I saw this, and thought it might be of interest: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-45-43/SonicsGate.html
I just watched it. I had been following the whole process since Schultz sold the team, but watching over all the events that transpired again, just confirmed my belief of this being a burglary of a franchise. I can't imagine what I'd do if that happened to my team. Kudos to the movie makers for putting together the excellent commentary. Sherman Alexie, especially was very insightful.
The guy who did the movie voiceover and another main player in the production post on the ESPN Sonic board. But not me anymore. I got tired of my posts being deleted whenever I argued with an Okie. Now they have to suffer the Okies by themselves.
Seattle lost the Sonics because Key Arena is garbage (literally the worst major sports arena I've ever been in) and the Sonics started to suck. A perfect "Thunder" storm.
In a few years Stern will kick himself for letting this franchise move to Okla-nowhere. Who seriously wants to play in Oklahoma?
Money? There's more to the Stern-Bennett relationship than you know. Click on their wedding picture to enlarge. http://kneejerknba.blogspot.com/2008/09/david-stern-worlds-biggest-piece-of.html --------------------- The leaders of the revolution (and of the movie) come from this site. I talked to them all the time on the ESPN board. http://supersonicsoul.com/ ---------------------------- ...more stuff... http://brahsome.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/stern-screenshot-uncensored1.jpg I could give you more stuff (Ralph Nader has a great site tracking public vs. private costs of stadia) but that's all you get. I've been arguing this issue for several years now.
I'm curious how many arenas you've been to. I can name a handful just in the NBA that were worse then Key.( Orlando, Milwaukee, Detroit, Philly, N.J., Madison Square Garden, New Orleans) The only real bad thing about Key Arena was the lack of suites and we all know that is where the teams make there $$$$$$.
The Key was only about 5-6 years old when Schultz began saying he needed a rebuild. Ridiculous. What he did get was a bunch of suites and box seats installed. You might be thinking of the early 2000s before they were put in.
When I go to games out of town I'm amazed at how bad the facilities are. That said, somehow we've got to get away from the idea that every 25 years you need to tear down and rebuild. The next stadium needs to be designed for 100 years. barfo
The Key wasn't anything special, but it was immensely better than Arco Arena or the Target Center. Those are both dumps (Arco moreso than Target).
The Kings have been pushing for a new downtown arena for over 10 years. Arco is a dump and out in the middle of nowhere. They should have gotten it done back when the Kings were good and the economy was in much better shape. It's hard to drum up public support to build a new arena for a 17-win team during the best economic times. Unless there is a huge economic turn around, AND the Kings start winning, they are going to be stuck in that dump for a LONG time (or until the Maloof's move the team). BNM
You forgot about the extremely narrow hallways, the embarrassing lack of bathrooms, and the scarcity of concession stands. You do realize that being unable to replace the inadequate Key Arena is why the Sonics ended up leaving, right?
No way. Key Arena is a dump compared to Target Center. At least you can move through the concourses at Target Center.
Audrey McClendon apparently killed himself by driving his car into a wall after being indicted for some kind of oil price manipulation.
