Time runs out on Sonics' push for new arena

OLYMPIA — State lawmakers will not vote on a package of KeyArena renovations this year, Gov. Chris Gregoire said today.

The announcement came after more than an hour of closed-door meetings between state officials and representatives from Seattle, King County, and the Seattle SuperSonics.

The NBA team has been pressuring the Legislature to approve a tax package that would pay for some $220 million in upgrades to KeyArena, where the Sonics play their home games.

But several days of negotiations between the city, county and the franchise did not produce a solid enough plan to send to the Legislature for a vote, Gregoire said today.

She and legislative leaders asked the Sonics to continue working on a plan this year, in hopes of bringing a renovation package back to Olympia in 2007.

"I want the Sonics, and I want the Sonics in KeyArena," Gregoire said.

Principal team owner Howard Schultz has threatened to move or sell the Sonics without improvements, and the team has said it is virtually out of time.

Nevertheless, "This ownership does not want to leave Seattle," team lobbyist Becky Bogard said.