The Mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, Has spoken with the NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, And is “quite optimistic” that the city is moving toward the arrival of an expansion franchise to replace the SuperSonics.
Silver said at a news conference last month that the NBA was dusting off its latent expansion consideration for a long time and had devoted more time to the concept during the current pandemic. He spoke with Durkan shortly afterwards and the mayor reaffirmed the city’s desire to get a team.
“It’s very good news for the city of Seattle to be thinking about an expansion team,” Durkan told KING 5 in Seattle. “And I was honest with him. He knows Seattle wants to be at the top of the line. We’re where the team should be. But we’ll respect them as they move toward their property because the owners, you know , must approve it “.
League officials have stressed that years will likely be left for the expansion, if it happens. The last time the NBA expanded was when the Charlotte Bobcats they joined in 2004.
In addition to its history, fan base and big money corporations, Seattle is attractive as a relocation site because a renewed arena is expected to be ready by the end of this year. Climate Pledge Arena, The place of the old KeyArena, Will be home to the expansion franchise of the NHL Kraken next season after a $ 900 million rebuild that took place for more than a decade.
The titan of private capital David Bonderman, The majority owner of the Kraken and a minority investor in the Boston Celtics, has expressed interest in joining an offer in an NBA expansion franchise to share the arena.
Like Chris Hansen, A Seattle native, who runs a hedge fund successfully and tried to buy the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle in 2012. Hansen and some partners still own land in the Sodo section of the city where they hoped to build a exclusive NBA stadium in case the Sonics return.
There could be other bidders if the NBA also decides to go ahead, which led League officials to set a target price in the $ 2.5 billion range as a possible expansion rate, sources told ESPN.
Over the past nine months, the NBA increased its line of credit from $ 650 million to $ 1.2 billion and then agreed to borrow $ 900 million to overcome losses during the 2020-21 season and each team received $ 30 million in assistance.
Durkan said these financial scenarios, among other reasons, may help the expansion move forward as an option among NBA owners, who are expected to discuss the possibility.
“I think it’s real. But I think about it again, the commissioner consulted the owners and they are being very public for the first time and they think (the expansion) is probably a good idea for basketball,” the mayor said . “Part of that is the COVID economy. Part of it is the sports economy. But look, there’s no city that I think is better positioned to succeed.”