Will Special Session Save Sonics?

After being unable to tie up all the loose ends before the end of the regular session of the Washington State Legislature, it appears that Gov. Gregoire will be calling a special session, at which time SB 6116 - to help authorize funding the improvement of KeyArena - could possibly be passed.

Or not.

According to The Seattle Times, the governor is still undecided as to whether a special session will be required. As of this moment, the bill - which would enable King County to utilize an existing sales tax for funding - among other things - the renovation of KeyArena - remained unpassed, leaving Seattle for now without any prospects for professional basketball.

Further, by not passing the bill during this session, it takes Clay Bennett off the hook for a $30 million bonus he was to have paid the city were the legislature to act on improving the Key. However, were the bill to pass during the special session, Bennett would still be obligated to pay up the cash, assuming Seattle were not to receive a basketball team in the near future.

Got all that?

Of note, the governor issued a statement which noted the following (via The Spokesman-Review):

"The 2009 legislative session completed the most difficult regular session in a generation with a balanced budget, very significant transportation improvements, and other important agreements, but work remains to be done with respect to a few items.

“I will meet with legislative leadership shortly to determine when the Legislature will reconvene.”

The big word being WHEN and not IF the legislature reconvenes.

Stay tuned.