Booo of the Week 6/18

Special Edition Boo of the Week. This guy needs to be booed properly, so I'm going to take over the reigns. This boo is reserved for Mr. Clay Bennett. Oklahoma businessman and thief of hopes and dreams. I know that this has been written about by every person writing about basketball, but I need to get my hits in. This guy hijacked a franchise from an entire city. He bought the team under false pretenses, made up a couple of lies, then made a fake offer to the city, and then got the approval from the NBA to leave. This is further proof that the NBA is really just a modern day mafia. I will also from this point forward make a point, whenever referring to David Stern, call him The Don.

For those who are not well-versed in the story about which I am speaking, I am talking about the theft of the Seattle Supersonics. Clay Bennett was part-owner of the San Antonio Spurs during the mid-90's, and he put together a group to give the Hornets a home in Oklahoma City after Katrina. That same group tried to keep the Hornets in Oklahoma City even after the renovations in New Orleans, but everyone involved recognized that would be in poor taste. Instead, Bennett and his Oklahoma group decided to chase teams that may be interested in moving. Sacramento came up, but they weren't really for sale so that was only a brief flirtation. Then, Howard Schultz was interested in selling the Seattle Supersonics. Yeah, the Starbucks guy, savior of Seattle, could no longer afford the team. There was an issue regarding a new arena for the club, and Schultz decided it was time to split from the franchise.

Enter Clay Bennett. Bennett seized the opportunity to take the team off of Schultz's hands. The Sonics were sold under the pretense that Bennett would make a legitimate effort to keep the team in Seattle. Bennett's legitimate effort went as far as demanding that the city buy him a $500 million arena. To give you an idea of what it takes to build an arena, here are some costs from the most recent buildings.

Prudential Center $310 Million (Opened 2007)
Toyota Center $202 Million (2003)
Time Warner Cable Arena $265 Million (2005)
Staples Center $375 Million (1999)
Conseco Fieldhouse $183 Million (1999)
AT&T Center $186 Million (2002)


For this clown to be asking for half a billion dollars was absolutely obscene! Of course, the idea was to ask for an obscene amount of public funding so that he could be turned down. After the city turned down Bennett's demand for a new stadium, Bennett had the door open to run to Oklahoma City's relatively new Ford Center. Bennett received approval from the league, and before anybody could look twice, the Seattle Supersonics were going to be packed up and moved. This could have been any team. The Sonics aren't exactly the Bobcats or the Hornets, they have a history. This is a franchise that has won NBA titles, has had tremendous popularity in that region of the country, and has an extensive fan base. Bennett and his cronies used the profit numbers from some of the worst seasons in Sonics' history to back up his claims on the club. Seattle is one of the biggest markets in the country! Not even the Knicks can sell tickets when the team wins 20 games a season.

The reason Mr. Bennett gets this weeks Boo is because the trial has just begun. That's right everybody, Seattle is standing up for itself! Instead of laying down and taking it, ala Charlotte, Buffalo, San Diego, Vancouver,etc.; Seattle is fighting back! The City of Seattle filed a lawsuit against Mr. Bennett's LLC, claiming that the Sonics are not fulfilling their lease with the City for KeyArena. If the Court finds in favor of the City, and they should considering that the lease runs through 2010, the franchise will have to stay in the city or pay a large sum of money. If the city is actually able to pull it off and keep the club in town, Bennett will probably sell the team on to one of the many local investors. Schultz for one is desperate to get the club back and keep them in town.

We here at The PineRiders salute everyone fighting the cause against evil multi-millionaire Clay Bennett. Save the Sonics! Keep Seattle in the NBA! Make sure we never have to hear Cleveland! Oklahoma City! It's the NBA Finals on ABC! BOOO Mr. Bennett! BOOOOO!