The LA Clippers vs. Seattle Supersonics Debate

[Supersonics41]

From a respectable Seattle reporter

Chris Daniels ‏@ChrisDaniels5 · 3h
So...to those suggesting a Ballmer-Clippers deal would kill #SeattleArena project or #Seattle's hoop dreams, I'm hearing that's NOT the case

Chris Daniels ‏@ChrisDaniels5 · 3h
If Ballmer gets Clippers, from what I'm hearing, his minority stake in #SeattleArena project would likely be filled by another person.

Chris Daniels ‏@ChrisDaniels5 · 3h
FWIW - I'm hearing Steve Ballmer still considered long shot for Clippers, & his involvement DOES NOT impact #SeattleArena project, or effort

Chris Daniels ‏@ChrisDaniels5 · 3h
MT @ramonashelburne ESPN has learned there are 6 serious bidders for Clippers. S.Sterling not using an investment bank to handle the sale

Thank you for the tweets, Supersonic41. I figured Ballmer was not among the favorite candidates; that would be the Guggenheim Partners and the Geffen-Ellison-Winfrey-Wasserman group. As the full Seattle Times article mentioned, Hansen started the Sodo project before Ballmer came aboard and would just need to find other sources of financial backing should he walk.

As far as I can tell, the real problem is the chicken-and-egg circular situation in Seattle with the missed opportunity of luring the NHL's Coyotes out of Arizona. A new arena will not be approved without a commitment from an NBA or NHL team, however, it doesn't look like such a commitment will happen without upgrades to current arena plans. I don't know the specifics and details but I'll reference the recent article from the author of the tweets you cited.

On top of that, while I think Seattle would be at the front of the line for NBA domestic expansion especially if the city can secure an NHL team, Stern previously talked about expanding into international markets like London and China before considering US expansion, but that was probably posturing to drive up values of the Bucks and Kings during their respective sales and it's now Silver in control instead of Stern.

Chris Daniels, KING 5 News (4/30/14)

What does that mean for Hansen’s Seattle arena plan? Sources close to the project suggest the environmental review, on their end, will be done in mid-summer. Those same sources say there is currently no interest in modifying the already approved Memorandum of Understanding and there is hope that the City and King County Councils will approve the final documents by this fall. Construction, however, would not begin until Hansen and Ballmer acquire an NBA franchise.

That leads to natural speculation about whether the NHL would award an expansion franchise to Seattle if the city was willing to modify the MOU. Seattle City Council President Tim Burgess said there is not an appetite to do so.
...

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told a group of reporters last week at a summit for the Associated Press Sports Editors Association, "Key Arena isn't ideal or close to ideal for NHL in Seattle.” He added that “expansion there is held up by building uncertainty."

Clippers to Seattle? Sorry Emerald City

Yeah, your on the right track. At some point, the NHL will most definitely be in Seattle (expansion). It's not as clear for basketball...does a team come thru expansion or relocation?? We have a committed owner (Hansen) who has invested in an arena. The problem has been securing a team. We thought that team would be the Kings!

[Akklaim1]

Why do Flaker fans desperately want the Clippers to leave LA? Are they that threatened? I am a Dodger fan and I would welcome the Angels in LA if they were to move here.

[Supersonics41]

and that is the sad story behind the Sonics

NBA is not looking at expansion for a while and that MOU time limit is in 2017. Plus everybody has to remember that Seattle Politics is probably the most violable then any city in America and they don't get along at all. Right now the race is on to see if NHL or NBA would bring a team there but it will get to a point that they will just shut it down and roll with the Seahawks Sounders and M's.

If Ballmer gets the team then it stay in LA no question ask.

IMHO the NHL will be the first to the dance. All the signs point to hockey first. When the time comes to amend a hockey first MOU, it will get approved! The mayor seems a little out of the loop on things, but you have to remember that the original MOU was easily passed (7-2 if I remember correctly) & we have the King county executive as our head cheerleader.

[Quake Griffin]

Take a team from the east and give to to seattle....then move Memphis or NOLA to the Eastern Conference where they belong.

but leave my damn Clippers alone.

[NekiEcko]

Take a team from the east and give to to seattle....then move Memphis or NOLA to the Eastern Conference where they belong.

but leave my damn Clippers alone.

For the last time!!!! Nobody from Seattle wants the Clippers period. It is expansion or nothing at all. It will get to a point (I hate to say this) that Seattle should just concrete on getting a Hockey team here not NBA. The NBA have the chances to help Seattle to get a team plenty of times but use them as leverage and every time the NBA fans wants to look at Seattle like the bad guys here (example one is the post that I am quote from) and fans of Seattle is getting tired of it being leverage and getting look down.

Sonics fans deserve better then this but NBA does not care at all. Besides Ballmer has say that he will keep the team there in LA not moving to Seattle.

[Downtown]

It certainly would be a big disappointment to the Seattle group not to have one of the richest men in the world backing them, but it would be unbelievable for fans of the Clippers to have someone who not only is known as a passionate basketball fan, but someone that would keep a successful franchise right where it is and never cheap out on anything.

Clippers fans should be so lucky that Balmer ends up owning the team. It's hard to fathom but Balmer is a rare individual that wouldn't blink an eye to shelling out over a billion dollars.

[Quake Griffin]

Take a team from the east and give to to seattle....then move Memphis or NOLA to the Eastern Conference where they belong.

but leave my damn Clippers alone.

For the last time!!!! Nobody from Seattle wants the Clippers period. It is expansion or nothing at all. It will get to a point (I hate to say this) that Seattle should just concrete on getting a Hockey team here not NBA. The NBA have the chances to help Seattle to get a team plenty of times but use them as leverage and every time the NBA fans wants to look at Seattle like the bad guys here (example one is the post that I am quote from) and fans of Seattle is getting tired of it being leverage and getting look down.

Sonics fans deserve better then this but NBA does not care at all. Besides Ballmer has say that he will keep the team there in LA not moving to Seattle.

cool.

hope that's enough for them to leave my damn Clippers alone.

[Supersonics41]

Take a team from the east and give to to seattle....then move Memphis or NOLA to the Eastern Conference where they belong.

but leave my damn Clippers alone.

For the last time!!!! Nobody from Seattle wants the Clippers period. It is expansion or nothing at all. It will get to a point (I hate to say this) that Seattle should just concrete on getting a Hockey team here not NBA. The NBA have the chances to help Seattle to get a team plenty of times but use them as leverage and every time the NBA fans wants to look at Seattle like the bad guys here (example one is the post that I am quote from) and fans of Seattle is getting tired of it being leverage and getting look down.

Sonics fans deserve better then this but NBA does not care at all. Besides Ballmer has say that he will keep the team there in LA not moving to Seattle.

cool.

hope that's enough for them to leave my damn Clippers alone.

Listen, there would be plenty of Seattle & Sonics fans that would be elated to have the Clippers move, myself being one of them! However, it is pretty clear that even if Chris Hansen himself or Steve Ballmer bought & tried to move the team to Seattle, the league would all but certainly block such a move. Most Seattle fans would love the clipps!! At the same time, we aren't so niave to think that it could actually become a reality.

[illastrate]

FWIW, Wammy got banned from Clippers Topbuzz. And he's always tweeting about his conspiracy theories. He said the signing of Danny Granger gave the Clips a "true big 3". I chuckled.

[mj_shoefanatic]

I don't like this thread

Word. It's more like a Clipper hater/troll fest.

[NBAWestFan]

Steve is buying for a move to his state to be close to home.
$$$ doesn't matter to him. He may say he is not going to move the team like OKC did at first
but once it all settles he will use his $$$ to move the team and doesn't care if it looses value
he wants a team where he can drive to without getting on a plane.

Basketball is a fast growing sport even since the team left Seattle.
I believe the Clippers will be a name of the past for now.

Rest assured he did not buy the team to leave it in LA after spending most or all of his life
in the state of WA.

[Neddy]

Steve is buying for a move to his state to be close to home.
$$$ doesn't matter to him. He may say he is not going to move the team like OKC did at first
but once it all settles he will use his $$$ to move the team and doesn't care if it looses value
he wants a team where he can drive to without getting on a plane.

Basketball is a fast growing sport even since the team left Seattle.
I believe the Clippers will be a name of the past for now.

Rest assured he did not buy the team to leave it in LA after spending most or all of his life
in the state of WA.

prove it, troll. you can't. link just 1 site to substantiate your claim. you can't.


now **** off.

[theagent]

With all the billionaires in WA why don't they just create a team??

[Supersonics41]

With all the billionaires in WA why don't they just create a team??

Can't create a team when the league doesn't want to invite you to the party

[theagent]

With all the billionaires in WA why don't they just create a team??

Can't create a team when the league doesn't want to invite you to the party

That's dumb too much money to be made in WA

[azncorruptedo17]

With all the billionaires in WA why don't they just create a team??

Can't create a team when the league doesn't want to invite you to the party

That's dumb too much money to be made in WA

are you saying that Seattle is a lot bigger of a market than LA is? o.O frealzies?

[Neddy]

With all the billionaires in WA why don't they just create a team??

Can't create a team when the league doesn't want to invite you to the party

That's dumb too much money to be made in WA

how much money do you think is there to be made in the state of WA when the entire state have less than 7 million? you do realize just the LA county has 10 million alone that are legally accounted for?

and i still own a house i can't sell in Pierce county, WA and believe me when i say this. nobody plays basketball in parks like people in southern cal up in northwest because it RAINS ALL THE **** TIME!!!!

[Downtown]

Just so you know, the market around Seattle is a bit bigger than you might think.

I live in Vancouver, Canada, and always made the short drive to Seattle when they had the Sonics, along with a few hundred others.

When the Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders play each other in soccer there's usually around 1500 fans that make the trip both ways.

And of the Seattle Seahawks season ticket holders, there's around 5000 that are from Canada (not only from here in British Columbia but I've read there's a few from Alberta that fly in on weekends).

So with the Canadian dollar not doing too bad against the U.S. dollar more of us make weekend getaways to Seattle for shopping and cheaper gas.

I'm just saying it's not a bad market although there's no way it will ever compete with Los Angeles and I don't for one second believe the Clippers will ever move to Seattle.

[Neddy]

Just so you know, the market around Seattle is a bit bigger than you might think.

I live in Vancouver, Canada, and always made the short drive to Seattle when they had the Sonics, along with a few hundred others.

When the Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders play each other in soccer there's usually around 1500 fans that make the trip both ways.

And of the Seattle Seahawks season ticket holders, there's around 5000 that are from Canada (not only from here in British Columbia but I've read there's a few from Alberta that fly in on weekends).

So with the Canadian dollar not doing too bad against the U.S. dollar more of us make weekend getaways to Seattle for shopping and cheaper gas.

I'm just saying it's not a bad market although there's no way it will ever compete with Los Angeles and I don't for one second believe the Clippers will ever move to Seattle.

I have been living right here in Northwest for more than a decade now, live currently in Oregon and own another house in Tacoma area and I too am speaking from my own life experience, and basketball is nothing like what it is like in Southern Cal in terms of its popularity and culture, and I don't think it's even debatable once you step out of the metro area. it is a football and baseball country in WA, and a football culture out here in mid willamatte valley where i currently reside. I only live 40 miles out from portland I hardly ever see a blazers fan out here, just like when i lived in puyallup and worked in tacoma i hardly ever so a sonics fan.
the #1 sports in Tacoma area when i lived there, was the Mariners baseball. #2? the Shehawks.
around here in MidWillamette valley, the only sports that count is the U of O Ducks football and that's it. I hardly ever see anyone being passionate about anything else. an occasional transplant like me from elsewhere that cheer for say, the Yanks, the Sox, the Giants, and maybe Oakland A's but those of us the baseball fans are pretty far in between all the Oregon Ducks signs and flags. being a dentist, I come in contact with 2-3 thousand people every each year and when they are in my chair, at least with men I mostly talk about sports. probably the #1 sports activity they participate in is fishing. the least involved sports around here, is basketball.

and BTW, it still isn't a comparable market to LA when considering WA has less than 7 million people total, and Oregon is around 4 million. that is only 11 total million population in 2 states compare to just the city of LA alone being 10 that are legally counted for.

[mttwlsn16]

F Seattle