For It Before They Were Against It

Radley Balko | January 21, 2008

In an effort to get out of a stadium lease so they can skip town, the NBA's Seattle Supersonics are arguing in court motions that the team has no economic and little social impact on the city. Odd, since the team argued precisely the opposite when it was trying to get the city to foot the bill for a new stadium. Now that they want to leave, everything's topsy-turvey.

The team and league are also making the opposite argument in Oklahoma City, where they're pushing a $100 million tax package to move the Sonics from the Northwest.

Comments

R C Dean|1.21.08 @ 11:04AM|#

So, if I'm following here, the Sonics are arguing that the legal principle that a fraudulent contract is void should be applied to let the author of the fraud off the hook?

Isn't that kind of like the kids who killed their parents asking for mercy because they are orphans?

RP Goosestepper|1.21.08 @ 11:09AM|#

This posts just shows how much Radley has it out for Ron Paul, trying to tie him in with The Murrah Building bombing.

Shame on you, comsolire.. err cosmoliberter... err... como... uhh, fag!

|1.21.08 @ 11:13AM|#

I suppose it is too much to hope that the people making the pitch in Oklahoma City are publicizing the court motion.

End of technicolor dream.

|1.21.08 @ 11:28AM|#

The team wants to convince U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman that its fight with Seattle is a run-of-the-mill landlord-tenant dispute that can be resolved quickly with a cash payment.

Totally run-of-the-mill; the city should just pay the Sonics what they would have made if they had remained in the city. That's the fair way to handle it, right?

Mike Laursen|1.21.08 @ 11:52AM|#

Can't wait for Bagge's take on this one.

|1.21.08 @ 12:10PM|#

I'm going to take this opportunity to wish Art Modell a long, painful, dialysis-y death. Hurry up, dickwad.

|1.21.08 @ 12:15PM|#

Wasn't this an episode of the Simpsons?

Peter Bagge|1.21.08 @ 12:43PM|#

My take is I hope the Sonics succeed with this motion -- thereby setting a legal argument against stadium welfare written by sports team owners. It's also hilarious to hear a pro team's owners publically tell the truth for a change! I just hope someone in Oklahoma City is paying attention.

|1.21.08 @ 1:01PM|#

Mister Bagge-

I was thinking the same thing, regarding the precedent. I wonder what the boys at the NBA head office (and at NFL/ MLB) are saying about this.

|1.21.08 @ 1:07PM|#

this wouldn't be a problem if the stadiums were **drum roll** privately funded!!! but we all know that.

|1.21.08 @ 1:16PM|#

DDS

Ocassionally, they are "privately funded", but they still get tax concessions and never pay the cost of the extra policing* which the events put on in the stadiums require.

*Before anyone gets rolling on DUI and other petty harrassments, I am referring to the fact that any large event requires some form of crowd control, which is usually provided by the police.

JMR|1.21.08 @ 1:17PM|#

Odd, since the team argued precisely the opposite when it was trying to get the city to foot the bill for a new stadium.

This was only part of their argument, at least when it came to the $500M multipurpose arena they proposed in suburban Renton (and which the team generously offered to pay 20% of the bill for)... they were saying how FANTASTIC a large, multipurpose arena would be for the region, how the CONVENTIONEERS would just be fighting in the streets for the right to hold big conventions in Seattle, how only FOOLS would not see the wisdom of a taxpayer-built arena of this nature - and oh, we'll play basketball there too, on nights when it is not swollen with conventions or concerts.

Dave|1.21.08 @ 1:18PM|#

As an Oklahoma City resident, I will be making every effort to spread this little gem around.

It would warm my black little heart to have the Sonics pull out of Seattle, be forced to pay a (hefty) break-lease penalty, then find Oklahoma City doesn't want them after all.

I can dream, can't I?

|1.21.08 @ 1:48PM|#

Come on, guys, this is a special case. We ARE talking about the Sonics here!

|1.21.08 @ 2:21PM|#

Good riddance Sonics, the northwest is and always has beeen Blazers' territory anyway.

|1.21.08 @ 2:57PM|#

Please take the Orlando Magic!!! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please.....

JMR|1.21.08 @ 3:00PM|#

Please take the Orlando Magic!!! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please.....

The current trendy hope in Seattle (at least among some of the fans and sports talk hosts) is that a "franchise swap" will happen where a team in trouble (probably New Orleans or Charlotte) will come to Seattle and Clay Bennett will take his team to OKC.

Which does not address arena issues, but it does get Clay out of town while retaining the NBA here.

Sorry, Orlando has not been mentioned.

|1.21.08 @ 3:06PM|#

Which does not address arena issues, but it does get Clay out of town while retaining the NBA here.

Looks like only half a win to me. Make the NBA rent high school gyms to play.

miche|1.21.08 @ 4:59PM|#

One of my little sisters recently moved to the OKC area from NOLA and she is staying with me in Dallas while she works a contract nursing job. She's been getting a crash course in libertarian thought and I just made her aware of this piece of info. She is blown away that some groups speak differently from the same mouth and is pissed that she didn't know it sooner.

R C Dean|1.21.08 @ 5:16PM|#

She is blown away that some groups speak differently from the same mouth

New to politics, is she?

miche|1.21.08 @ 5:36PM|#

New to politics, is she?

Yep. She's always been a getting through life kind of person and we were never particularly close. I have 5 sisters and she and I share a birthday. (A year apart to the day.) One year all my friends had chickenpox and her friends didn't. Our joint party was a disaster in my opinion and I never forgave her. ;o) We are working on the relationship but she hears more politics than she ever wanted. I tell her to consider it rent while she works this contract.

|1.21.08 @ 6:57PM|#

Please take the Orlando Magic!!! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please.....

If I still lived in Orange County I'd probably want to throw in Rich Crotty and Buddy Dyer as well.

Mike Laursen|1.21.08 @ 8:42PM|#

My take is I hope the Sonics succeed with this motion...

I meant in cartoon form. Get back to the drawing board, Bagge. :-)

|1.22.08 @ 9:11AM|#

I believe the argument is that the sonics don't have an economic impact in a location with other pro-sports choices. Since the entertainment dollars will be redirected to the NFL or MLB events... OKC has no pro teams so it is a different situation.

Steve Hunt|1.25.08 @ 11:16PM|#

Just put a link on the mapsformillionaires.org to this...my goodness these animals need to be taught a lesson. Corporate welfare at it's ugliest. And David Stern is at the forefront of it all... his dream is to be a "tough jew" ala meyer lansky or Ben Seigel, however he reminds me more of Woody Allen or Allen Dershowitz.

What a schmuck.