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At least Oklahoma will not get to use the Sonics name and logo in case they find a new team, it would have been sad to see a disaster like in Charlotte

Stole???? $75 million to move something you paid $350 million for certainly doesnt sound like stealing to me. I guess Seattle could steal it back if the price was right. But considering they wouldnt even ante up to fix the arena I doubt we will be seeing a Sonics unifrom on anyone not delivering a cheesburger for several years. By then the owners will only have paid $455 million to "steal" the Sonics.

Thanks for pointing out how we wont be able to support a team in OKC since we dont make as much as the residents of Seattle. In the 06-07 season we only managed to average 17880 for 14th place with a borrowed team. Not bad for a bunch of poor Okies. All that Sonic pride paid off with an attendance average good for , drum roll please,....26th place. Hey at least you out drew Memphis and 3 other teams.

Blame whomever you want. The owners (new or old), The city government or god forbid the Sonics fans.

BTW its not only about income. You might want to factor in cost of living.

Avg home price in
OKC $109900
Seattle $324775
Avg price for a gallon of gas
Ok $3.92
Wa. $4.34

I think the team formerly known as the Sonics will do just fine in OKC. Personally I would have rather had the Hornets. I guess I could have started a woe is me, spilled milk, sour grapes blog about it but I was too busy making sure our arena renovation was funded. Hmmmm speaking of blame.......

I don't usually respond to comments because it's like arguing with a brick wall. However, I never said anything about about Oklahoma City or its people. I simply pointed out that moving your business that relies on disposable income to a place where people have less disposable income than your previous location is not so smart. Bennett clearly knows something about economics - he is a billionaire, after all - but this was a vanity purchase. When he's losing buckets and buckets of money in 5 years, see what he does: he'll ask the city and state for help.

Please stop hyperventilating about the word "stole." It was in brackets with a question mark. Besides, the purchase was conditional on Bennett making a good-faith effort to keep the team in Seattle. Clearly, he didn't do that so, perhaps, "stole" is the correct word.

With all that said, I thank you for creating a profile just to comment on my blog. I'm honored. Really. Of course, your hyper-paranoia is a little off-putting but that's life.

The Sonics WERE NOT stolen from the city of Seattle. They were bought fare and square with full knowledge that Oklahoma City was in the market for a team. The city of Seattle and the state of Washington were given ample time and opportunity to KEEP the team in the city but for some reason decided that they didn???t want to. Just because Clay Bennett really didn't want to keep them there doesn't mean that he didn???t give them every chance to do so. If you don???t believe that then you are apparently mentally deficient in some way.

You are correct in saying that Pro Franchises seldom turn a profit, but of course it all depends on what you???re looking at. Where the real money comes in is in merchandising the franchise. The Sonics have been in Seattle for a long time. They have both the Giants and Seahawks that they compete with and will soon have a professional soccer team next year. In Oklahoma City this franchise is going to be the only game in town for many people that have been starving for a professional franchise for years. Sure they have the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University but many people want a professional franchise to follow that isn???t located say in Dallas or some other huge metropolitan area.

The Oklahoma City metro area has close to 1.3 million pops. Just a little over 90 miles (a 1.25 hour drive) northeast we have the Tulsa metro area with 1 million pops. Add all of the smaller towns within an hour???s drive of Oklahoma City and you have over 2.5 million pops that will be buying tickets and/or franchise merchandise.

You also talk about the discretionary spending abilities of Seattle citizens compared with Oklahoma City citizens. We must compare apples to apples to get the facts straight. The cost of living index has to be taken into consideration. The index is currently sitting at 37% higher for someone living in Seattle as compared to someone living in Oklahoma City. Take that into account and you see that even at $30,449 a year, the people of Oklahoma City have on average almost $200 more discretionary funds than do those Seattle citizens making $41,634. These are cold, hard facts not smoke and mirrors. I work for a company that is based in Seattle and have been approached several times about moving to the Seattle area. I turned them down every time after researching what it would cost to live there and experience the same quality of life that I have living here in Oklahoma City.

Now as for opinions and yes I know the old saying, I believe that when Clay Bennett bought the Sonics, he did so lock, stock and barrel. That means that everything that is, was or does have to do with the team is his to do with what he wants, period. He has done the city of Seattle and all the Seattle fans a favor in letting them keep the rights to the name and colors just in case they have the opportunity/privilege in the future to once again host an NBA franchise.

Don???t get me wrong, I feel for the fans in Seattle and Washington. I would be mad if my city and state allowed this to happen to my favorite sports team. But please make sure that you look at the facts. The team was sold to Clay Bennett with the full knowledge that Oklahoma City was working hard to get a professional team. The citizens of Oklahoma have shown that they are more than capable of supporting such a team when they did so with the Hornets. This was not only a heart decision by Mr. Bennett, it was a business decision as well.

Thank you for a much more reasonable comment. Your arguments re: cost of living and extended metro areas are enlightening and informative. You should, perhaps, have added the Seattle metro area for comparison's sake, IMO. I'll look it up if I ever do a follow-up.

I don't think you got off to a good start, though you ended well. Clay Bennett clearly had no intention of keeping the Sonics in Seattle. If he did, why not offer the $75 million as partial funding for updating/renovating Key Arena?

Again, "stole" was in brackets and with a question mark. It was not the focus of the blog entry. I don't think Bennett was honest with the fans, the city of Seattle or the state of Washington; I think the court case proves that.

Fans in OKC will turn out in droves to see the Whatevers. I'm sure it'll be great... until Bennett raises ticket prices, or demands a new arena, etc. I don't doubt that OKC has wonderful and true fans. I doubt that Bennett will treat them better than he did those in Seattle.

I would bet my right eye that Clay Bennett WILL move the team if they do not receive the level of support that is needed to make them successful (ticket sales, telecast fees and merchandising) in Oklahoma City. He is an extremely rich energy mogul but I don't think that he will eat all of the costs for ever no matter how much he wants a team in his home town.

You probably shouldn't waste your time looking up the info on the Seattle metro area unless you want to see the cost of living differences. It is without doubt a huge market and dwarfs the area that I listed, but even at that, the Sonics are playing a distant third fiddle in the market. That doesn't mean that I don't think that the Sonics couldn't have been as profitable there if given the chance though.

I don't disagree that much with your argument but I do think that you are putting way too much weight on Clay Bennett's back. I am pretty sure that when he bought the Sonics it was indeed his intentions to move them back to his home town if given the chance and he wanted to do so before the Hornets owner decided to move back to Oklahoma City. I personally believe that the city of Seattle and the state of Washington and the former owner also knew this going in. I whole heart idly believe that he gave the city of Seattle and the state of Washington every chance to raise the money to improve the arena there in Seattle and would have stood by the agreement that was made stating that the team would remain in the city. But with that said, I definitely believe that he thought and hoped that that wouldn't happen.

As for ticket prices I don't know.....if they are comparable to what was asked for Hornets tickets I'm sure they will pack the house for the first few years. After that they will have to do more winning than they did last year or the numbers will dwindle. And about the arena here in Oklahoma City.....they signed a 10 year contract after the voters approved a .1 percent sales tax to renovate it. It was only a few years old anyway. After the contract is up I am sure that they will treat it just like all professional franchises do.....what have you done for me lately.

Dont flatter yourself. I actually creatted my profile to answer another whiney "they stole my sonics" blog. I found yours a little more interesting and decided to respond to it due to the misrepresentations of my disposable income. Check the internet next time. You should have more free time since your wont be going to any Sonics games.

You know, I know it's sad when you see a team that has been around as long as the Sonics up and leave, but that's the business.

In the end, nax and shortphat were both right. Unless you were hiding under a rock, it was obvious Clay intended to relocate the team to OKC. Hell, when he bought the team the local newscasters were already talking about a relocation, by the way was when the Hornets were still here.

But, you know what? I'm tired of listening to Seattleans (Seattleites? Seattleoans? Satellites?) complaining about how Bennett ganked the team and rode off like a bandit into the hills. Hell, it's his team, he can move it to Antartica if he wants to.

If I have a ball, I'm not going to care about how other people think I should play with it.

Simply put, Oklahoma City can support an NBA franchise. Small markets do not mean financial failure (see the Charlotte Hornets, the Memphis Grizzlies etc.) Oklahoman income may be lower, but everything else is cheaper, and Oklahomans have just as much disposable income as everyone else, just in all-around smaller portions.

Recently, the Thunder finished their last deal to have all of their games broadcast locally, so the team can draw on the whole state as a fanbase. They may not be a cash cow as, say, the Los Angeles Lakers, but I think they will be just fine.

Oh, and to those people I know who keep telling me that Keyarena didn't need a renovation, I seem to remember a story last season of the scoreboard shorting and catching fire...