After nearly four months of pondering the return of professional basketball, Seattle was left feeling jilted again after the NBA Board of Governors rejected the prospective relocation of the Sacramento Kings with no promise of a future team for fans in the Puget Sound region.

The board voted 22-8 Wednesday in Dallas to deny the move of the franchise. That set off a string of anger and frustration on social media from NBA fans in Seattle anxious at the possibility of seeing the SuperSonics return. Instead, it's another waiting game for Sonics fans. If there is hope for Seattle fans, it came from NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, who indicated that expansion was discussed for the future and, "We fully expect we will return there one day."

 

The man behind the bid to return NBA basketball to the Puget Sound region is sounding down, but not out, following the vote by the NBA Board of Governors against his proposal to relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle. A few hours after Wednesday's announcement in Dallas, investor Chris Hansen posted a statement to his SonicsArena.com website thanking fans for their support and saying, "Our day will come...and when it does it will just be that much sweeter for the struggle."

He also thanked the league and its owners for their time and consideration, and said he looked forward to hearing back on an agreement to join the Kings' owners as limited partners in the franchise.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says the city's memorandum of understanding with Hansen is for five years, and officials will continue working to bring the NBA back to Seattle.He says, "I share the disappointment of Sonics fans about today's vote. But we are in this for the long haul."

 

 

 

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