Seattle getting the Key Arena ready for the Sonics

While Sacramento and Seattle are still kind of battling over the fate of the Kings, the Emerald City has already decided to roll out the red carpet. Sacramento keeps coming up with these mysterious owners that still are $350 million short of the Kings' asking price, which is quite laughable, but Seattle is now scheduling Key Arena for the Sonics.

Seattle officials are blocking out space for the Sonics to play at KeyArena in the 2013-14 National Basketball Association season, now that a legal challenge to the deal for a new arena has been dismissed.

Scheduling the Sonics includes working around the seasons of current tenants at the Key, including the Seattle Storm and the Seattle University Redhawks.

Those prospective schedules also depend on the NBA Board of Governors voting to approve a sale of the Sacramento Kings to the Seattle investment group headed by Chris Hansen and to move the team to Seattle. Both decisions could come at the Board of Governors meeting April 18.

Mayor Mike McGinn, who was approached by Hansen 18 months ago about a potential public-private partnership to build a new arena, expressed excitement that a team could be playing at KeyArena in a matter of months.

“We’re working hard to get Key ready by this fall,” he said. “We’re negotiating with Hansen’s people now about physical improvements. It could all happen relatively soon.”

That's about as real as you can get when people start talking about the Sonics actually coming back. I personally think that this is a done deal and there will be NBA basketball next season in the Emerald City. I will, no doubt, be buying  tickets.

(Get your Sonics hat now)