SEATTLE - Barry Ackerley owned the Sonics in what may have been the heyday of the franchise. His sons now say they want those good times to return.
Chris and Ted Ackerley, in an email to KING 5, formally declared their interest in bringing the Sonics back to Seattle. Although how that's accomplished is unclear.
Ackerley bought the franchise back in 1983 and owned the team for 18 years. The Sonics made the playoffs 13 times during his run. He eventually sold the franchise to the group led by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.
At one point, Ackerley attempted to build a new arena on the current site of Safeco Field, but instead settled on a remodeled Seattle Center Coliseum. It opened in 1995 as KeyArena, and was reconfigured in a way to all but rule out the structure as a suitable long-term hockey facility.
Ackerley passed away in 2011.
His sons have maintained their homes in the Seattle area and the email suggests they miss the NBA.
Seattle is a world class city with a rich basketball history and we believe it deserves an NBA team, alongside its other thriving professional sports franchises. Seattle is also our home, and we are committed to helping in any way we can to bring the NBA back to the city.We have a long-term approach in all our civic, philanthropic, and business engagements. Securing a franchise is a complicated, long-term process. Along the way, it will require support and collaboration from the Seattle community and it won’t happen overnight. We will continue to do what we can to help achieve this goal and we look forward to the day when Seattle can celebrate the return of an important civic institution like the Seattle Supersonics.
Christopher Ackerley and Ted Ackerley
It's unclear just how the goal is accomplished. Multiple sources, in and out of City Hall, describes the Ackerleys' interest as "very preliminary."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said on multiple occasions that the league is not considering expansion, but told reporters in Las Vegas this week, "the reality is we’re not looking to expand at the present time. Maybe at some point down the road we’ll take a look at expansion. Over time, all organizations grow, at least those that continue to thrive. So at some point, we’ll look at it."
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who once led two unsuccessful efforts involving the NBA and Seattle, now owns the L.A. Clippers. He said Wednesday he believed an NBA return to Seattle was not likely within the two years.
Investor Chris Hansen has purchased several acres in SoDo for a new sports arena. He needed the Seattle City Council to approve a vacation of a one-block stretch of Occidental Avenue in order to get a Master Use Permit for the facility. The council voted it down 5-4 on May 2, although Hansen's group can still reapply.
There is a Memorandum of Understanding on the project between Hansen and the city which calls for up to $200 million in public financing. That money would be triggered if Hansen acquired an NBA franchise first and repaid by arena revenue. But that deal expires in 2017.
