<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Aubrey McClendon says he is "under a self-imposed gag order" regarding the business of running the NBA franchise, but that didn't stop the Sonics minority owner from telling The Journal Record of Oklahoma City that the group's desire is to get the team out of Seattle. In a long article about McClendon appearing in Monday's Journal Record, the 48-year-old acknowledged the financial benefits of Seattle's larger market. "But we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here," he said. "We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even, we'd be thrilled."</div> Source
Needless to say Clay Bennett has no credibility whatsoever in the Pacific Northwest. For most people it is about the bottom line. But the fact that Clay is willing to sacrifice a year worth of revenue by publicly stating that he wants nothing to do with Seattle and then choosing a market that he knows will significantly hurt his potential for maximizing his revenue speaks volumes about how much Clay and company must be worth. If he wants to be able to walk into his home state and say that he brought an NBA franchise to Sooner country than so be it. He is going to lose a ton of money waiting for 2010 to come though.
Bennett and McClendon sputter out more nonsense in reply as blogged by the Tacoma News Tribune... <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Clay Bennett “As the controlling owner, I admire my fellow owners and appreciate their support. While they are excited about the basketball operations and the future of the team on the court, they, like me, have been disheartened by the lack of progress we have made to secure a new arena for the Sonics and Storm. "Aubrey expressed his personal thoughts and, in context of the story, was not speaking on behalf of the ownership group. It is my hope we will see a breakthrough in the next 60 days that will result in securing a new arena for the Sonics and Storm in the Greater Seattle area.” Aubrey McClendon “I support our efforts to secure a new arena for the Sonics and Storm in the Greater Seattle area. Clay is the one who speaks for the ownership group. Today's interview in the Oklahoma City-based business newspaper, Journal Record, simply reflects what has been my personal desire concerning NBA basketball in Oklahoma City. It has always been my hope that Oklahoma City would have an NBA team someday. "That said, I was always aware and understood our number one goal was to work with officials to build a new arena in the Seattle area. I have supported Clay and the ownership group to use our good faith best efforts to secure a new arena and keep the teams in Seattle. I admire Clay's tireless efforts and his persistence to get an arena and keep the teams in Seattle as blogged by the Tacoma News Tribune... "I support him completely. The comment about my personal hopes cannot in any way be interpreted to mean the organization has not exhaustively pursued every reasonable avenue to get an arena deal done and keep the Sonics and Storm in Seattle. However, as Clay has consistently stated, a solution to the arena issue must be found by October 31.” </div>
Clay Bennett really is a douchebag. It's really sad how business has completely overshadowed the game we love.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Their suspicions have now been confirmed, because one of the owners, Aubrey McClendon, was apparently unaware that a newfangled technology called the Internet allows people to read out-of-town newspapers. He gave an interview to an Oklahoma City-based business newspaper called the Journal Record: The piece included such self-incriminating gems as, "We didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle, we hoped to come here"; and, "We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even we'd be thrilled." Both quotes are hugely damaging, for different reasons. The former is hurtful because the terms of the Sonics sale to the current group from Starbucks founder Howard Schultz require the new owners to make a good-faith effort to keep the team in Seattle before moving it. By McClendon essentially admitting that the new owners never intended to keep the team in town, he opens the ownership group to legal challenges to an attempted move that could drag on for years. The second, however, is the one that really stings. McClendon is saying the team will make less money in Oklahoma City but he'd like to move it there anyway? How do you suppose that one will go over in the commissioner's office? Remember, this is a league that shares most of its revenues, so a team moving into a less profitable situation is an issue for the league's other 29 owners ? the same people who have to approve the Sonics' application to relocate. Maybe this just means it will take a bigger buy-off to get approval, but that's still a cost. Then there's the players association. The league's salary cap is set as a percentage of basketball-related income. This means that the amount of money the Sonics make (or don't make) directly impacts how much money every single player in the league will make as well. The players association is sure to find it interesting if a team isn't working to maximize its income by playing in the most profitable city, as McClendon seems to be admitting. </div> Sonics Owners Fumble Midwest Move Good article.
Sonics co-owner McClendon fined $250K <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> The NBA fined Sonics minority partner Aubrey McClendon $250,000 for comments he made last week in The (Oklahoma City) Journal Record about his hopes of moving the team to Oklahoma City. Reached Tuesday night, league spokesman Tim Frank confirmed the punitive action. Repeated messages to the Sonics were not returned.</div> <div align="center">Source: Seattle Times</div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Seattle SuperSonics chairman Clay Bennett told his employees that Oklahoma City is ready to foot the bill for the team to relocate there next season, a source within the organization said. That information was passed along to Sonics employees during a meeting with Bennett on Wednesday, an employee who attended the meeting told The News Tribune on the condition of anonymity. However, Bennett clarified those comments late Friday, saying the statements provided by the source from the meeting were a hypothetical example of how a community that is interested in relocating a business would help provide some of the mitigation costs to make that happen. During the 40-minute meeting Wednesday, the team employee said Bennett provided the group with details of what Oklahoma City is willing to pay for to woo the Sonics: • Any legal fees involving the team’s fight to break the KeyArena lease. • Whatever the settlement is to the Seattle Center to buy out the lease. • All relocation fees the NBA would force the team to pay other owners. • Costs of physically moving the team’s staff and offices. • Costs of upgrading the city’s current arena, the Ford Center, to make it NBA-ready. • Costs of building a new arena, and when it’s finished, keeping the old facility running. Bennett’s comments Wednesday were in response to a Sonics employee asking what a community such as Oklahoma City has done to prove to Bennett that it wants the Sonics, the source said. “He lit up like a Christmas tree,” the source said of Bennett’s reaction to the employee’s question. “He got real happy and he started spouting off these things.” Bennett told The News Tribune that his comments were a hypothetical response. “The context of my response was after being asked the question how could Oklahoma City possibly be a competitive market to Seattle,” Bennett said. “And my answer is because Oklahoma City is a medium marketplace that highly values the opportunity to obtain an NBA franchise, not unlike any community or any state would value the pursuit of any other highly additive economic development opportunity, such as the value of a manufacturing plant or corporate headquarters. “The response was an attempt to provide some clarity as why it is so important that Seattle respond and recognize at once that the team is at risk. Without a successor venue at KeyArena, and without a modern facility, the team cannot remain economically viable in this marketplace. “Our deal has never changed. On July 18, 2006, we outlined very clearly what needs to happen in order to keep the team economically viable and in the marketplace, and we are continuing in the pursuit of that objective.”</div> Link When you are in the process of having good faith negotiations to remain in Seattle I don't think it is a bright idea having staff meetings discussing how you are planning to break out of the lease -- especially with confidential information being leaked to the press. Bennett really isn't as bright of an individual as he would seem. He is really making it easier for us to hold him to the lease agreement - and he is losing a ton of money in the process. If he would have continued to try to generate as much support as he could for financing a new arena and let it be known that he would look to relocate only when the October 31st deadline had passed then it would really put pressure on the political leaders in Washington to come up with viable options for the team to stay. He could reject whatever offer that he wanted but not look like the manipulative liar that he does now. Obviously Bennett does not have an intimidating enough presence to keep his subordinates quiet. At the very least Howard Schultz at least had that.
