Key Arena Naming Rights Drop $800K
Posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 3:15 pm by Brian Robinson
So lets be totally clear…Instead of generating the funds for a remodel out of visitor taxes our government has instead chosen to take almost a million dollar hit straight out of Seattle Center operations. Great move guys!
Tim Cies told me a couple of weeks ago that he felt there would be no significant drop in funding becuase the old deal was so far behind the market average. Bad guess there. Nobody likes to put their name on a loser and the Seattle Center is a loser at the moment.
This is probably actually good news for us because it is framed such that people can again look and see that there is a financial incentive towards getting a remodel and a new team.
I’ve also advocated to the city that in our train wreck of an economy I think the $300M construction project using union labor, local material suppliers, and a 50% private contribution has a hell of a lot more value to unions and people in the trades than it did just a few months ago. Construction is coming to a grinding halt and a civic project like that would provide JOBS!
Doesn’t this guy own the grizzlies?
I know I keep proposing an update but it is hard when there is little to update on. We have a really, really solid group of lobbyists and political bigwigs who want to take this and run with it. There is a disagreement with the city in terms of how much advance legwork is necessary at this point. I have told them straight out that the concept of simply doing what they have done in years past is ludicrous and that they need to learn from their mistakes and spend a little money up front. I am just not sure if it will happen. A major point was made in our meeting last thursday that we think the fans are sick of hearing that “a lot is going on behind the scenes” and that we’re not going to just continue to relay that message. They cannot reasonably expect people to just bear with them after getting that same message for years and years.
We’ll see what they come up with. They have a good funding plan, a collection fo
It is weird how much my interest in the NBA has bottomed out. I frankly am not sure if it would come back instantly if a new team arrived but I have to hope so. I’ve really turned my attention to the other reasons to bring a team back. I think the net loss of family entertainment options in Seattle is ridiculous. We have to go to Everett to see any shows instead of going downtown. The Seattle Center needs a revival and an NBA team would be a big part of that. The construction jobs would be great and dammit I just don’t want our city to be associated with this kind of loss.
I tell you what sucks is that I saw that Oklahoma football is number 1. This has got to be Clay-Clay’s dream year and I don’t care how much it cost him he is loving life. Had we stuck to our guns we could have made him miserable and dragged this out, ruining a potentially good year and maybe forcing him to just abandon things. Instead he won and its frustrating.
While I have not yet gotten a legal opinion in this matter I don’t think they are going to follow up further with me in court. There is just too much dirt that I could spread and it really won’t benefit anybody but Jim Brunner and Eric Williams to have me on the record with some things. I have nothing to add to their case that could help them but a whole lot of garbage that would spew onto everybody involved. Thats why we came out tough in our reply.
Probably all I should say about that.
Sorry the site went dead today. We dealt with it…
October 6th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
So i live in billings and the thunder is coming in on wednesday. Im going front row, its going to be a very emotional day for me. I am almost 95% sure clay is going to be there. If that is so, im going to snap
October 6th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
go get him kerry, let him have it. and wear all your sonics gear, or a screw clay shirt.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Brian, it’s both sobering and saddening to hear about and see, with my own eyes when I visit (I’m a Tacoman with family living in Seattle), what is happening to the Emerald City. For all its reputation as a progressive city, the city of Seattle has a profound lack of vision toward its own future.
They (along with state government, let’s spread the blame around) have had decades to work on a solution for easing traffic congestion in and through the city, to redevelop its waterfront, its downtown core and Seattle Center into places of tourism, commerce and civic pride. It has failed on most all accounts, becoming a city of condominiums (no offense meant, just seems like there’s way too many of them).
The departure of the Sonics is a microcosm of this. When Seattle Center Coliseum needed replacing, a new arena was proposed south of the Kingdome. It, of course, went nowhere. So, it was decided, on the cheap, to remodel the Coliseum into an arena that was great for basketball, and not much else (that alone made it obsolete before it reopened, and well before the larger basketball/hockey arenas were built in North America). So, once the Sonics began to struggle, the financials went down the tubes, and we were easy pickings for Oklahomans with gobs of energy cash.
Once we had a generation or so of a struggling basketball product (the high schoolers/underclassmen of our area only knew this, excepting 2005), the Sonics became a scapegoat for the lack of infrastructure and development of that area. “That traffic makes Mercer Street even worse. Not only that, they’re terrible. Good riddance.” I couldn’t count how many times I’ve heard that, and I’d guess you’ve heard it thousands of times over. Even if you live in the city, it isn’t the easiest thing to get to the Key, and it wasn’t the best experience once you got there. I was there in 1995, the opening year, a couple of days before Christmas for a game against the Washington Bullets. The legroom was awful, and I was an slightly taller than average 11-year-old.
As I went back as I got older, the intimacy and the new arena smell had worn off, and it was simply not a good place to watch NBA basketball. It was, and is, a small arena that does very little well. With all of the creativity and intelligence and money in Seattle and its surrounding areas, it is dumbfounding to think we could not have come up with better. I’m sure I’ve gone off track here; that’s the frustration setting in. But again, you’re right, the departure of the Sonics is a symptom of what is going on here. It is a failure of leadership at all levels of government, a lack of courage to do something to benefit Seattle and the state of Washington, by people (of both parties) who wish to stay in charge, even if it means going down with the ship.
A Seattle that is slightly less a hassle to travel in and to, a Seattle where people can invest money in projects that benefit the city and profit from it, a Seattle where a group of wealthy business owners could build a sports building using nearly all of their own money (public money used for infrastructure in and around) that would be a source of civic pride and millions upon millions of dollars in outside source tax revenue, is a Seattle that its residents and its state can be proud of. Heck, San Francisco, that bastion of Republican capitalism, built a gem of a baseball park with entirely private funding…how on earth is that not possible here? Part of the reason that the rest of the state of Washington has a disdain for Seattle is rural v. urban garbage. But a bigger part of the reason is that it isn’t getting much back for the money that’s going into it, and, if that continues, they’re going to put less and less money in.
In short, Seattle needs to be again a place where people enjoy spending their money, from the poorest of the poor to the filthiest of rich, or, in coming years, it isn’t going to be a place to do much of anything. I’d rather turn the Center, leaving the Needle in place, into the greenest of green spaces, and build a new arena, with private money, either on the waterfront near the stadiums or close by, creating a stadium district that would be a money-making engine for the city to do whatever the hell it wanted to do with it. But I support your efforts to remodel the Key, if that is all that can be done. But if we’re just going to repaint some walls, build a new exterior and trick the place out technologically, we’re going to have the same issues once the new Key has been up and running for 10-15 years.
This is sad to say, but visiting Seattle, right now, is like visiting an old friend who had it all going for him: looks, intelligence and cash, but he had no drive to do something great. So, he’s blown his money and is maxing out his credit cards, the apartment he lives in is full of trash and clutter, making it hard to get around, and he doesn’t take care of himself. There’s very little to do in this city together, as a group. Seattle is becoming a recluse. I hope to God that changes, and soon.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
That was really long…sorry guys. If I ever write that much again, I’ll break it up.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Until we get both a team back and David Stern gone (via retirement, injury, death, i honestly dont care)…I refuse to watch any NBA.
I havent kept up to date, and any time I hear from a friend that a player is talking Europe, I grin.
Until the two things above happen, im rooting AGAINST the NBA. I want it to fail. Harsh, but why show any heart when they ripped it out?
October 6th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Meanwhile as of this writing no events are scheduled for the Key past Dec 20.
http://www.seattlecenter.com/events/location/detail.asp?thepagestart=12/20/2008&VE_VenueNum=440
Interesting article a couple of days old from the Everett Herald about the Everett Events Center.
{Joel Starr, co-owner of Tailgater Joe’s across Hewitt Avenue from the arena, says he is disappointed with the arena’s slumping concert calendar.
While he’s excited that rock icon Neil Young is scheduled to perform at Comcast Arena with Death Cab for Cutie later this month, Starr said businesses need the arena to book more concerts to put more feet on the street.
“In my opinion, the arena has not been spending the money necessary to compete with other arenas and venues,” Starr said. “If it wasn’t for the Silvertips, downtown would be in a heck of a lot more trouble than it is now.”
The events center hasn’t completely wiped out the retail hole left by department stores that fled to Everett Mall decades ago, said Earl Dutton, president of the Everett Public Facilities district, the public board that oversees the $71.5 million facility.
It has brought people, though.
“We’ve had 3 million people in there to enjoy themselves,” Dutton said. “That’s what we set out to do. To provide entertainment for the community and we’ve done that. And I think everyone will admit that we’ve revitalized the downtown area.”
Originally known as the Everett Events Center, the public arena topped by towering twin masts has become a symbol for a new Everett.
It was constructed on a hardscrabble block of Hewitt Avenue, once notorious for drug dealing, rowdy taverns and prostitution.
It opened with its first event — a Silvertips game — on Oct. 4, 2003.
Jo Levin has attended dozens of games and events at the arena. She and five other families were early purchasers of a luxury-box suite and they call themselves “Friends of Everett 2.”
She is happy with the overall experience and she believes building the arena was a good move by the city. But she echoes Starr’s concerns about the number of concerts.
“The last few years have been pretty lean,” she said. “We are all very understanding that the Tulalips and the reservations can pay more; still, we have been a little disappointed with concerts.”
Mark Olson, an Everett City Councilman who is also on the public facilities board, said stiffening competition in the Seattle market has complicated negotiations for concert deals.
In addition to Tulalip Amphitheatre nine miles away, Tacoma Dome, WaMu Theater at Qwest Field, The Paramount and The Moore theaters in Seattle viw with Comcast Arena for the same concert acts.
With the loss of the Sonics this year, KeyArena is also expected to fill out its calendar with more concerts.
“What we’re trying to do is saddle up closer to the big concert promoters,” Olson said. “It’s a relationship-based industry and we’re pursuing every possible opportunity.”
Kim Bedier, general manager of Comcast Arena, said the arena is in negotiations with a possible successor to the Everett Hawks arena football team, which folded after three seasons. The Everett Explosion, an International Basketball League team, also left the arena last year after it had trouble filling seats.
The Everett Silvertips, on the other hand, have consistently packed the house. Last year, it drew 251,055 spectators, accounting for nearly half of the arena’s overall attendance.}
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081004/NEWS01/710049907#Comcast.Arena.–.5.years.later
ie The concert market is limited due to the plethora of venues in the area so it’s a good idea to have an anchor tenent or two.
“In my opinion, the arena has not been spending the money necessary to compete with other arenas and venues,” Starr said. “If it wasn’t for the Silvertips, downtown would be in a heck of a lot more trouble than it is now.”
October 6th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
B-ROB,
Thanks for the update. I believe that if presented with the opportunity, I think that local construction companies would even be willing to provide a “discount” on the total cost of materials and labor to help the National Butthead Association return. The only thing is we still have a bitter taste in our mouths because Safeco field was a LOSS for most because they ran out of $$ and refused to pay so some assurances must be made to entice the construction biz. back.
If you integrated LEED GREEN BUILDING into the equation then even better, how about some recycled materials solar panels, green roofs. This could be a testimony to the innovation and creativity of the NW.
One thing I do know is that we are better than this. This is a disgrace and everyone that could have done something and didn’t should be ashamed of themselves.
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
October 6th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
So lets be totally clear…Instead of generating the funds for a remodel out of visitor taxes our government has instead chosen to take almost a million dollar hit straight out of Seattle Center operations. Great move guys!
I don’t get why some folks still believe Bennett would have chosen to sell, or would’ve been forced to sell, if a funding package had been approved for a group that didn’t own the team. That theory never added up.
October 6th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
im just not into nba basketball..dont know when i will be again…only when a team returns is my guess
October 6th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Looks like the site ate my post yesterday.
To sum up, the Warriors have had to sacrifice their mascot because his name was ‘Thunder’.
Clay steals from team #2! Is there no end?
October 6th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Dead, if that is your real name, I do not think the text you reference has much to do with forcing him to sell, but just failure to fund the remodel and hold him here for 2 more years.
Brian, the Griz will lose 5 to 7 million a year after they have cut payroll. They are not adding big contracts, it is as if they are stripping long term debt in time for a possible lease buyout in 2011. Or, maybe I am just reading too much into random items.
October 6th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Hey Brian, what can I do to help? I want to help do something but I dunno what to do.
October 6th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I’m also dead on NBA basketball, which used to be my favorite sport. It’s been really depressing to lose what used to be a big part of my life. The loss of the Sonics is really setting in hard now, much like a breakup with a long-time girlfriend. There is an emptiness that just can’t seem to be filled…
October 6th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Kerry…although I don’t know how u are able to stomach going to that game I hope you are you using it as a chance to express our feelings about this….wearing sonics gear and holding up a big sign!
October 6th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Also thanks for the update Brian…isnt there something we all should/could be doing considering the election is almost here? Or is best to wait unitl after and then start putting more pressure on to get the funding done?
Now that NBA season is about tp start, I am feeling very sad. Today randomly I though ‘wow our Sonics are really gone.” It hit me again like it did when the settlement was announced. Its such a horrible feeling that something that I love so much and that has been such a huge part of my life is now just gone. I didnt have season tickets but I went to a lot of games and it made a lot of great memories but I cant believe this year there will be no NBA in Seattle. Im crushed.
I have lost most interest in the NBA and I feel that will last until Seattle gets a team, maybe longer. I will be wishing the worst for Clay. I miss our team.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Yes i am wearing all sonics gear and sporting a clay is a theif sign or any other things I can think off any suggestions
October 7th, 2008 at 12:00 am
my goal is to make the paper for sure ill have a good shot im sitting front row! I know its going to be hard for me to be there. But since I live in Montana I never got the chance to say goodbye. I want to pay my respects almost you know. Although Its in a Oklahoma City Uni I have to say goodbye to the team I loved. And my gut says clay will be their since it is their first game ever and if thats the case emotions will be running high. And yes im going to have the help from a buddy called jose to help me with that night
October 7th, 2008 at 12:05 am
God if only I had a connection with our arena. I would but a screw clay picture on every seat and im on crutches for god sakes. If that guy gets close to me im going to get kicked out I know it. Guys im doin this for you. This is for the Sonic Family.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:05 am
id say take your baseball bat, but that would look odd going to a basketball match
October 7th, 2008 at 1:12 am
Ghost of Steve, I must say I agree completely with your post. These are the same things I was expressing to my parents just last week. It baffles me to no end how this city could simply sit on its hands regarding SO MANY needs. How friggin long are we going to hear about “mass transit, the Mercer Mess, the Viaduct, the waterfront, Seattle Center, 520,” etc etc etc, until they actually do something about it? It’s irritating. I love Seattle and want to see it go to the next level as a world city but it isn’t going to happen when there is no foresight like there is now. This was one of the most prosperous places on Earth in the late 90s and early 2000s yet none of the issues were addressed. This place makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes.
October 7th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Both Seattle and Hartford lost teams..but Hartford also lost the ability to chear with this AWESOME(NOT) Whaler Fight Song!!!
http://members.tripod.com/whalerbri/brass.mp3
October 7th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Nick Licata had a meeting yesterday on that minor change to Mercer, as he is the lone no vote.
There have been meetings, votes, and yet after the fact he has a meeting, at city hall, pissing away my money on a meeting so he can stomp his feet.
He is not the Council President anymore, he needs to get over it.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Until new leadership restructures the NBA so that a true private/public relationship can develop, pro hoops will fade to dim.
No way it could have worked out.
No longer a fan.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Beautiful Scheffler, just beautiful post.
Mr. Baker, Licata has his pilot fish/flunkies over at the P-U and the Stranger squawking about this too,see the Slog for more.
He’s prepping to run for Mayor soon.
Nobody on the Council listens to him any more. He’s isolated himself to the point where his support has dwindled to a handful of supporters and his pals at SEIU, which is probably enough to keep him in the game until next election cycle since Nickels will be a weak incumbent.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Thanks Kerry for doing that! Please take some pictures!
October 7th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Dead, if that is your real name, I do not think the text you reference has much to do with forcing him to sell, but just failure to fund the remodel and hold him here for 2 more years.
Funding the remodel was not going to keep the team here nor would it ensure a replacement team. Therefore, regardless of funding, the remodel likely wouldn’t have taken place. Thus the hit to Center operations was basically inevitable. The potential ownership group that wants the funding approved is also the same group that wanted the Sonics out of the way asap so they could expedite having control over this market and (maybe) work on getting their own team. So the team staying two more years was also not going to happen. Does the City really care about the extra two-year hit to operations? I can think of 45 million reasons that say no.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
the buyout would be the same a year from now, insert all the stuff you just said.
Licata wasn’t planning on the NBA returning, and claimed it would pencil out. It is a white elephant until there is a remodel of some kind.
They just gave away at least 400k IMO.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
BTW, i’ve been collecting bids on a remodel project for our home and they keep dropping…construction is going through a down trend too and work is drying up. The price could be dropping more and more.
October 7th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
So I found out from my parents that we are going to get to go to the meet and greet because my dads business is sponsoring the game so this could get ugly if clay is there. Wish me luck boys!
October 7th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Well, at least if we’re short on Sonics gear to wear in protest to Thunder games this season, we can still buy it at the NBA online store. Brilliant.
October 7th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Kerry. give em hell. Never let them forget what they did. Freedom of speech forever!
October 7th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Due to their very deliberate deregulation of the financial industry, McCain’s buddies are rich enough that a couple of their turds alone would be enough to afford a new NBA-ready arena for all of us to enjoy.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
“So lets be totally clear…Instead of generating the funds for a remodel out of visitor taxes our government has instead chosen to take almost a million dollar hit straight out of Seattle Center operations. Great move guys!”
The $1.1 million in naming rights the city had been receiving was all going to pay off the KeyArena bonds. Not a dime of it went to “Seattle Center operations.”
Now that the city has used the buyout money to pay off the entire debt on KeyArena, the $300,000 in naming rights each of the next two years will go to the city.
Thus, the city makes a $300,000 per year net profit on naming rights compared to last year.
It is this sort of nonsense that gives Brian Robinson zero credibility with the city council and mayor. He takes a cheap shot at elected officials without even having any idea what he is writing about.
I don’t think nonsense like this is helping your cause.
But that is just my opinion.
October 8th, 2008 at 7:53 am
SpeedCat, George Soros and Warren Buffett are rich enough too. Care to give them a call and pitch them an arena? This has nothing to do with Sens. McCain and Obama.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I’m happy that the city continues to lose revenue from Key Arena. What did the city officials think would happen after the Sonics left? For awhile I was able to push this subject to the back of my mind but with the season getting ready to begin I get sad again. I so looked forward every year to the basketball season beginning and always felt excited to see our guys on the court! Thanks again to all those who took this away from us!
October 8th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Does anyone notice the NBA preseason has started last Saturday?
I — did—-not. I never missed the preseason…
I seriously think I can boycott the NBA until we get a new team.
October 8th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I noticed…but only because Greg Oden playing was the top story on ESPN. The crappy part is that I still like to watch Sportscenter and stuff and can’t avoid scores and highlights. This is really going to suck. But yeah, I’m hellbent on boycotting the NBA.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Not to mention deregulation of financial industry has been steadily going on since the early 90s. It is not a partisan issue.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I have not watched sportscenter in a couple months and a couple days.
October 11th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Bring my Sonics back. The new season is upon us. We need to keep up all efforts to bring the green & gold back to Seattle.
I’m having real difficulty facing the winter in Seattle without my Supes. HELP !
Let all know what efforts and pressure we can bring to get a Sonic team back here. NOW !!