NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that most of the questions the league’s BOG still have about a potential expansion franchise in Seattle “focus on the makeup of the ownership group outside of the principal owner and to what level of success the franchise could achieve,” according to Tim Booth of the SEATTLE TIMES. One Roof Sports & Entertainment, led by Kraken majority owner Samantha Holloway, already has billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy as part of its ownership portfolio with the Kraken. Silver: “It’s not just the principal. I think they’re interested in the entire group. And then beyond that, I think it’s what is the level of passion? What are they projecting they can do in the market?” Booth noted one area that “doesn’t seem to be a question” is the arena situation. Silver praised Climate Pledge Arena as a “top-tier venue that members of the league’s operations staff have visited and vetted.” Silver noted that if Seattle was already in the league, the building “would be ready for hosting games when the new season begins next month.” While One Roof Sports & Entertainment remains the lead group, Silver again said that the league is “looking at more than one bid for the city” (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/15).
READY TO GO: Silver said, “If we were opening in five weeks, we could be ready in Seattle.” In Seattle, Rick Morgan wrote Silver’s comments “carry historical significance.” When the Sonics left Seattle in 2008 to become the Thunder, the “major sticking point between the NBA and the city was the lack of a new arena to replace an aging KeyArena.” A majority stake in Climate Pledge Arena “strengthens the Holloway-led bid,” as the NBA will “likely appreciate an owner controlling day-to-day operations of the team’s home.” It will also “ensure the group still gets something out of a new Climate Pledge Arena-tenant NBA team if Holloway doesn’t win the expansion bid.” In August, a firm called BlackSun Private Equity announced that it was part of a bid on the Sonics with an organization called Native World Sports. Private equity ownership is limited in the NBA, meaning “a firm can’t lead the bid or take a majority stake.” BlackSun CEO Atonn Muhammad said that the firm will announce who the controlling owner would be “very soon.” He said, “It’s a really impressive entity. We’re going to reserve that for another announcement.” BlackSun has said that it is “working with Tulalip Tribes to put an arena in Marysville,” roughly 35 miles north of Seattle (PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/15).