Who is involved in the ruling of whether the Seattle sonics leave to Oklahoma City?
Judge’s ruling won’t end Sonics-Seattle battle Team, city to base moves on decision By GREG JOHNS P-I REPORTER So now we wait. Both sides in the city’s lawsuit against the Sonics’ ownership group have stated their cases and Judge Marsha Pechman will make her ruling public on Wednesday. But what happens then? If Clay Bennett and his partners win the suit, will moving vans be lining up at the team’s headquarters Thursday to begin hauling the franchise’s assets to Oklahoma City? Not likely. If the city comes out victorious, does that guarantee another two more seasons of Sonics hoops at KeyArena? Not necessarily. Nothing in this legal battle has been clear cut, so don’t expect instant clarity from Pechman’s decision unless the sides use it as a springboard to a binding settlement agreement. If the city does win its case, the odds of the NBA franchise fulfilling its final two seasons of the KeyArena lease certainly increase. That scenario also strengthens the potential for former owner How
The city of Seattle will be paid $45 million in exchange for letting the Sonics move to Oklahoma City this year as part of last-minute settlement announced this afternoon. Sonics owner Clay Bennett may have to pay an additional $30 million in five years if the city is unable to secure another NBA team, under the terms of the settlement announced at simultaneous press conferences in Seattle and Oklahoma City. The deal means the end of the Sonics’ 41-year stay in Seattle, starting as the city’s first professional sports team. Mayor Greg Nickels acknowledged there is no guarantee the city will get another NBA team. In Oklahoma City, Bennett announced the settlement to applause: “We made it. Congratulations…. The NBA will be in Oklahoma City next season, playing their games.” “The transition and move of the operation of this team begins tomorrow morning.” Nickels said the settlement preserves the possibility of NBA basketball in Seattle in the future — noting that NBA Commissioner David
