A Sonic Mess

The sale of the Seattle Sonics and their potential move to Oklahoma City has gotten very messy. When we were in OKC for the marathon I was amazed at the number of Hornets shirts I saw, these people were great fans to the New Orleans team that was displaced by Hurricane Katrina. These people embraced the Hornets as their own and are great fans. They went so far as to approve a sales tax increase with a 62% margin to pay for a $95 million renovation of the Ford Center Arena and $30 million for a new practice facility for the Sonics to move into. ESPN has a great article giving the rundown, but I'll give a summary. Basically the current owner of the Sonics, Clay Bennett, is being sued by the city of Seattle for moving the team before the lease is up. Bennett is also being sued by the old owner (Starbucks President Howard Shultz) for buying the team with the secret intent to move it. Finally, OKC is suing for $150 million if the team doesn't move there.

The people of Seattle have been treated unfairly and inappropriately during this deal. The people of OKC are great fans that want and deserve and NBA franchise. It'll be interesting how this one turns out.