<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>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.Sims announced the Renton choice 10 minutes before Bennett's turn to testify before 16 lawmakers and a roomful of media and curious onlookers."We in King County support this bill ... and are looking forward to working with the city of Renton," Sims said at the end of his testimony. "I don't want to see the Sonics or the Storm leave this community. They are very valuable to this community. These are quality-of-life investments."The Renton site, owned by the Boeing Co., is across from a residential and entertainment development known as "The Landing" near the south end of Lake Washington. Bennett and Scott Carson, the president and CEO of Boeing's Commercial Airplanes division, met once last fall to discuss the land. Representatives have met since then to discuss issues surrounding the land, but there haven't been any formal negotiations, Boeing spokesman Peter Conte said.Last month, Bennett told The Associated Press that the team believes the Renton site will require remodeled traffic patterns to and from nearby Interstate 405. And the Sonics also believe new parking structures will need to be built. Jim Kneeland, Bennett's spokesman, has said that could add as much as $150 million to the project's cost.</div>
When is this news? Alot of teams don't play in the same city anymore. Dallas Cowboys aren't in Dallas, the Jets and Giants aren't even in New York, Many teams choose to live in the suburb of a Major City as it's cheaper for the land.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Feb 14 2007, 08:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>When is this news? Alot of teams don't play in the same city anymore. Dallas Cowboys aren't in Dallas, the Jets and Giants aren't even in New York, Many teams choose to live in the suburb of a Major City as it's cheaper for the land.</div>The Sonics have always been in downtown Seattle.Renton is already a driving nightmare, and there is no public transit to, from, or in Renton. The public transit in Renton is a taxi cab, no trains, and no buses.
