City's court battle: Millions. Fans owning the Sonics: Priceless.

I cringe at the thought of using public money for private profit, so I was not in favor of using limited public resources by sinking millions of dollars into renovating KeyArena yet once again.

The arena was remodeled for the Sonics 10 years ago. There is still about $30 million left to pay off after refinancing the original debt. Let's not forget all the other stadiums that have been publicly financed — for one, the nonexistent Kingdome, which has roughly $100 million in remaining debt that we are still paying off.

The NBA has approved a request by Sonics owner Clay Bennett to move the team to Oklahoma. The city is suing to keep the team in Seattle through its KeyArena lease that expires in 2010. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman is expected to issue a ruling today.

As a Sonics fan and community activist, I am well aware of what we, as a community, will lose if the team leaves. Gone will be an economic engine supporting local businesses and providing union jobs, an entertainment alternative adding to our quality of life, and most important, a source of community pride and engagement.

Are we in a catch 22; damned if we do, and damned if we don't?

What if we thought about this a little differently?

When this all started, then-owner Howard Schultz said the Sonics were losing money because the team's contract with Seattle did not bring in enough money from the gate and concessions. Therefore, a stadium remodel was needed to compensate. Does this mean that a better contract with the city would have made the team profitable, even without capital investment?

So who can carry the best contract with the city? The city itself, of course! Maybe we should consider public ownership of the Sonics.

Public money used for public benefit, and public money used for private profit are two entirely different things. If the team could generate positive revenue for the public, without major capital investment to remodel KeyArena, then why not?

We could look at different models of public ownership, such as municipal ownership, state ownership, a public-facilities district, or a combination of these. Or how about a fan-based ownership model? The Green Bay Packers are owned by their fans, and the number of shares any individual can own is limited.

Citizens unanimously welcomed the idea of public ownership of the Sonics at a recent 11th District Town Hall meeting. However, there was some concern because such a model does not currently exist in the NBA.

Public ownership of the Sonics is an unconventional, yet simple solution.

Under public ownership, it really would be the people in charge of deciding how the team is managed — including the level of player salaries.

Public ownership would give the public a stake in our team, so we could control the Sonics as a community resource and decide how our team can best contribute to our standard of living.

Imagine the Cleveland High School cheer squad standing off against the Ingraham High squad at a game, and rotating different high-school — or college — squads through different games.

Imagine using KeyArena's hallways to exhibit pregame presentations on sustainable-living practices. The arena could also host postgame dances to give kids a safe place to hang out, or use of a suite as a reward for public service.

The possibilities of building and educating our community using KeyArena and the Sonics as the draw are only limited by our imagination.

Public investment for public benefit sounds like a good deal to me. We should consider it to keep the Sonics as a community resource for the community.

Bob Hasegawa is a representative for the 11th Legislative District.