What would new Seattle arena mean for Blazers?
Suddenly there's serious talk of a new basketball and hockey arena to be built in downtown Seattle. It seems like an obvious ploy to get the Sacramento Kings pro hoops team to move up there. Boy, wouldn't Paul Allen love to swing a deal to move the Blazers to Seattle and let Portland and some new owners have the Kings. Allen's under personal contract with the City of Portland to keep his team here for many more years, but you can bet he'll have the lawyers wracking their brains for a way out of that one.
Maybe the whole Seattle deal is just a head fake to get the taxpayers of Sacramento to build a new arena for the team down there. Stranger things have happened. But if Seattle gets an NBA team and it isn't his, DOS Boy is going to be just a wee bit frustrated.
| Posted at 6:44 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (9)
They have been talking about a new area for the Kings in Sacramento since 2007; with no real plans on the horizon. It's the general consensus in these parts that unless former NBA star, Mayor Kevin Johnson can put a deal together this spring, the Kings will be moving somewhere else.
In fact, various NBA talking heads have been mentioning this for some time.
How the Blazers would pull off a move is another issue entirely. But it's becoming clear the Kings will likely move in 2012 or 2013..
Posted by Dave A. | February 16, 2012 7:05 AM
If Seattle couldn't put together a deal for a new arena when times were good. Why would the rubes up there think the time is ripe now?
Posted by David E Gilmore | February 16, 2012 7:29 AM
I thought the new basketball arena was to be privately funded...?
Posted by Michelle | February 16, 2012 7:51 AM
Let him take this franchise and all it's baggage with him. Call them the Sonics and wish them well. Let Seattle have the heartburn of Allen and all the garbage that comes with him.
Give us the Kings (but call them the Blazers), let Geoff Petrie and Wayne Cooper run the thing.
Posted by Bean | February 16, 2012 8:09 AM
That has always been my speculation that Allen wants to return NBA glory to Seattle and be closer to his Island Bunker.
There is no way the NBA can abandon Portland, but giving them scraps is probably just fine with the New York sleaze that runs the league.
Posted by Ralph Woods | February 16, 2012 8:33 AM
Well, we know any arena Paul Allen's involved in won't be privately funded. Good luck getting the taxpayers in Seattle to cough it up for him. My sense is they haven't had a change of heart since the NBA left town.
Maybe the other guy can bring the Kings up there, if he figures out some way to privately fund an arena (or trick the taxpayers into backing it). There's definitely a hole in the NBA as long as Seattle doesn't have a team.
Posted by observer | February 16, 2012 9:20 AM
The NFL doesn’t allow owners to own both an NFL franchise and an NBA franchise in the same market… So Allen would either need to sell the Seahawks or Blazers for that to happen.
Posted by Blake | February 16, 2012 3:53 PM
Well, I learn something new every day. Sounds like no Blazer move is in the offing.
Posted by Jack Bog | February 16, 2012 4:23 PM
Because I think basketball sucks, I'm in favor of the team leaving town.
Posted by joey | February 16, 2012 4:56 PM