http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2972255 OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma City energy tycoon says the group that purchased the Seattle SuperSonics hopes to move the NBA franchise to Oklahoma City, but he acknowledges the team could make more money in the Pacific Northwest. "But we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here," Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy, told The Journal Record for a story in Monday's edition. "We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even, we'd be thrilled." Majority owner Clay Bennett has set an Oct. 31 deadline for an agreement on a new arena in Seattle. Otherwise, he has promised to begin relocating the team. Kansas City also is considered an option as relocation; the city is looking for an anchor tenant for its new arena. "They've got 60 days to make some decisions they haven't been willing to make in the past year," McClendon told the newspaper, "and if they make them in a way that satisfies Clay, then the team will stay there. If they don't meet the requirements he's laid out, the team will move, and Clay has indicated they'll come to Oklahoma City." Bennett issued a statement Tuesday calling the comments McClendon's "personal thoughts" and said McClendon was "not speaking on behalf of the ownership group." "It is my hope we will see a breakthrough in the next 60 days that will result in securing a new arena for the Sonics and Storm in the Greater Seattle area," Bennett said. McClendon said he, Bennett and others in the ownership group became interested in purchasing an NBA team after the New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City for two seasons after Hurricane Katrina. "We started to look around, and at that time the Sonics were going through some ownership challenges in Seattle," McClendon told the newspaper. "So Clay, very artfully and skillfully, put himself in the middle of those discussions and to the great amazement and surprise to everyone in Seattle, some rednecks from Oklahoma, which we've been called, made off with the team." Bennett's group bought the Sonics a year ago, saying the arena at the Seattle Center was outdated as the home for the NBA franchise and the WNBA's Seattle Storm. In a statement issued earlier this month, Bennett said KeyArena -- the Sonics' current home and the smallest venue in the NBA -- is not an option for the team. He said the Sonics' ownership group had hoped Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels would rally support to find a solution. "Instead he focused on unworkable concepts that are not acceptable," Bennett said in his statement, adding that he hopes other civic leaders step up. This year, the Legislature convened without authorizing any tax money to help build a new arena. Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman, issued a "call to action" last month, asking for offers to help save the team. Nickels said earlier this month that if the Sonics were willing to put $100 million into a new arena or the KeyArena, then the city might be able to match it. Bennett has set an Oct. 31 deadline for an agreement on a new arena. Otherwise, he has promised to begin relocating the team. Kansas City also is considered an option as relocation; the city is looking for an anchor tenant for its new arena. "They take pride in Seattle not needing an NBA team to be considered a world-class city. That's probably true -- they don't," McClendon told The Journal Record. "But I think for Oklahoma City to distance itself from other midsize cities, I think enthusiastic support of a well-run, successful NBA team says a lot about the spirit of this community. We've got a can-do spirit, and we've got a fan base that's turned out. This is a sports town; nobody ever knew it was a pro sports town. I think it is." McClendon backed away from his comments slightly Tuesday in a statement released jointly with Bennett, saying "it has always been my hope that Oklahoma City would have an NBA team someday" but the No. 1 goal was to keep the teams in Seattle. "The comment about my personal hopes cannot in any way be interpreted to mean the organization has not exhaustively pursued every reasonable avenue to get an arena deal done and keep the Sonics and Storm in Seattle," McClendon said.
Seattle definitely isn't a hotbed of sports passion. But moving the Sonics to OKC is bad for the NBA and a big step downwards. Stern needs to step in, lock everyone in a room and tell them to make a deal. I could see moving the Hornets to OKC but not the Sonics.
I suspect that the Sonics will move to KC. Their new arena, the Spint Center, is offering free rent to organizations so that would be tough to pass up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_Center
If I remember correctly, Oklahoma City sold out every game they played there. The players even liked the atmosphere a lot better than New Orleans. New Orleans had crappy attendance even before Katrina hit. The NBA has always thrived in small markets where the only pro sports team is an NBA team...Sacramento, Utah, Portland, Orlando, San Antonio...you might even say that's the NBA's trademark. The NBA will do just fine in Oklahoma.
The Ford Center in OKC is brand new and they too would make a sweetheart deal to land a permanent NBA team as their anchor tenant. I would think they'd be favored, since there is a more recent NBA success story to build from and there aren't other pro teams to fight with for fan support or sponsorship money. Kansas City isn't all that big a city either.
Either way that would suck. Sending Durant to spend his careers in such cities would bite. Yeah, local attendence might be better, but in the big arena of promoting the NBA, national and international media, etc, it would be a major step backward. Stern should step in. Now Las Vegas would be palatable, maybe even fun!
I don't see what's so bad about Durant playing in Oklahoma. Lebron plays in Cleveland; Garnett played in Minnesota for a decade; Yi will play in Milwaukee. OKC is a perfectly respectable place. In fact, I don't think it'd do the league much good if all their big stars played in all the hottest cities. It would alienate most of the country from the league. But, with Lebron in Cleveland, people feel like their team can have a megastar too, even if it is a backwater. Anyway, I think everyone knew the minute the OKC group bought the Sonics that they were going to try to move the team out of town. But, McClendon really put his foot in it by saying so outloud.
God, McClendon sounds like such a rube. Bennett is doing the wise thing because there is still a chance Seattle will make a deal and keep the team there. By saying they never intended to keep the team in Seattle, it makes Bennett out to be a liar when he originally told everyone in Seattle they wanted to keep the team there. It makes negotiating so difficult and McClendon sounds like he is wallowing in victory before they've even gotten to that point. It would be ironic if the team stayed put or, better yet, moved to KC. It's a little like the things some of the folks in Louisville said when they were courting the Rockets. They jumped WAY ahead of the gun and all it did was galvanize support in Houston.
OLC deserves a team. they sold out every game there. whichever team is lucky enough to end up there will have unconditional support for a long time.
I don't think a move to Oklahoma City would be a good move in the long run for either the Sonics or the NBA. Yeah they sold out a few games when another city's team was in town, but doing that over the course of say ten years or so is different. This is going to end up being Memphis Grizzles part two, plus I'm sure Cuban will work to stop the move because this is basically someone setting up shop in his back yard.
Do you think the players want to live in KC, let alone, OKC, relative to toher options? Just selling local tickets is a small part of NBA global revenue, and such hijacking by a small town slick makes the league look bad. Further, you cannot compare Cleve or Minny to OKC it terms of visability, media or pro sport history.
I've always wanted Seattle to get another team. They are a great basketball town and they got screwed when the Sonics left.
Who moves to the east with 2 new west teams? Grizz and Pels? Minny? Maybe NBA will finally do away with conferences.
Yeah Seattle deserves their team back with all history. if Seattle and Vegas get teams, then NO and Memphis moves to the EC since both are east of the ms river anyway. okc and minny get moved to the SW division which is renamed the central. then vegas goes to the nw division, which can get renamed as mountain or something
I'm not a fan of more teams. There is only so many superstars in the league, the rest of the teams just suck. I'm not a fan of the play-in either since teams that ended the season .500 can get thrown out by teams under 0.500. the product doesn't need to be watered down anymore.
I don't want more teams either. Just move the Kings to Vegas and either the Jazz or the Timberwolves to Seattle.
