Key Arena Adventures

Pushback Follow-up: I, for one, am very happy to see this. It was a bit slower than I wanted; this isn't Carville's War Room where the ad goes from concept to focus grouping to release in 48 hours, but all in all, this is pretty good. And it has the guts to use the word "lie".

The supposedly cash-poor Sonics have sent a letter to the mayor's office, indicating a willingness to commit $18.3 million towards stadium reconstruction, as long as they get all the operating revenue from Key Arena, including revenue from non-Sonics events. The team also wants "credit" for investments paid for by city-backed bonds financed with stadium revenue from previous years. Wow, I didn't know you could do that sort of thing! Maybe I can get in on this game as well ...

Dear Seattle City Council,

In light of recent public negotiations with the Seattle Supersonics ownership group, I would like to make the city council a similar offer. I hope that the council will join me in a public-private partnership by investing in a pony. I am willing to contribute ten dollars ($10) in direct private investment towards the purchase of said pony. I believe that this is a fair offer, and this figure should not be treated as a starting point for further negotiation.

I arrived at the $10 figure by estimating payments to the city already made during my previous three-and-a-half years of residency here in Seattle, through sales taxes, property taxes paid by my landlords, and traffic & parking tickets. Over three years, I estimate having paid over two thousand dollars ($2,000) to the city of Seattle. Perhaps those funds have already been used to pay for police protection, public health initiatives, road repair, or security guards at Key Arena, but they really ought to have been used for my policy preference, a pony. Therefore I believe I am entitled to "credit" for past investment in our joint equine venture. Additional investment of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for purchase of the pony & stable upkeep must be made by the city itself.

In exchange for my participation in this partnership, I believe Nicholas Beaudrot Enterprises, Inc. (hereafter "Beaudrot Enterprises") is entitled to all revenue originating from this pony, through appearances at state fairs, hay rides, Bumbershoot and other public events events. Surely the civic value of a pony more than offsets the financial investment, leaving the city with little need for any additional revenue.

I eagerly await your response and hope we can arrive at an amicable solution.

Sincerely,
Nicholas Beaudrot
CEO & President, Nicholas Beaudrot Enterprises, Inc.

It looks like we are now in Act II of the stadium financing play. The Sonics ownership clearly wants to stay in Seattle rather than sell the team, and is willing to invest in the team's future; the question is how will the city and the Sonics share investment and revenue, and how much public accountability the Sonics will have for their finances.

Last updated by Nicholas Beaudrot on 08:30 20 April 2006
$Powered by CityDesk$