Saving the Sonics: Two ways to fund the missing part

It is fairly certain that Olympia (meaning Speaker Frank Chopp) is going to stiff Seattle (as usual) over the plan to save the Sonics by saving KeyArena. That means a missing $75 million from the $300 million package. Back to you, Seattle (or King County), to find the missing amount. So here are two suggestions, of mixed merit, to lay before the public. One is to sell KeyArena to the purchasing group, led by Steve Ballmer of Microsoft and orchestrated by Matt Griffin, the developer. That would make their purchase of the Sonics, or some other future basketball team, worth considerably more. The other idea is to have the public and the fans pony up the missing $75 million, giving them a stake in the team. The ownership idea is not new. Mayor Paul Schell, back when he was negotiating the original fix-up of the Key, floated the idea of giving the Sonics complete control over revenues at the Key, in exchange for managing all of it. Such is the basic deal for the Seahawks, who pay some rent and then capture all the revenue at Qwest Field and its ancillary spaces. Probably that would happen with the Sonics as well. So why not let them also purchase the building, or maybe have a lease-purchase agreement, in exchange for the missing $75 million (or more)? True, it's messy, and there are lots of jobs to be protected. It might seem to the public like giving up a public asset for too few dollars. But in effect, this is what has been happening at Seattle Center, which can't really find the money to invest in proper upgrades of key buildings. EMP, Intiman, Science Center, Children's Theater, the new Opera support building — these are all in effect given over to the organizations, who raise nearly all the money to modernize or build their facilities. The second idea, public ownership of the team (or maybe the Key), is a way to broaden the participation and give the rabid fans a chance to put up some money and have some say in the team. There would have to be a form of bridge money, while the campaign is running. With other public campaigns for worthy causes out there, there would be complaints about competition. Another problem: Once the team is "saved," the urgency might go out of the public campaign. But with fans in effect cutting the purchase price of the team by $75 million, the ownership group could put more money into the renovation budget. Got any better ideas?