<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Shultz will not Sell Sonics After months of avoidance Starbucks mogel and Sonics owner, Howard Shultz, has finally addressed the rumors concerning his selling off his majority share of the team. ?I?m not selling the team,? he said. "I have no intention of selling the team. I'm excited about the season. Excited about the direction we're going. I think, as we progress, the hardest thing to do both in sports and in business is to stick with the plan.? Shultz has reportedly been operating at a loss with the Sonics, and while he wouldn?t say how much, reports have put the figure to be at least $10 million, league sources put the figure at closer to $30 million.</div> Full Story
I've always thought that too. But also notice... <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">After months of avoidance Starbucks mogel and Sonics owner </div> The writer spelled the word mogul with an e instead of u.
Schultz obviously doesn't want to be a distraction to his team but there is no doubt in my mind that he is still thinking about selling his shares. When you are losing money in the millions, you don't sit back and do nothing. He is spinning the media and the Sonics fan base. This year is all about generating enough revenue so that the Sonics look more enticing to a potential buyer.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">In a 24-hour period this week, I had a chance to talk to the two beleaguered Howards of Seattle sports -- Lincoln of the Mariners and Schultz of the Sonics. In what will be considered a disappointment for many sports critics, I was unable to find evidence of horns or tails. I suppose their pitchforks were somewhere in the back, but I didn't find them, either. In their apparent guise as vulnerable mortals, they had something in common besides a first name. Many in their sports-customer bases think the Howards have screwed up the Mariners and Sonics. While my suspicions for the dubious state of their teams includes a variety of factors, the conversations did lead to a conclusion that these different personalities shared the same shortcoming -- little awareness that their most successful virtues in business don't work well in pro sports. They are hardly alone. Nearly every businessman who invests in sports franchise ownership makes a similar mistake in thinking the peculiar cunning and genius that made their enterprises rich and semifamous would cross over. Schultz thought the personal charisma and drive he exploited in helping create the Starbucks empire would help make the Sonics flourish. Wrong. Lincoln thought the corporate discipline and sensibility that helped make Nintendo a video-game colossus would help make the Mariners flourish. Wrong. At a news briefing at the Sonics practice facility Monday, Schultz acknowledged the obvious. "Pro sports are different than any other business," Schultz said. "It's been a difficult and humbling experience." But instead of admitting that his approach was off, he went on to blame outside factors such as a bad NBA "economic model" and the club's lousy lease with KeyArena.</div> <font size="1">Full Story courtesy of Art Thiel and the Seattle PI.</font> A very interesting and worthwhile read, there.
