Who thinks the Seattle Storm should move to Oklahoma?

Answer 1

nice Philthy
and no, they shouldnt
The Storm have a tie to the Sonics
the sonics move, they move.
and the passion of basketball in Seattle is gone
dont take that away from us...

Answer 2

No. The answer's kind of a long one, so I'll recap. It really revolves more around the Sonics than it does the Storm (not to be sexist, but they have the history in Seattle).

Here's the scoop for those who don't know.

Basically, Howard Schulz, former Sonics owner and CEO of Starbucks coffee, bought the team while they were in the current lease with the City of Seattle and KeyArena. The problem is that all those surrounding restaurants don't have to share any of the profit with the Sonics, which apparently is unheard of. There are apparently many other provisions of the deal which really hurt the Sonics in terms of generating funds. The NBA Commissioner called it the worst lease agreement in the NBA. The other problem is that over the past 5-10 years NBA salaries have really spiked, which could not have been predicted. Howard Schulz claims he's lost $60 million over the last 2-3 seasons and for those reasons I suspect he's probably telling the truth. He wants a new deal or even better a new stadium.

That's what's started all of this. From Seattle's point of view, the Mariners and Seahawks' stadiums have raised taxes much more than anticipated and Seattle doesn't want to get locked into another bad deal that would hurt their already high taxes.

Howard Schulz has gotten nowhere in negotiations with the Seattle City Council. Mayor Greg Nickels even set up a non-partisan task force to research and assess the economic ramifications of the Sonics leaving Seattle. The group came back to Nickels with the unanimous opinion that Seattle should back the Sonics, yet Nickels still vetoed their proposition without hesitation. The Sonics had little luck lobbying their case in Olympia and couldn't even garner enough support to put it to a city vote.

According to Schulz, he tried to first find a local buyer who would keep the team in Seattle. No one wanted to be stuck in that deal apparently, and no one thought they could negotiate a deal when Schulz (who negotiates leases all over the world) couldn't. Schulz actually turned down several other offers for the team, including an offer from a group who wanted to move the team to San Jose. That group offered $425 million for the Sonics. The group that bought the team only offered $350 million, but they insisted that their priority was to keep the Sonics in Seattle.

Here's the thing, that group is located in Oklahoma City and amidst the New Orleans crisis, Oklahoma City has emerged as the top candidate to receive a new team when one becomes available. The New Orleans Hornets played most of their games in Oklahoma City last year and their was a really warm reception. Clay Bennett, the guy who just bought the Sonics, has always gone on record as saying he wants to put a team in Oklahoma.

So, what's the truth? It's hard to say. Bennett continues to insist that he loves Seattle and wants the Sonics to remain in Seattle.

Why you should believe him. Because he's a business man, and even though Oklahoma seems to have an interest among fans in getting a team, it's a smaller and potentially less lucrative market for an NBA franchise. For instance, San Antonio is about the same size as Oklahoma (I think) and even though they've had great success with championships and such, it hasn't really been a big money maker for the owners. Also, there's a hefty fee for moving a team (I think it's like $10-20 mill) and it would cost a lot more to start a team up in a new area than it does to continue a team in a place where it has 40 year history.

Why you shouldn't believe him. His roots are in Oklahoma and he's wanted to get a team their since the early 90s. He's been involved in the NBA since 91 or 92 with the San Antonio Spurs.

Even if he's sincere, if they can't reach an agreement for a new stadium or a new lease in the next 12 months, then Bennett has said he'd move the team to Oklahoma City. At this stage in all of this, that seems very unlikely to most people. I continue to be very optimistic, but it's difficult. Things don't look good right now.

The bottom line is that even though Oklahoma city showed big support for the Hornets, they aren't going to be much of a money generator in the long run, because Oklahoma is really small. Seattle's a better market for the Sonics and Storm and hopefully things stay as they are. I wouldn't mind seeing the Hornets and Sting move to Oklahoma, though. As harsh as it sounds, the fact is New Orleans can't really support football and basketball right now and moving that team back would be economic suicide for those teams.

Answer 3

The Seattle Storm should not move to Oklahoma. We love our football too much.

Answer 4

I think Seattle might not like that idea very much. And the name "Seattle Storm" just wouldn't fit very well in Oklahoma. ;-)

Answer 5

I'm just hope that OKC gets a pro team, the Hornets were in the top 15 in attendance this year, they were last the year before. So I think both teams should move to Oklahoma

Answer 6

they don't seem to be shifting. only the day previous, they have presented they have made a deal that they are going to pass to Renton, a city south of seattle. Thank goodness they don't seem to be shifting, they're my homestead crew

Answer 7

by Seattle Storm you mean WNBA? If the Sonics move, they'll move...

Answer 8

although i havent ever seen them play(im in canada) im a big fan and a big sue bird fan, and whatever is best for the team then thats what they should do

Answer 9

I wouldnt mind them moving into my state

Answer 10

Who cares.