The Real Day Evil Won

Van Jensen

Van Jensen is a former crime reporter turned comic book writer. In addition to ComicMix, he contributes to Publishers Weekly and Comic Book Resources. He lives in Atlanta, and his blog can be found at graphicfiction.wordpress.com.

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8 Responses

  1. Russ Rogers says:

    OK, so Bennett is paying Seattle 45 million dollars, instead of the 26.5 million he offered them in February (maybe that was just a negotiating point). He will pay another 30 million if Seattle can't find another NBA team in five years. Seattle gets to keep the team name and colors.So, potentially, Seattle will have 75 million dollars of extra revenue over the next 5 years. I wonder how that compares to the tax revenue lost because of the moving of the team. You can pave a lot of roads and pay a lot of public school teachers salaries with 75 mil.It's in the interests of Team Owners to make localities nervous about whether the team will move or not. Sports Teams are notorious for using this kind of pressure to leverage huge corporate welfare payouts in the form of subsidized stadiums, tax breaks, you name it! I'm sure Oklahoma offered Bennet MORE than 75 million over 5 years to move the team. Did Bennet steal the team from Seattle or did Oklahoma? I wonder what the average school teacher's salary is in Seattle and Oklahoma?

  2. Jess Nevins says:

    Uh…you *are* aware of the long tradition of team thievery in professional sports, aren't you? I imagine any fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers would have more than a quibble with your headline. Not to mention the Kansas City Kings, the New Orleans Jazz, the Baltimore Colts, etc etc etc. Which in no way excuses Bennett and Stern. But let's show a little historical perspective here, shall we?

  3. Linda Gold says:

    And I thought this was going to be about Dick Cheney. I can't really call a deal to move a sports team evil. Let's get some perspective here.

  4. Alan Coil says:

    I thought this was going to be about the Supreme Court selecting the President.Money talks. That's all that matters. Cleveland paid HUGE amounts of money to build a basketball arena, then gave it to the owner of the team.But sometimes, the owner can take the credit. Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, was built with the majority of the money coming from the owner.

  5. Joe in Philly says:

    I'm not going to say the move of a sports team is more reprehensible than the true evil that is Dick Cheney, but sports teams are much more important to a city's civic spirit than many non-sports fans give them credit for. So you definitely have my sympathy, Van.To clarify: the extra $30 million that Bennett would pay Seattle if they don't get another team in 5 years is payable only if the Washington state legislature, before the end of 2009, authorizes at least $75 million in public funding to renovate KeyArena.