Times are different now

Here’s an idea: Why don’t the thousands of enthusiastic Sonics fans who support Chris Hanson’s offer to bring an NBA team back to Seattle pay for it with a tariff on their ticket price instead of relying on $200 million in public bonds?

I’m pretty sure that I secured the last parking space available in Pioneer Square the night the Sonics won the NBA Championship in 1979, and throughly enjoyed celebrating that exciting victory. I remained a Sonics fan until their departure to Oklahoma. But these are different times.

Using taxpayer dollars to subsidize discretionary activities is not an option in this economy; the principals in this deal can well afford to cover all of the costs. If they are unwilling to do that, then look to the ticket holders to pick up the slack, not the general public.

— Joanne Hudson, Seattle