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Sonics will be in OKC
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Board of Governors approved the Sonics' relocation plan Friday afternoon with a vote of 28 to two.
Sonics owner Clay Bennett says the decision has left him with mixed emotions. He's sad for Seattle but thrilled for Oklahoma City.
The NBA Commissioner David Stern said there will be a $30 million relocation fee. That will be dealt with by the owners.
There is still the case with the Seattle lawsuit trying to keep the Sonics there until their lease expires, but Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett says Oklahoma City residents deserve to celebrate today because of all their hard work and support.
"I think it would be really tough to put a cloud on this day for the citizens of Oklahoma City and the sports fans of Oklahoma City who have worked so hard for this day to come," says Cornett.
"We think that the support for the NBA demonstrated by the fans, government leaders and businesses of Oklahoma City over the last three years have been extraordinary," says Stern.
The board's approval has solidified the city's lease with the Sonics. The contract is set for the 2010-2011 playing season, but the Sonics could be in the city earlier, it all depends on how things go in Seattle.
Meanwhile, state legislators worked quickly to help along the Sonics relocation. The Quality Jobs Act reimburses companies for a portion of their payroll if their payroll hits a certain monetary mark.
Legislators passed a bill and the governor signed it yesterday to allow the NBA to take part. With a 67 to 32 vote in the House, though, not everyone's thrilled with the fine print.
"It was thrown at us so quickly with little time to evaluate it," says Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-OKC.
Reynolds says that's led to a careless bill.
Upon reviewing the bill, Reynolds says he found a loophole that could have led to any professional team making more than $2.5 million dollars when playing in Oklahoma to fit the requirements. An amendment he proposed and the Senate took fixed that, but Reynolds says he's worried more loopholes could pop up later.
"It says gross wages, not gross Oklahoma wages," says Reynolds. "We haven't been able to find out what are considered to be gross wages and how far off that is from what Oklahoma wages will be."
Supporters say the NBA needed this incentive for the more than $70 million payroll it's bringing.
"Our lease was reliant on that legislation," says Cornett.. "Our lease wouldn't be intact today without it."
Reynolds says this bill could put Oklahoma on the losing side.
"If half of that $70 million is paid out in bonuses and players declare themselves as residents of another state, that money won't come in to the state coffers, but the overall incentive given to the owners will be 5.25 percent of the $70 million, not 5.25 percent of the wages earned in Oklahoma," says Reynolds.
Bennet also talked about the legislation and said the support from the city and the state put them over the edge to relocate.
Bennet says the next step is to try and open up the lines of communication with Seattle again and try to get all issues resolved as quickly as possible. As far as the name for the team, Cornett says it will have Oklahoma City in its title.
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