Late-breaking news from Seattle that the Sonics and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm have reportedly been sold to a group of Oklahoma City-based investors.
The key player in the Oklahoma City group is a businessman named Clay Bennett, who previously was on the board of directors with the Spurs and last season was part of the group that brought the Hornets to Oklahoma City.
According to the Seattle Times, Sonics management told employees they were committed to keeping the team in Seattle, but one of the ownership group released a statement noting that the Sonics would stay in Seattle for the 2006-07, but after that things depend on negotiations in Seattle for a new arena or at the very least a major remodeling of Key Arena. The Tacoma News Tribune has a good recap of how things got to where they are.
According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a spokesperson for the mayor of Seattle says they’ll hold the team to their lease, which would keep the team in Seattle through 2010.
So what do you think, Seattle fans? Are we about to see the end of the Seattle Sonics?
