Sonics trial outcome could give owners a blueprint for moving teams

The outcome of a trial that begins today should have every sports fan in the nation very concerned. If it goes the wrong way, it will give your hometown sports team the blueprint and legal precedent to move your team.

The city of Seattle will meet the Professional Basketball Club, an Oklahoma-based ownership group led by Clay Bennett today in Federal court.

A favorable ruling for the PBC would give the owners a large stick to wield if they decided they could make bigger profits in another city. Your team’s owner could say that if his team moves, it would have no financial impact to surrounding businesses or the local government that entered into a lease agreement with your team.

No strings, no ties. He’s leaving, take it easy.

Today, the OKC Carpetbaggers will argue that they should be able to pay the city about $10 million, get out of its arena lease with the city and skip town. They claim Seattle’s KeyArena is too small, outdated and not suitable for an NBA franchise. Bennett argues that the team will continue to lose millions of dollars if they are not allowed to move to Oklahoma City.

The city will argue that because the lease contains a specific-performance clause, the Sonics must play its remaining games at the Key because of the unique and irreplaceable value of the team.

If the judge agrees with the PBC, your owner will have a legal precedent and a blueprint for skipping town with your team. Here’s the easy 10-step plan:

1. Your owner will claim that your team’s current building is out of date and he is losing money because of it. He’ll set a timeline in which your city will have to come up with an arbitrary and unattainable sum of money, let’s say $500 million, to construct a state-of-the-art-facility. He won’t tell you how much, if anything, he’ll pony up out of his own pocket. He’ll then sit back and watch non-sports fans work themselves into a frenzy, arguing that the team should leave and the money should be spent for essential services.

2. He’ll wipe out the front office staff and hire a rookie general manager. The new GM looks to be about 12-years-old and is so grateful for the opportunity, he’ll do just about anything ownership asks of him.

3. Your new GM will trade your star players for draft picks. He’ll claim your team is in a rebuilding mode and the national media will love him for it. He’ll stock pile draft picks while marching out a team that is lead by rookies and journeymen players.

4. Your team will lose a massive amount of games. Lead by a couple of rookies, your team is learning on the job. The few veteran players that are on your team don’t care enough to do much more than collect a check.

5. TV ratings and attendance will plummet. The only people who watch your team lose night-in and night-out are the core fans. The casual fan has better things to do than watch your team lose.

6. Out of nowhere, one of your veterans steps up. However, he is quickly traded. Your GM has managed to compile a team full of rookies and castoffs, yet has set a franchise record for high salaries. This gives your owner another talking point as he complains about losing money.

7. Your owner will direct a member of the national media to interview a liberal city councilmember. Geeked by the idea that someone from the national media is interviewing him, your councilmember runs his mouth and tells the reporter that professional sports add no value to the city.

8. The deadline for coming up with an arena solution has come and gone and your owner says he’s moving the team. Your city may sue, but there’s now a legal precedent for professional sports teams to buy out the remaining years on its lease and leave town. You’re pretty much screwed.

9. The commissioner of the league and the other owners back the move. No owner will stand in the way because some day they may want to move their teams.

10. Congratulations, your team is moving! Your owner has successfully alienated fans, incurred staggering financial losses and helped fuel a vocal, local anti-pro sports opposition that wants to help load the trucks and move your team out of town. Your team is moving to another city in the mid-West where there are no other professional teams to compete for sports entertainment dollars.