What are your thoughts on possibly aquiring the Milwaukee Bucks? (Seattle: auction, legal)

[city414]

What is the talk of the town around the seattle area regarding a new NBA basketball team.

[CrazyDonkey]

Would be poetic justice, since Milwaukee stole the Pilots...

Same basic issue as was in Seattle - the owners want the City to build them an arena, and the City is balking (unwilling to subsidize billionaire owners and millionaire players). The difference is that if they don't come up with an agreement, the NBA can force the owners to sell to the league, after which they'd auction the franchise to the highest bidder. Not going to hold my breath

The Bucks and the billionaires

[Hemlock140]

My prediction is hockey in Tukwila within two years, basketball 2-3 years later. Tukwila has their plan in order and full support. Seattle and King County are just too slow, they love red tape and can't get anything done.

[elkotronics]

Seattle and King County are just too slow, they love red tape and can't get anything done.

Exactly. Just look at the OKC/Bennett affair and remember some of the grueling details in all their gritty detail. How the Seattle Sonic's were just picked up and moved so easily like that is still an abomination.

I still say let's trade the entire Mariner baseball team to New Orleans for the Pelican's and call it a day. Or a night.

[HuskyDawg]

Tukwila is in King County. The Tukwila group doesn't have the resources of the SODO group, and the SODO group is much further along in the process. They own the land and have cleared the environmental review process.

[tifoso]

Originally Posted by HuskyDawg

Tukwila is in King County. The Tukwila group doesn't have the resources of the SODO group, and the SODO group is much further along in the process. They own the land and have cleared the environmental review process.

They may be further along in the planning, but they have a number of hurdles they'll have to jump that the Tukwila group likely won't. For one thing, since the NHL appears to be a more likely near-term prospect, the memorandum of understanding between Hansen and the city and county will have to be renegotiated because the current language states that the NBA has to come first. Mayor Murray has made encouraging noises about making that change, but it's not at all clear that Hansen, whose heart is set on the NBA, would agree.

Given that 1) the NHL would not be the revenue-generator that the NBA would be and 2) the deepest pocket of Hansen's group (Ballmer) has done a runner to LA, it's not at all clear that Hansen would be willing to take on the increased financial risk. He's been pretty quiet about the prospect; certainly the days of him holding court in front of McRory's while he was trying to steal the Kings are but a distant memory. In any event, the financial arrangements would have to be revised and if the agreement was going to have even a prayer of complying with the city's voter-approved I-91, he's going to have to pony up more dough...potentially a lot more. And if there's a hint that it doesn't follow I-91, expect a legal challenge faster than you can say Chris Van Dyk.

Finally, the EIS. Yes, it's done, but it is very possible it too can be challenged in court. Industrial interests, the Port, and the Mariners have all expressed public disapproval about the impact on current industrial and maritime operations as well as on traffic in general. Any or all of them may follow that by lawyering up.

All that said, I hope I'm absolutely wrong about this because it would be fabulous to have the NHL and NBA here. But like Crazy Donkey, I'm not expecting it to happen. The Seattle Process will kill it.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by tifoso

All that said, I hope I'm absolutely wrong about this because it would be fabulous to have the NHL and NBA here. But like Crazy Donkey, I'm not expecting it to happen. The Seattle Process will kill it.

Just think the incentives point to the parties involved (owners, city, county, and state) coming to a deal - they each have too much to lose, if they don't. The Seattle situation was a stand-off between the owner (with more to gain from not coming to a deal) and the city (which had been suckered into a bad deal by the previous owner), with the county and state washing their hands of any responsibility and standing on the sidelines, and the league acting like a carpetbagger, rather than an honest broker.

The basic framework of the SODO deal is acceptable, in that the city isn't being asked to carry the risk, but only the financing and local infrastructure costs.

[homesinseattle]

If we are going to maintain any semblance of moral high ground, we should leave the Bucks alone. I just think the NBA is privately figuring out a way to come here, there is too much money in this town to not be. Perhaps the fact that the NHL is making real progress here may be forcing the issue at NBA headquarters more than you think.

[tifoso]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Just think the incentives point to the parties involved (owners, city, county, and state) coming to a deal - they each have too much to lose, if they don't. The Seattle situation was a stand-off between the owner (with more to gain from not coming to a deal) and the city (which had been suckered into a bad deal by the previous owner), with the county and state washing their hands of any responsibility and standing on the sidelines, and the league acting like a carpetbagger, rather than an honest broker.

The basic framework of the SODO deal is acceptable, in that the city isn't being asked to carry the risk, but only the financing and local infrastructure costs.

Wish I shared your optimism. I can see the owners, mayor, and county all on board. But the City Council, especially after this next election where seven of nine are elected by district? Not so sure. And even if a deal managed to emerge, the EIS, the finances, or both will likely be challenged in court.

Appreciate you bringing up a little bit of history as well with regards to the never-ending arena soap opera. Your point about former Sonics owner Barry Ackerley getting the city to agree to a bad deal (by accepting a remodel that eliminated any possibility of the NHL ever considering Key Arena) isn't mentioned often enough.

[pnwguy2]

There is another story today (7/7/15) in the P.I. about the Bucks moving to Seattle. Apparently the Bucks are dragging their feet in negotiating a new arena, and the NBA does not think their current arena is up to league standards. Sound familiar?

I am not going to get too excited about this, as we have been led down this road before. However, it indeed would be poetic justice after the Pilots moved to Milwaukee after just one year in Seattle in 1969.

The story today speaks of the urgency of this in Milwaukee, and they want to solve it in months, or even weeks, or...

Well, we shall see how it plays out.