SEATTLE, June 17 (UPI) -- The first day of a trial over Seattle's efforts to keep the SuperSonics ended with a fan rally outside the federal courthouse.
About 3,000 fans gathered Monday in Seattle, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. Surrounded by green and gold balloons, they chanted "Save Our Sonics."
The Professional Basketball Group, an Oklahoma City consortium that bought the Sonics in 2006, wants to break the team's lease with the city for Key Arena, with its lawyer arguing that the relationship between city and team is "broken." The city wants to hold the Sonics to the lease, saying that it commits the team to playing home games there for two more years.
The city also contends that PBG knew when it bought the Sonics of the problems the team was having in Seattle and that it always intended to move the team to Oklahoma City.
Monday's witnesses included Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Brad Keller, a lawyer for PBG, questioned him about alleged efforts to sabotage the building of a new arena in suburban Renton.
On Tuesday, Clay Bennett, a co-owner testified.
