Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | August 9, 2006
On the last of his three days in Seattle to meet with Sonics and Storm employees and local business leaders and politicians, Clayton Bennett met with the media Wednesday morning to reaffirm the Professional Basketball Club's commitment to keeping the Sonics and Storm in Seattle. Bennett, the leader of the group that reached an agreement last month to purchase the Sonics and Storm from the Basketball Club of Seattle, has been encouraged by what he has seen during this visit.
"We met with a very broad profile of business leaders, civic leaders, sports leadership and political leadership in the community," said Bennett. "Many more people to see. We plan to come back on a regular, frequent schedule and reach out to really anyone who's interested in talking to us.
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"We plan to come back on a regular, frequent schedule and reach out to really anyone who's interested in talking to us."
Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty
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"The context of the meetings is primarily just to get personally acquainted, to get to know one another on a personal level and really do a lot of listening. We were very pleased that so many that we met with were willing to be forthcoming in their observations about what has taken place prior to the transaction, how they view the history of sports and pro sports development in the market. I think the most exciting thing for us was the understanding of what the opportunities are in the region."
Bennett met with Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, amongst others, and was scheduled to meet with Governor Christine Gregoire later Wednesday. He also had the opportunity to meet with Sonics star Ray Allen, terming that "an exceptional pleasure."
"I was completely impressed with Ray as a man of character, a man of intelligence, someone who wants to be and I think can be a very valuable partner with us," said Bennett, "certainly not only through his commitment to winning and being part of a winning team on the court, but in terms of his understanding of how the business side works and what we need to do long-term."
Another highlight was touring Safeco Field with Mariners executives Chuck Armstrong, Howard Lincoln and Clyde MacIver.
"I think that's the vision," Bennett said. "That's the quality standard, that's the model, that's what the NBA ought to be in this marketplace."
In more detail, Bennett described his vision for what a new facility for the Sonics and Storm would encompass.
"Our job is to develop a value proposition and a business plan relative to a new facility, and it's not just a basketball arena," he said. "It's a multi-purpose entertainment complex - basketball, potentially hockey, the relative restaurant/retail development in the complex. It's going to be our job to model that and understand the economic framework that is viable and present that and begin to understand with the relative constituent groups what the business relationship can be, what the deal looks like and hopefully, if we're successful, we all agree."
Bennett is optimistic about that outcome.
"It's early in the process," he said, "but my evaluation is and my position continues to be that I am convinced that we can be successful in the development of a world-class arena concept in this area and that the future of the Sonics and the Storm is secure.
"My sense, my reaction to the meetings has been that we are being encouraged and we are being told that this can work, that we can be successful, that the Sonics and Storm are very important to this community and we've got to find a way to work together and be successful."
Part of that optimism stems from the fact that Bennett's group brings a clean slate to the negotiating process.
"Any deal, when you come in and you're new and you're not burdened with the history and specific experiences of the process of the previous group," he explained, "you have the ability to deal in new relationships, straight-forward, new ideas, new perspectives, everything on the table."
Bennett emphasized repeatedly that, at this point of the process, the onus is on the new ownership group.
"We are beginning that in a very aggressive way through developing our own infrastructure here," said Bennett. "Finding public affairs consultants, public relations consultants, legal representation, investment bankers, real-estate advisers, people that will be a part of this broad team that brings cutting-edge expertise to this process and will help us put this together."
Thus far, the process of finding a new arena has not eliminated any options. A renovation of KeyArena remains a possibility, along with alternative sites in the suburbs.
"Everything, in our minds today, is on the table," Bennett said. "I would expect that a site would quickly emerge as we continue to play this out."
Bennett described the timeline as "months, not weeks," but indicated, "I'd like to have this proposition fairly well framed up by the end of the year."
Returning to Seattle for the first time since the announcement of the sale, Bennett enjoyed his trip and getting to see more of the city.
"When I got off the plane, it was 74, and it was 107 at home when I left," he said. "I'm taken with the place, absolutely taken with it. I love the people. It's gorgeous, it's diverse. It's got so much. I've considered reaching out to a couple of realtors, but that might be a slippery slope.
"Our commitment is to this area and this marketplace. That's why we bought the team, was to invest in what we believe is a compelling opportunity in a very important, emerging, international city that we are very excited about being a part of. We're committed to this."
