Seattle SuperSonics - Franchise History - Relocation To Oklahoma City

Relocation To Oklahoma City

From 2002 to 2006 during the time when the Seattle Supersonics were based in Seattle, Howard Schultz generally acted as the public face of the Seattle Supersonics ownership. In July 2006, Schultz sold the team to a group of businessmen from Oklahoma City for $350 million. The team now plays in Oklahoma as the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the time that the team was based in Seattle, Howard Schultz had 58 partners or minor owners, (Basketball Club of Seattle, L.L.P.)

In 2006, after unsuccessful efforts to persuade Washington state government officials to provide funding to update KeyArena, the SuperSonics' ownership group, led by Howard Schultz, sold the team to Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), an investment group headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clayton Bennett. The purchase, at $350 million, also included the Seattle Storm WNBA franchise. The former ownership group, Basketball Club of Seattle headed by Starbucks Corp. Chair Howard Schultz sold the franchise to Bennett's group because they thought that Bennett would not move the franchise to Oklahoma City but instead keep it in Seattle. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett was quoted as saying "I think it's presumptuous to assume that Clay Bennett and his ownership group won't own that Seattle team for a long, long time in Seattle or somewhere else. It's presumptuous to assume they're going to move that franchise to Oklahoma City," Cornett said. "I understand that people are going to say that seems to be a likely scenario, but that's just speculation." After failing to persuade local governments to fund a $500 million arena complex, Bennett's group notified the NBA that it intended to move the team to Oklahoma City and requested arbitration with the City of Seattle to be released from the Sonics' lease with KeyArena. When the request was rejected by a judge, Seattle sued Bennett's group to enforce the lease that required the team to play in KeyArena through 2010. On July 2, 2008, a settlement was reached that allowed the team to move under certain conditions, including the ownership group's payment of $45 million to Seattle and the possibility of an additional $30 million by 2013 if a new team had not been given to the city. It was agreed that the SuperSonics' name would not be used by Oklahoma City and that team's history could be shared between Oklahoma City and any future NBA team in Seattle. The team began play as the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2008–2009 basketball season after becoming the 3rd NBA franchise to relocate in the past decade, after the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Charlotte Hornets.

In months prior to the settlement, Seattle publicly released email conversations that took place within Bennett's ownership group and alleged that they indicated at least some members of the group had a desire to move the team to Oklahoma City prior to the purchase in 2006. Before that, Sonics co-owner Aubrey McClendon told an Oklahoma City newspaper "we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here," although Bennett denied knowledge of this. Seattle used these incidents to argue that the ownership failed to negotiate in good faith, prompting Schultz to file a lawsuit seeking to rescind the sale of the team and transfer the ownership to a court-appointed receiver. The NBA claimed Schultz' lawsuit was void because Schultz signed a release forbidding himself to sue Bennett's group, but also argued that the proposal would have violated league ownership rules. Schultz dropped the case before the start of the 2008–09 NBA season.

In 2009, Seattle-area filmmakers called the Seattle SuperSonics Historical Preservation Society produced a critically acclaimed documentary film titled Sonicsgate - Requiem For A Team that details the rise and demise of the Seattle SuperSonics franchise. The movie focuses on the more scandalous aspects of the team's departure from Seattle, and it won the 2010 Webby Award for 'Best Sports Film'.