage you to poney up the money now, before it's too late. Because the Sonics won't be gone for five minutes before some busybody starts the campaign to bring professional basketball back to Seattle, and that is going to cost a real arm and a leg. Posted by: Dan on April 30, 2006 12:30 PM
It is time for the people in Emerald City to wake up. Seattle is second class and moving to third. Businesses are not flocking to the city. Seems that business owners are moving the other way. Likewise families are moving out of the city. School closing remind us of that. You have your loony leaders to thank. Seattle is FUBAR.
Posted by: Snuffy on April 30, 2006 07:28 PMI had no problem with using the Kingdome till it was paid off. I didn't mind baseball or football games there.
The Arena needed fixing 10 years ago, but it doesn't now. Pay off the debt and then let's talk.
Posted by: swatter on May 1, 2006 07:35 AMCRAP IN...CRAP OUT!!!
Posted by: Pacific Grove Phlash on May 1, 2006 09:28 AMI think we’d be better off selling the Key to da Tribes and let dem turn it into a Native Gaming Palace. I bet we would fill da place 24/7/365 and create a thousand new jobs.
Forgetaboutit
Posted by: Joey bag of doughnuts on May 1, 2006 09:34 AMI'll bet it's a significant %age.
It wouldn't surprise me if they also are behind Paul Allen's 'public private partnerships,' whereby the boobouisee gets to foot >90% of the bill for one asinine venture after another.