03-25-2008, 12:41 PM
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Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Tampa, Florida
Age: 25
Posts: 14,978
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Report: Sonics might leave team name in Seattle
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Quote:
Fans of professional basketball in Seattle might not be able to convince the SuperSonics to stay. But if the franchise leaves for Oklahoma City as widely expected, the team name might stay behind.
During a breakfast meeting for team sponsors Friday in Santa Monica, Calif., team owner Clay Bennett said he wants to negotiate a settlement in which he will take the team's players and coaches, but leave the team's name, colors and 41-year history behind for another franchise to adopt, The Seattle Times reported.
Sonics spokesman Dan Mahoney confirmed Bennett's statement on Monday.
In its $26.5 million settlement offer to Seattle leaders, the team's ownership group said, "We understand the city's desire to reserve the Sonics name for a future franchise and will support the city's effort with the NBA on this issue," according to the report.
The city and the franchise's owners are currently in a legal dispute over the team's attempts to buy its way out of the lease for Key Arena and move to Oklahoma City for next season. A trial is scheduled for this summer, unless both sides agree to a settlement.
In a related development, City Council members in Oklahoma City unanimously approved a preliminary lease agreement with the Sonics on Tuesday, hours before a planned visit by NBA commissioner David Stern.
The 15-year deal, contingent on the planned move, calls for the Sonics to pay the city $1.6 million annually to use the Ford Center and another $409,000 per year to be able to re-sell the arena's naming rights.
The deal would not become official unless NBA team owners approve the Sonics' relocation in a meeting next month and until the team can escape its lease in Seattle that runs through 2010.
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