Hansen still committed to brining NBA team to Seattle
Chris Hansen, who led the failed bid to purchase the Sacramento Kings and bring them to Seattle, on Monday congratulated Sacramento for being able to retain the Kings, but said he's still committed to bringing an NBA team to Seattle.
Hansen made his comments on the sonicsarena,com website, which is where he makes many of his public remarks.
"I'd like to start out by congratulating Mayor Johnson and the fans in Sacramento for the tremendous effort they put together to keep their team," Hansen said on the website. "Given what our community went through in 2008, if there is any silver lining in this for Seattle it is seeing Sacramento's dedicated fan base successfully rally to keep the Kings. This was never about Seattle fans versus Sacramento fans, and it goes unsaid that there is a mutual respect given the circumstances we have both been through. This process was instead about our group and our city putting our best foot forward in an honest and transparent way to return basketball to Seattle, and in that regard our efforts remain undeterred.
" . . . Even as we are disappointed with the developments related to our efforts to purchase the Kings, we would just like to reiterate our dedication to bringing the NBA back to Seattle. We will continue to press forward with our Arena plans with the same commitment and effort we have over the last two years, and look forward to working with the City and County to see the project through the hurdles that remain. Likewise, we plan to continue to work with the League regarding opportunities that may arise to return an NBA franchise to our City.
" . . . Just know that we remain as dedicated as ever to seeing Sonics Basketball return to the Emerald City.
