Clay Bennett | |
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Born | Clayton Ike Bennett November 14, 1959 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Chairman, Dorchester Capital Chairman, Professional Basketball Club LLC |
Spouse | Louise Gaylord Ennis (m. 1981) |
Clayton Ike Bennett (born 1959) [1] is an American businessman and chairman of the Professional Basketball Club LLC, the ownership group of the Oklahoma City Thunder, an NBA franchise formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics. Bennett is the chairman of Oklahoma City-based Dorchester Capital Corporation, as well as the chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the Oklahoma Heritage Association and served as chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma from 2011–2019. [2] [3] [4]
Bennett was one of the owners of the San Antonio Spurs in the mid-1990s, where one of his primary duties was to represent the team on the NBA Board of Governors. Immediately before the 2005–06 NBA season, Bennett, along with Aubrey McClendon of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Tom L. Ward of Oklahoma City-based SandRidge Energy Corporation, and G. Jeffrey Records Jr. of Oklahoma City-based MidFirst Bank, partnered with the city of Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma in providing a revenue guarantee for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets. This resulted in the relocation of the Hornets to Oklahoma City for two seasons. The temporary relocation to Oklahoma City stemmed from damage to the arena and infrastructure in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Bennett is the chairman of the Oklahoma City-based Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), which owns the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. Formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics, the team was purchased from Howard Schultz in 2006 for approximately $350 million with Bennett promising a good-faith effort to keep the team in Seattle, provided there would be a public commitment to a new arena. After failing to get $500 million in public funding from local taxes to build a new suburban arena for the team, [5] Bennett notified the NBA on November 2, 2007, of the ownership group's intent to move the team to Oklahoma City. [6] [7] [8] On March 21, 2008, Bennett made known his plan to relocate the basketball franchise. [9] The NBA commissioner David Stern was supportive of the move to send a message to all cities that if you do not subsidize the NBA then you could lose your team like Seattle. On April 18, 2008, NBA owners gave approval for moving the franchise from Seattle for the 2008–2009 season pending the outcome of the city's case to uphold the lease and the former ownership group's lawsuit to rescind the purchase. [10] On July 2, 2008, Bennett's ownership group reached a settlement agreement in the lawsuit filed by the city of Seattle, thus allowing the franchise to move from Seattle to Oklahoma City. [11] [12]
On April 15, 2011, Bennett was named chairman of the NBA's relocation committee. [13]
On May 15, 2013, Bennett was a part of the board of governors that voted, 22–8, against a proposed relocation of the Sacramento Kings to Seattle. [14]
Bennett is married to Louise Gaylord Bennett, the daughter of Oklahoma City media mogul Edward L. Gaylord. Bennett and Louise Gaylord were high school sweethearts, meeting when he was a sophomore and she was a freshman. They have three children. Bennett's in-laws also have ties to professional sports ownership, as the Gaylords once owned a minority share of the Texas Rangers—a share which was later sold to future Republican President George W. Bush. Bennett is a Republican. [15] Bennett is chairman of a task force identifying and seeking criminal justice reforms to alleviate jail overcrowding in Oklahoma City. [16]
The Seattle Storm is an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerley and her husband Barry ahead of the 2000 season. The team is currently owned by Force 10 Hoops LLC, which is composed of Seattle businesswomen Dawn Trudeau, Lisa Brummel, and Ginny Gilder, along with former player Sue Bird.
Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the 74-acre (30 ha) entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was originally developed. After opening in 1962, it was subsequently bought and converted by the city of Seattle for entertainment purposes. From 2018 to 2021, the arena underwent a $1.15 billion redevelopment; the renovation preserved the original exterior and roof, which was declared a Seattle Landmark in 2017 and was listed on the Washington Heritage Register as well as the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The renovated venue has a capacity of 17,151 for ice hockey and 18,300 for basketball.
Paycom Center is an arena located in Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It opened in 2002 and since 2008 has served as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder. Previously, the arena was home to the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League (CHL) from 2002 until the team folded in July 2009, and the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of AF2 from 2004 to 2009 when the team moved to the Cox Convention Center. In addition to its use as a sports venue, Paycom Center hosts concerts, family and social events, conventions, ice shows, and civic events. The arena is owned by the city and operated by the SMG property management company and has 18,203 seats in the basketball configuration, 15,152 for hockey, and can seat up to 16,591 for concerts.
The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue compete in the NBA G League as members of the Western Conference. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center, an arena shared with the Thunder.
Samuel Presti is an American basketball executive who is currently the executive vice president and general manager for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has held the position since 2007 when he was hired at 29 years old, making him the second-youngest person to ever hold the position in the NBA. Since 2007, he stands as the third-most tenured head of basketball operations in the league.
The 2007–08 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 41st and final season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the franchise's final season of play in Seattle before relocating to Oklahoma City to play as the Thunder. With the hiring of new head coach P. J. Carlesimo as replacement of Bob Hill, who was fired at the end of the previous season, the SuperSonics finished in 15th and last place in the Western Conference with a franchise worst 20–62 record. Seattle's first round draft pick and number two overall Kevin Durant was chosen as the Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and later as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific (1970–2004) and Northwest (2004–2008) divisions. After the 2007–08 season ended, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where they now play as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City was a successful effort by the ownership group of the Seattle SuperSonics to relocate the team from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team began play as the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2008–09 NBA season, after becoming the third National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise to relocate in the 2000s.
The Oklahoma City Thunder played its inaugural season in the 2008–09 NBA season. It was the team's 1st season in Oklahoma City since the Seattle SuperSonics relocation was approved by league owners prior to settling a lawsuit. The team played at the Ford Center.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Paycom Center.
Professional Basketball Club LLC is an investment group headed by Clay Bennett that owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder franchise and the Thunder's NBA G League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue. The group also owned the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s Seattle Storm franchise from 2006 to 2008. The PBC then sold the Storm to local Seattle owners, before relocating the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma City Thunder is a professional American basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It plays in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise was the Seattle SuperSonics from 1967 to 2008 until relocated to Oklahoma City. The team plays its home games at the Paycom Center. The Thunder is owned by Professional Basketball Club LLC and coached by Mark Daigneault, with Sam Presti as its General Manager. All records and achievements shown have been accomplished in Oklahoma City.
The 2006–07 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets season was the team's 5th in the NBA. The Hornets split their games between the New Orleans Arena and the Ford Center, playing the majority of their schedule in Oklahoma City as they had in the previous season. The Hornets improved by one win, finishing 39–43, but failed to reach the playoffs.
Sonics Arena was a proposed multi-purpose arena to be constructed in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The arena would have hosted basketball, ice hockey, and concerts. The proposal called for an arena with a capacity of around 19,000 to 20,000 seats. It was part of a larger plan to return the Seattle SuperSonics (NBA) franchise, along with adding a potential National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, to the city of Seattle. The proposal was rejected in favor of redeveloping KeyArena into Climate Pledge Arena.
From 2006 to 2013, the Sacramento Kings organization was under constant threat of the team moving. It is widely believed that the team's owners throughout this period lost much of their fortune and were no longer able to run a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise. The Maloofs courted Anaheim, Virginia Beach, and Seattle as potential suitors for the team. Sacramento Mayor and former NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson, with the help of local business owners and a rabid fan base, was successful in saving the franchise and persuading the NBA to force the Maloofs to sell the team to the Vivek Ranadivé group.
Oklahoma City is home to several professional sports teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Thunder is the city's second "permanent" major professional sports franchise after the now-defunct AFL Oklahoma Wranglers and is the third major-league team to call the city home when considering the temporary hosting of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 NBA seasons.
The Oklahoma City Thunder is an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was established in 2008 when the Sonics left Seattle.
The National Basketball Association has undergone several rounds of expansion in the league's history, since it began play in 1946, to reach 30 teams. The most recent examples are the additions of the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988; the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989; the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995 ; and the New Orleans Hornets in 2002. In July 2024, Commissioner Adam Silver stated that the NBA would have discussions about a potential expansion of the league among team owners in the fall of 2024. Silver said in a February 2024 interview on The Pat McAfee Show that Las Vegas was an expansion team candidate. Seattle is also considered a top expansion candidate should an expansion occur, with Mexico City, Montreal, and Vancouver also being less likely expansion options.
The I-5 rivalry was a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle SuperSonics. The two Pacific Northwest cities are 180 miles (290 km) apart and connected by Interstate 5. The rivalry ended in 2008 when the SuperSonics were relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder.
During this week's owners meetings in New York City, the Board of Governors made Bennett the committee's chairman.
Business leader and Thunder Chairman Clay Bennett, who led the chamber's task force, said at Wednesday's press conference that Oklahoma leaders must address not only infrastructure and communication issues but also how to fund treatment for Oklahomans with mental illness and substance use disorders.