Here's a condensed version of a story in this mornings P-I. The full story is here......Sonics tried to limit interest in team in Seattle, city says


Sonics tried to limit interest in team in Seattle, city says
By GREG JOHNS
P-I REPORTER

By limiting exposure of its players and denying media access through radio interviews, the Sonics have intentionally tried to minimize public interest in their team in Seattle over the past year, according to a motion filed Tuesday seeking to allow testimony of KJR-AM radio personality Mitch Levy.

In the city of Seattle's response to the Sonics' motion to exclude Levy and The Stranger writer Sherman Alexie from the witness list for the upcoming trial to determine the franchise's fate at KeyArena, attorney Michelle Jensen outlined numerous reasons the two media members should be allowed to appear.

Levy would be asked by the city's lawyers to explain how Clay Bennett's Professional Basketball Club has undercut its own marketing efforts in Seattle by severely limiting player and coaches interviews on KJR-AM sports radio, thereby "adding to its self-inflicted financial wounds."

Alexie, an award-winning writer as well as a 10-year Sonics season-ticket holder, would be asked to testify to the "intangible benefits" the team provides Seattle, in contrast to the "near-zero" cultural value once professed by City Councilman Nick Licata.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman will rule on that motion and others in a pretrial conference Friday. The six-day trial is scheduled to open June 16.

The Sonics filed several motions Tuesday, too, asking Pechman to allow a survey showing the Sonics rank third in popularity behind the Seahawks and Mariners among Seattle sports fans; as well as evidence regarding the PBC's efforts to find a new arena in the region.

Both matters go to the "heart of why this matter is in litigation," according to the team's attorneys, noting that the city has conceded KeyArena is inadequate for an NBA team and the PBC was unable to obtain a successor venue in a city that previously had funded new facilities for pro baseball and football.

"Now, on the eve of trial, and after forcing taxpayers, the PBC and several third parties to collectively spend several hundred thousand dollars conducting discovery on these issues, the City claims that whether the PBC acted in good faith is not relevant," the Sonics motion states.

Additionally, the team is asking Pechman to include evidence showing the "dysfunction" between the city and owners that would make any specific-performance ruling difficult to carry out