<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- The Seattle SuperSonics have chosen suburban Renton as the site for a proposed new $500 million multipurpose arena. Sonics owner Clay Bennett and King County Executive Ron Sims announced the choice Tuesday to state lawmakers. "At this time the city of Renton is the most viable location for this new facility," Bennett said at a state senate committee hearing on proposed bills that would authorize the use of county taxes. Committee chairwoman Margarita Prentice, of Renton, beamed. The taxes proposed to be used already exist and are paying for new Seattle stadiums for baseball's Seattle Mariners and the NFL Seattle Seahawks, as well as for remaining debt on the now-demolished Kingdome. Bennett said the decision on Renton, south of Seattle, was made late Monday night after review of an initial list of 29 sites. He cited Renton's potential for economic growth, and said the 21-acre site is larger, more available and less expensive than a proposed site along "auto row" in Bellevue, east of Seattle. "This is not about building a building for the Sonics and (WNBA) Storm. It's about building an asset for the region," Bennett declared, adding the cost of the project could change as the team begins refining the plan. "That is certainly a moving number," Bennett said, causing some in the room to snicker and chuckle. "Let's do it right and let's do it big," he said, " ... but in a thoughtful process and value-oriented manner." The NBA team's new ownership, led by Bennett, is seeking a new home to replace the aging KeyArena in Seattle. If Bennett doesn't get an agreement for a new arena in the Seattle area by Oct. 31, his $350 million purchase agreement allows him to move the team to Oklahoma, where he is a prominent businessman. </div> http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-s...ov=ap&type=lgns
