THE SIDELINES : Accord Keeps Sonics in Seattle
The Seattle SuperSonics reached a tentative agreement with the city to build a new home that would keep the team here, city officials said today.
The proposal calls for Sonics owner Barry Ackerley to build an 18,000- to 19,000-seat arena with adjacent parking just south of the Kingdome near the city center. The complex would cost between $90 million and $100 million, the officials said.
Ackerley would own the building and his son, Bill, would manage it. The city would give Ackerley about $1.1 million a year in admissions tax receipts for the next 30 years.
The Sonics were considering leaving Seattle because of problems with the 28-year-old Coliseum, their present home. The roof leaks, faulty electrical circuits cause the scoreboard to get out of whack during games, and the plumbing is bad, said Sonics spokesman Jim Rupp.
Cities that had expressed the most interest in acquiring the Sonics were Anaheim; Memphis, Tenn.; St. Petersburg, Fla., and Toronto, Rupp said.
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