Don’t Close Door on NBA Possibility

News Item: Barry Ackerley, the owner of the Seattle SuperSonics, contemplates making a bid for the San Diego Sports Arena lease and possibly moving his franchise south.

Since it sounds a little bit like a fairy tale, let’s call this “Mother Goose and Her Golden Basketball.”

Could something like this really happen? Maybe. Maybe not. The fairy tale could be over before we finish with “once upon a time” because the accounting firm in charge of the bidding refused to extend the Feb. 6 deadline for the Ackerley proposal.

As I understand it, the door is shut but not locked.

The other bidders have not been identified, but I haven’t heard about anyone else who is offering even the potential of a National Basketball Assn. franchise.

For that reason, I hope someone takes the time to listen to this little fairy tale.

After all, it has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

San Diego SuperSonics.

The storyline is romance, and the amazing thing is that San Diego doesn’t have to do any of the romancing. Seattle does.

What?

This is a reverse of what is the norm. Usually, a city trying to get a franchise to move has to wine and dine the owner and make financial concessions on everything from the basic lease to who stripes the parking lot. San Diego would have to do none of the above.

Basically, Ackerley Communications Inc., the umbrella corporation that owns the Sonics, would be hedging its bets if it acquired the Sports Arena lease. It would be weaving a safety net.

It would be forcing Seattle to do the wooing to keep the franchise.

The Ackerley people, to their credit, are being very up-front about this. They are not telling San Diego they are going to bring the Sonics to the Sports Arena. They are not telling Seattle they are going to back up a moving van in the middle of the night. They are saying that this would be a handy lease to have on hand, just in case . . .

The Sonics, you see, are in the midst of a bit of a mix-up with the City of Seattle and King County. Specifically, they would like a new facility. They would like one a little bigger and a little newer with a bigger share of the income.

Both Bob Whitsitt, the Sonics’ president, and Eric Rubin, the legal counsel, have said the club’s preference is to stay in Seattle.

As Whitsitt said: “To stay successful and competitive, we may have to look at outside markets . . . but that’s only if we’ve exhausted all avenues here.”

With that, the ball landed in Seattle’s court. The next move belongs to either the city or the county. One must romance the Sonics to keep them.

San Diego, in contrast, really can’t do anything. There is nothing it can control about the situation, except maybe keep the door open for a belated bid.

You see, if Ackerley gets the Sports Arena lease and decides to import the SuperSonics, he would become his own landlord. Revenue would hop from one pocket to another, rather than from his pocket to someone else’s.

And San Diego would not have to woo a guy to get him to bring his own team to his own facility.

What’s more, this might be San Diego’s best shot at getting an NBA franchise this side of the 21st Century. With two expansion teams this season and two more next season, further such growth is unlikely. If Ackerley does not bring the Sonics south, San Diego would again be cast as a “lady in waiting” for another transplanted franchise . . . and what owner would have such an attractive deal as controlling his own facility?

(A drawback, of course, would be Ackerley getting the lease and not moving the Sonics here. In such a situation, other owners would be understandably reluctant to move their teams to a facility controlled by a rival owner.)

Another specter to consider is the possibility of Ackerley spearheading a drive for a National Hockey League franchise in San Diego, even if he doesn’t move the Sonics.

The key here is that Ackerley, being in both the sports and communications businesses--if they can be separated these days--is not attracted by the Sports Arena as much as he is by the market.

Forget what has happened in the past. This is an excellent market for both the NBA and the NHL.

Cable television is part of it, because San Diego is one of the most thoroughly saturated areas in the country. Astoria, Ore., though No. 1, is not thought to be a candidate for a pro franchise.

Another factor, of course, is San Diego’s tremendous growth. The North County is not only a boom area but an upscale boom area. After all, NBA and NHL tickets are not cheap.

Clearly, San Diego is not perceived as a community that has failed in its opportunities to support big-time winter sports. The Sockers, while a tier or two below the NBA or NHL, have drawn from respectably to quite well. Minor league hockey always drew well. Four professional basketball teams have played here, but the city’s only recent experience with the NBA was with the Clippers, that dog of a franchise that moved to a kennel in Los Angeles.

The Sports Arena itself is hardly a Taj Mahal, although current management has improved it as much as it can be improved with paint, carpet and vacuum cleaners. It is not the home of the future for the SuperSonics or anyone else, but rather a stepping stone into a solid market.

Ackerley and Co. talk of using the Sports Arena as a place to play until a more modern facility can be built elsewhere, such as downtown or maybe North County.

It all makes so much sense that this fairy tale should at least be given a chance to come true, unless one of those mystery bidders can guarantee a happier ending.