Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has spoken to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and is “pretty optimistic” that the city is on track to launch an expansion franchise to replace the SuperSonics.
Silver said in a press conference last month that the NBA was dusting off its long-dormant expansion considerations and putting more time into the concept during the current pandemic. He spoke with Durkan shortly after, and the mayor reaffirmed the city’s desire to bring in a team; the SuperSonics moved to become the Oklahoma City Thunder after the 2007-08 season.
“It’s very good news for the City of Seattle that they are thinking about an expansion team,” Durkan told Seattle TV station KING 5. “And I was honest with him. He knows Seattle wants to be in the front line. We are true. the team should be, but we will respect them when they become their property, because the [owners], you know, [have] to approve it. “
League officials have stressed that expansion is likely years away, if at all. The most recent time the NBA expanded, when the Charlotte Bobcats joined in 2004, the franchise was awarded two years before it started playing.
In addition to its history, fan base, and deep pocket businesses, Seattle is an attractive relocation location as a refurbished arena is expected to be completed later this year. Climate Pledge Arena, the site of the old KeyArena, will be home to the NHL franchise Kraken next season, following a $ 900 million remodel that was more than a decade in the works.
Private equity titan David Bonderman, the majority shareholder of the Kraken and a minority investor in the Boston Celtics, has expressed an interest in entering an offer for an expansion of the NBA franchise to share the arena.
So does Seattle-born Chris Hansen, who runs a successful hedge fund and tried to buy the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle in 2012. Hansen and some partners still own a piece of land in the SoDo area of the city where they hoped to build an NBA-only arena in the event of a return from Sonics.
There could be other bidders if the NBA decides to move forward as well, prompting league officials to set a price target of $ 2.5 billion as a possible expansion fee, sources told ESPN.
Over the past nine months, the NBA has ramped up its line of credit from $ 650 million to $ 1.2 billion, then further agreed to borrow $ 900 million to withstand losses during the 2020-2021 season, with each team $ 30 million in aid.
Durkan said these financial scenarios, among other reasons, could promote expansion as an option among NBA owners, who are expected to discuss the possibility.
“I think it is real. But I think again that the commissioner is going to consult the property, and the property itself is going to be very public for the first time, that they think [expansion] “is probably a good idea for basketball,” said the mayor. “Part of that is the COVID economy. Part of that is the economy of sports. But look, there is no city that I think is better positioned to be successful.”