City leaders choke; Sonics gone
July 24, 2008
By Jake Sudderth
This editorial is not for those that believe that sports are unnecessary, or that cherishing local professional sports teams is dramatically different than overt financial support of sports programs in local schools.
It is written for fans who believe they were poorly represented by Mayor Nickels and city leaders, who now, after accepting cash in lieu of two more years of professional basketball, argue that they believe they would have prevailed in their lawsuit designed to force current Sonics ownership to honor their lease.
Seattle's "battle" for the Sonics was so pathetic that NBA leaders must have laughed heartily when hearing the city was willing to finalize a settlement before Judge Marsha Pechman delivered a verdict.
The settlement undermined several factors that might have benefitted the cause to protect professional basketball in the Emerald City:
Concurrent attacks. Former owner Howard Schultz's suit to force court-appointed redistribution of the team to local owners was badly wounded because of the settlement. The two-prong attack against Sonics owners by the city and Schultz had the NBA concerned. It would have been a costly battle and created public humiliation.
More time would have been critical. A win in the case would have potentially provided two more years of bargaining and discussion, changes in attitudes among NBA owners, local citizens, and new stadium plans or renovations might have been realized. Oklahoma City leaders might have become discouraged or become enticed by another team on the block. Two years is a long time.
Improvements on the court. This might have been a long shot... but team success or even competitiveness at some point over the next two years would have created more excitement and interest in professional basketball. At the height of their glory in the late 1970s or during their successful run during the 1990s it would have been unheard of for an outside group to pull the Sonics away.
Business protection. Two more years would have benefited small businesses that rely on NBA basketball crowds yearly. More planning would have been helpful and such leadership is expected of city hall from business owners.
No forced solution. A settlement only really protects Seattle if the state legislature will approve taxing revenues Key Arena. This concern becomes a little less immediate with no team around to protect. If leaders in Seattle think state representatives will suddenly be interested in rebuilding or refurbishing Key Arena so that it can handle a future unknown NBA team they might be surprised. There is little incentive for state leaders to act so Seattle can collect an extra $30 million and it is very possible that state representatives interested in bringing basketball back to the area will propose building something in a different city — making Seattle's settlement position really tenuous — and really short-sighted.
You never can predict the future
Lawsuits create fear; and even rich owners and NBA officials do not like conflict. When Seattle caved in the city appeared weak and disinterested. Yes, Sonics attorneys showcased a "poisoned well" between a law firm, Seattle officials, and business leaders interested in buying the team. Sadly, such behavior, while unethical and disturbing, has ever made much of a difference to judges.
Even if they had lost (a very unlikely scenario based on case law and the fact that the judge seemed to be dismantling every appeal option for the other side during the case by granting everything) they would have appeared to be taking heroic action. The only thing that matters when a franchise is leaving a city is to protect the franchise.
Listen to longtime Sonics announcer Kevin Calabro, who told P-I columnist Jim Moore, "I was embarrassed for the city," he said. "I was enraged that our council members would sit up there and titter and laugh nervously and congratulate themselves over being part of a 41-year history being sold. I was deeply embarrassed and still am."
There was little political risk for city officials to wait for a legal decision. They would have appeared to be heroic fighters even if they lost. During the lawsuit they actually looked strong for a change. Plus, $45 million is not going to boost the entire city or Key Aren very much, and basketball is gone instantly. Even if the city was fixated on a settlement; a legal victory and movement on the Schultz case would have produced more negotiating strength.
Nickels and crew also assumed the Sonics were "gone" as soon as the NBA provided permission for the team to move. Nobody can see the future and the history of sports teams in this nation has been littered with changes, new deals, and ownership transfers and transactions. I still remember when the New England Patriots called a press conference a decade ago to announce an agreement to move to Hartford. Ken Bering announced the Seahawks were moving to Anaheim in February, 1996. Somehow, Washington officials found the energy to sue him for antitrust violations.
After Florida Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga sold the club to commodities trader John Henry in the late 1990s Henry sold the Marlins to Montreal Expos owner Jeffrey Loria two years later, clearing the way for Henry to buy the Red Sox. Other MLB owners approved the deal before Henry and Loria had even signed a contract.
After the transaction Loria and Selig were sued by minority owners of the Expos, many of whom became minority owners of the Marlins. They claimed that Loria and Selig deliberately devalued the team for personal gain. The case was settled in 2004 for an undisclosed sum. Before these court-induced conflicts Major League Baseball voted to contract two teams in late 2001 and the Montreal Expos and the Minnesota Twins were slated for removal.
However, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission was granted an injunction that required the Twins to play in the Metrodome in 2002. Sound familiar? Getting tough sometimes works. Local sports fans might remember that the Mariners arrived in 1977 after the city, King County, and the state filed suit for $32 million in damages from the American League when the Seattle Pilots left for Milwaukee. The suit dragged on until 1976 (are you reading this Nickels?) and eventually it was dropped when the league promised to provide Seattle with an expansion team. The man who took away the Mariners is the current commissioner Selig. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Not wanting to deal with an odd number of teams MLB owners eventually took over the Montreal franchise, which eventually moved to Washington D.C. under new ownership and the Twins were never disbanded. MLB even signed a collective bargaining agreement with the players association in 2002 that prohibited contraction through 2006. Nobody has brought up the removal of teams since.
While it required a lengthy lawsuit and 8 years for Seattle to get their baseball team back; Minnesota, which already had a team that lost money, preserved theirs. Do some teams move? Yes, but a good fight makes a difference. Posturing and blustery press conferences are just part of the deal.
Market theory flawed
Leaders at city hall also seem to forget our market is not as exciting as we collectively like to believe. Whether we are the 13th or 14th largest metropolitan area or media market is not particularly important. The Seattle area is growing, but we are in no danger of becoming as large as the Detroit or Miami-Ft. Lauderdale metropolitan areas anytime soon (they are 11th and 12th in terms of metropolitan area population).
It is also unlikely that this region will suddenly vault into top-10 market status anytime soon. This is currently a second-tier market in terms of size.
Seattle has a history of good basketball attendance, but no professional league must include the Emerald City to survive. This market theory is an arrogant assessment born of being the kings of a vast hinterland that requires travel to the Bay Area or east to Minneapolis-St. Paul to find comparable market districts.
Nobody believed Los Angeles would go this long without an NFL team. The league, which is a cartel, manages to thrive without service in the second largest market in the nation and for those of you that think San Diego counts... you better stop thinking that way because Portland could count for Seattle using such logic.
This was not a competition between Seattle and Oklahoma City any more than losing the Pilots was a competition between Seattle and Milwaukee. We had the team and we have a former local owner who is suing the current ownership group. What we lacked was leadership at city hall.
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