Seattle SuperSonics Thread

Sinner said:

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DsLee said:

With the Seattle team, it just seems like there's more suitors tied to the area that could really make a point if they wanted to. Bonderman's daughter/the Kraken group seem like the leading suitors, and playing at Climate Pledge benefits them most, but there's a nonzero chance someone with more money wins that bid AND is willing to build their own arena somewhere else in the future.

Can't tell me city of Bellevue, Tukwila, or Renton wouldn't greenlight an arena. Hansen's old SODO proposal ran into hiccups because he couldn't get a team, and the City of Seattle wanted Seattle Center to be the location. However, a billionaire wouldn't care to be there if they can maximize revenue for themselves and get tax incentives to develop elsewhere.

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Public Enemy said:

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Sinner said:

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dmbrhs said:

I would love a basketball arena in Bellevue, if only to feel the rage of Seattleites who would have to cross the lake for games. I just don't know where you would put it. It would have to be somewhere convenient to light rail. Doesn't make sense otherwise.

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DsLee said:

I'm grateful for what Bonderman, Leiweke, and them did to lay the foundation for the NBA to return. But it's insulting to suggest that it could only be one person/group that could buy the team, or that Climate Pledge HAS to be the arena. Let the open market do it's thing imo.

Only reason I mentioned Tukwila/Renton is because there's actually land that way, with the Sounder train near south center and general area being right off the I5/405 too. If someone wants to cop the team for $7-10B and spend another $B for their own arena, let em!

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jayt1202 said:

It appears to be really happening this time. Also we all knew it would likely be a minimum of 2 years to get the new franchise up and running. A Lenny tribute and having Sonics alum like GP, Kemp, Detlef, etc in the building opening night will be a sight to see.

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Public Enemy said:

How much do you think tickets will cost opening night October 2028?

I feel like nosebleeds will be 2k

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dmbrhs said:

It'll easily be 2K to get in the building. I don't care how much it costs, I'll be there Night 1.

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Luke Ridnour is one of eight players who played in the last Sonics game in Seattle, a 99-95 victory against the Dallas Mavericks.


He still remembers Seattle’s 19-year-old rookie Kevin Durant leading the non-sellout crowd of 16,272 in an earsplitting “Save Our Sonics” chant that included Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who was one of two NBA owners — the other being Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen — who voted against the Sonics’ bid to relocate.

“It was just a little bit surreal,” Ridnour said. “Because we were losing the team, I think that’s probably why it wasn’t a sellout. I think everyone was so mad. They were kind of boycotting it, but at the same time, they wanted to watch the last game and be there.

“It was just kind of a tough moment for the city, for the players and everybody involved with it, just because of the Sonics and the legacy that they’ve had there in Seattle.”


Since they’ve been gone, the Seattle sports scene has shifted and a generation of fans has grown up without the Sonics.

“You see the kids wearing the No. 35 jerseys, and I know they have no idea of a young Kevin Durant playing for the Sonics,” Carlesimo said. “It’s sad is what it really is, because the older people still feel strong about the team.

“I mean, a week doesn’t go by, whether I’m at that market or pumping gas that somebody doesn’t (say) how they love the Sonics or they miss them, that old team. It’s just shocking at the time that’s gone by. We knew it was possible, but I didn’t expect it. And I never thought it would take this long to get a team back.”

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