The hopes of Seattle retaining their basketball clubs took a severe hit on Tuesday as voters approved a measure that would restrict using public funds to build a new arena.

"The passage of Initiative 91 makes it much more difficult to build a multipurpose arena to serve as the new home for the Sonics within the city of Seattle," said Clayton Bennett, who heads the Oklahoma-based ownership group for the teams.

"While Seattle will now be relegated to a second-tier status, we will continue to seek other sites within King County," Bennett said. "Other cities in King County have expressed great interest in becoming the new home of the Sonics."

Bennett said the team will honor its lease at KeyArena, which expires in 2010, "and then hopes to relocate to a new facility outside of Seattle but within King County."