Sonics Sold for $200 Million

Jan. 11 -- The Seattle SuperSonics have been sold for $200 million to a group that includes Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, it was announced today in Seattle.

Team president Wally Walker is included in the buyers' group and helped broker the sale.

In selling the Sonics, the Ackerley Group, an umbrella group that owns the team, says it will use the proceeds to pay down debt. The company says it wants to focus on its billboard and broadcasting properties, which offer betteropportunities for profits.

Addition of Ewing Still Hasn’t Filled Seats

Barry Ackerley bought the team in 1983 for $16 million from Sam Schulman. In its Dec. 11 issue, Forbes magazine estimated the value of the Sonics to be $187 million, ranked 15th among the league’s 29 teams.

"We have truly enjoyed our tenure as the owners of the Sonics,however this particular transaction is the right thing for ourshareholders. The added benefit is that the team will remain inSeattle," Ackerley said in a news release.

Attendance at Sonics games has declined since the team releasedcoach George Karl in 1998, and losses of $8 million to $10 millionare likely in this season alone, an analyst said.

"Obviously their season has started in disappointing fashion,so their ticket sales have been lower than expected," said KeithFawcett, an analyst for Merrill Lynch in New York who tracks theAckerley Group, a holding company that includes radio andtelevision stations and billboard advertising.

Forbes Values Team at $187 Million

Rumors of the deal, which includes the WNBA's Seattle Storm, was first reported on ESPN.com on Sunday. (ESPN.com, like ABCNEWS.com, is owned by Walt Disney, Co.) The sale would need to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors, which consists of representatives of all 29 teams. The board will meet in March.

The Dallas Mavericks was the last NBA franchise to sell, changing hands from Ross Perot Jr. to Internet mogul Mark Cuban for $280 million last year.

The Sonics fired head coach Paul Westphal on Nov. 27 after the struggling Sonics got off to a 6-9 start despite acquiring $14 million center Patrick Ewing. The Sonics are now 19-18 under interim coach Nate McMillan but are still struggling to sell tickets.