After failing to find public funding to construct a new arena in the Seattle area, the Super. Sonics moved to Oklahoma City before the 2008–09 season, following a $45 million settlement with the city of Seattle to pay off the team’s existing lease at KeyArena at Seattle Center in advance of its 2010 expiration.
Despite the denied request for arbitration in October 2008, the $75 million settlement between Bennett and the city of Seattle was announced on July 2, 2008, and allowed the team to move under certain conditions . The conditions required items associated with the Sonics’ history in Seattle to stay in the city in the Museum of History & Industry.
What happened to the Seattle Sonics in 1977?
Unfortunately, the Sonics struggled early in the 1977 season and Hopkins was replaced with Lenny Wilkens. The team play turned around dramatically, and the Sonics finished the season 47-35 and went on to win the Western Conference title , clinching an appearance in the NBA finals for the first time ever.
Another thing we asked ourselves was: what happened to the Sonics in Oklahoma City?
On March 14, Bennett reached a preliminary agreement with Oklahoma City on a 15-year lease of the Ford Center that was finalized by the Oklahoma City Council and the Sonics’ ownership group two weeks later. The Oklahoma State Legislature later approved a bill to provide tax breaks and other incentives if the team relocated.
One more inquiry we ran across in our research was “What happened to the Seattle SuperSonics?”.
The Seattle Super. Sonics were the first major professional sports team in Seattle, and were a huge part of the sports scene in the pacific northwest. So what exactly led to the team leaving the city they called home for 40 years?
Why were the seattle sonics left the nba?
The Supersonics left Seattle because of the failure to find a new stadium or an upgrade of the existing KeyArena. Originally opened as the Washington State Pavilion in 1962, it was nowhere near NBA standards by the 2000’s. A potential replacement arena in the So. Do District was planned in the 90’s but failed to materialise.
The Sonics then moved on to the semi-finals by facing the Houston Rockets and upsetting and defeating them in six games . The magical run however came to end, when the Sonics faced their longtime rivals the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
You might be asking “When did the Seattle Sonics go to the NBA?”
The Seattle Super. Sonics, commonly known as the Sonics, were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle., the super Sonics played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league’s Western Conference Pacific and Northwest divisions from 1967 until 2008 .
Do the Thunder still own the Sonics?
Technically, the Thunder still own the Sonics history , but this in effect leaves the door open for a new ownership group in Seattle to purchase the naming rights to the “Super. Sonics” from the Thunder if and when the NBA awards a new team or another team decides to relocate to Seattle.
An answer is that bennett purchased the Sonics for $350 million in October, 2006, from Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz . The terms of the sale required his ownership group to “use good faith best efforts” for a term of 12 months in securing a new arena lease or venue in the Seattle area.
Is there any hope for the Seattle Sonics?
There is a potential glimmer of hope for Sonics fans , on December 4, 2018 the NHL unanimously approved the expansion of the league by adding a new franchise in Seattle. This was due in part thanks to the renovations to the KeyArena, now known as Climate Pledge Arena.