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November 11, 2006

The Sonics Are Gone

It's been a jubilant week for me, politically - aside from the overwhelming "blue wave" that put Democrats back in control of both the US House and Senate, most of the local Seattle issues I cared about passed or failed, as appropriate. Our local repeals of the estate tax (I-920) and land-use laws (I-933) went down in flames; conversely, initiatives for better streets, rapid transit, and clean energy passed.

Waking up on Wednesday morning felt an awful lot like Christmas.

One local Seattle initiative, I-91, prevents tax subsidies for local sports stadiums. Voting yes on 91 effectively prohibits the city from from building a new stadium for the Sonics.

I-91 passed by a 3-to-1 margin, 76%. And now, as expected, the Sonics are going to leave:

Seattle has been all but mathematically eliminated as a long-term home for the Sonics and Storm, meaning the future of professional basketball in the area is down to two options — the suburbs or so long.

By overwhelmingly approving Initiative 91 on Tuesday, Seattle voters effectively ended any notion that the NBA and WNBA teams would remain in their namesake city.

In all fairness, (and despite being a Storm season ticket holder) I voted for I-91. I've been on record ("Nothing Lasts Forever") as saying that I don't support taxpayer bailouts for sports franchises that can't get their spending under control:

If the price of Sonics basketball in Seattle is a massive, $200M subsidy to the team, then I'm not sure it's worth it to keep them. The Sonics organization has serious cost problems - it's expenses are too high, relative to its income. The team's unwillingness to cut its costs - especially their payroll - to make their operation profitable is the problem.

My fellow Seattleites agree with me, it seems.

Nickels said the I-91 result, which passed 3-to-1, reflects fan disenchantment with aspects of the NBA, such as high salaries and player turnover. The Sonics lease at KeyArena expires in 2010.

"If they stay in Seattle, great," Nickels said. "If they don't, we'll have to make do with the Mariners, the Seahawks, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Opera, the Rep [Seattle Repertory Theatre] ... I think we'll make do."

So now the new owners will, undoubtedly, shop around in Bellevue or Renton to see about a new facility there.

I don't know that they'll be successful. If an arena can be built with private dollars, then they're likely to pull it off. But if the private money were so easily available (I mean, this conversation has undoubtedly been going on in well-appointed Eastside living rooms for years), why dance with the taxpayers for so long? Private ownership means never having politicians in your business, and never dealing with revenue splits.

My sense is that the team is going to Oklahoma. There's clear appetite for NBA in Oklahoma, and I've no doubt they will be able to get a new stadium and all other manner of benefits from a pliant legislature. (And, I stand by my belief that WNBA is a bad fit for that market, but maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.)

So. Public financial sanity won, and that's a good thing. The teams are leaving, and that'll smart. The new owners claim they'll honor their lease at the Key until 2010. By my count, that's another four seasons of the Storm. I'll be there.

Posted by Gavin Shearer at November 11, 2006 9:33 AM. Posted to Politics | Seattle Storm.

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