Seattle’s first NBA bid: The unlikely story behind the SuperSonics’ arrival
SEATTLE - As NBA governors prepare for a vote next week that could reshape the league’s future, fans across the Puget Sound region are once again wondering whether the Seattle SuperSonics could finally return.
Nearly two decades after the team left Seattle, the debate over expansion has renewed interest in how the city landed an NBA franchise in the first place, a story that historians say was anything but inevitable.
"It was quite the sales job because this was the first-time a major-league sport moved into a city that didn’t have other major league sports," said David Eskenazi of Sportspress Northwest.
1970s Sonics (Museum of History & Industry. All rights reserved.)
A crowded race for an NBA franchise
Talk of an "ambitious expansion" of the National Basketball Association began circulating on the Associated Press wire in the mid-1960s.
Seattle was hardly the only contender. Cities such as San Diego, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Phoenix were also competing for a team.
At the time, Seattle was still working to establish itself among major American cities.
"We wanted to be mentioned in the same breath as other metropolitan cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco," said Eskenazi. "It was still kind of south Alaska then and more provincial."
Still, the broader moment worked in Seattle’s favor. Across the country, growing metropolitan areas were pushing professional leagues to expand.
"With the growth and the populations of many cities around the country, it was a hotbed for expansion," Eskenazi said.
Advertisement for the Seattle SuperSonics in front of the Smith Tower (Via: Seattle Public Library Archives)
A ready-made arena in Seattle
One critical requirement for any expansion franchise was already in place: a modern arena.
The Seattle Coliseum opened during the Century 21 Exposition in 1962 a few years before expansion.
The building would later become KeyArena and is now known as Climate Pledge Arena.
The unlikely investors who made it happen
Beyond a venue, the NBA also required wealthy ownership willing to bankroll the franchise.
But the push did not come primarily from local politicians or business leaders.
"Really it was two So-Cal boys that made it happen," said Eskenazi.
Those two investors, fraternity brothers from the University of Southern California, paid about $1.7 million for the expansion franchise.
"The germ of the whole beginning of the Seattle SuperSonics did not happen in Seattle or the Pacific Northwest," explained Eskenazi.
Even at the time, Seattle beating out more established sports markets surprised many observers.
"You would have expected they would have gone to Pittsburgh or one of the other cities like that, that already had top-level franchises in other sports," remarked Eskenazi. "So it was really incredible that they did this."
A turning point for Seattle sports
One of the key figures behind the franchise effort, Dick Vertlieb, later became a major player in shaping Seattle’s sports landscape.
Eskenazi said Vertlieb’s work did not stop with bringing the Sonics to town. He later helped bring other professional teams to the region and served as the first general manager of the Seattle Mariners.
The success of the NBA bid also helped demonstrate that Seattle could support major league sports.
Eskenazi noted that December will mark the 60th anniversary of the NBA awarding Seattle its franchise.
Looking back as Seattle waits again
Today, as the region waits for the NBA’s next move on expansion, Eskenazi believes Seattle’s circumstances are very different from the 1960s.
"I think there’ll be a local interest in ownership," he said.
Seattle’s economy has grown dramatically since the city first pursued a franchise.
"Now it’s obviously a world-class city," said Eskenazi. "You look at the wealth here. It’s a completely different situation."
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