Tag: Clay Bennett

Thunder owner Clay Bennett comments on new OKC arena approval

Thunder owner Clay Bennett comments on new OKC arena approval.

OKC voters approved the funding proposal to build a new downtown arena that will house the Oklahoma City Thunder for the next generation on Tuesday. An overwhelming 71% of voters voted in support.

The arena proposal approved included a $900 million cost for the publicly-owned venue with $50 million contributed by Thunder ownership. At least $70 million will come from the MAPS 4 project.

Once completed, the Thunder have pledged to sign a 25-year lease, and the facility is projected to open by the 2029-30 season.

Following the lopsided election win, Thunder owner Clay Bennett, who helped move the franchise from Seattle to OKC in 2008, released the following statement:

“We are deeply grateful for the confidence and pride our citizens have expressed in the future of our city. We also appreciate Mayor David Holt for his leadership and relentless passion to elevate Oklahoma City at all levels.

“With this project we will be doing more than just building a world-class sports and entertainment complex, we will be propelling Oklahoma City toward the next generation. This new home for the Thunder will serve as an iconic centerpiece of our vibrant and modern downtown and continue to represent the values of our city and its people.

“As we take the next step in this historic journey, I am particularly grateful and energized by what this means for our city’s young people and the Oklahoma City they will lead and enjoy over the coming decades.”

Considering the magnitude of the vote, it was expected Bennett would release a statement in support of the election’s result. Following the vote, a fan base-wide celebration ensued on social media.

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On this day: The Seattle SuperSonics officially move to Oklahoma City

Today marks the anniversary of arguably the greatest sports day in Oklahoma history.

On this day in 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics officially announced the franchise would move to Oklahoma City and rename to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

A $75 million settlement between Clay Bennett and Seattle was agreed upon. Bennett’s investment group — the Professional Basketball Club (PBC) — agreed to pay $45 million to break Seattle’s lease with the franchise and eventually paid an additional $30 million when Seattle did not end up with a new franchise before 2013.

The lease required the SuperSonics to play in Seattle’s KeyArena until 2010 but Bennett decided to bite the bullet and terminate it early so the franchise could move to his hometown Oklahoma City quicker.

The Thunder would play their first season in 2008-09 and has been in Oklahoma City ever since.

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Celebrity Sooners: Oklahoma’s most famous fans and alumni

We see some of them striding the sideline while others work behind the scenes. Here are some of the most famous alumni and fans of the Oklahoma Sooners.

A university with a long and distinguished history as the University of Oklahoma is bound to have a distinguished group of alumni and fans. We’re not simply talking about athletes, because the Oklahoma Sooners have some of the most recognizable athletes going in Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Trae Young.

But outside the lines, the Sooners are well represented by alumni and fans as well. There are actors, CEOs of major corporations, owners of professional sports teams, pro wrestlers, musicians, a Miss America, and an astronaut.

We took the liberty to compile some of the most famous personalities with connections to the University of Oklahoma. We mostly stayed away from sports figures, but several former Sooners have become famous for something other than the sport they played at the university, so they’re worth mentioning.

The Thunder, with CAA Sports, has …

The Thunder, with CAA Sports, has created the Thunder Fellows Program, a nonprofit organization designed to unlock opportunities in sports, technology and entertainment for Black students in the Tulsa area, the team announced Tuesday. The program, guided by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, will be comprised of two groups of students: Fellows, Black students from regional colleges and universities, and Young Leaders, Black students in the Tulsa area from grades 8 to 12.

The Thunder Fellows Program will be …

The Thunder Fellows Program will be located in Tulsa’s Greenwood District, the site of the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921 when white mobs killed hundreds of Black people and destroyed homes and businesses in what was known as Black Wall Street. “Our organization is deeply committed to social justice and the actions that are necessary to create better opportunities for the Black community, now and in the future,” Thunder chairman Clay Bennett said in release. “We will work tirelessly to make this a program that will create change for generations to come.”

Thunder owner Clay Bennett appeals for all 30 NBA teams to resume play

The NBA is expected to vote to resume its season on Thursday, but there is still a divide as to how many teams should be included.

As the NBA moves toward what many predict will be the resolution of a plan that will have 22 of the league’s 30 teams resume play in July, Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett made the case for all 30 teams to be brought back.

Bennett made his case on Friday’s call with the NBA’s Board of Governors, and the news was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.

For quite some time, the NBA’s owners are routinely considered to have individual disagreements along certain boundaries, with small market teams and big market teams often seeking to protect their own individual interests. Sometimes, that would naturally come at the expense of the other side.

With the league wanting to play as many games as possible but also wanting to keep its players safe, a necessary balance must be struck. However, with the 2020-21 season not expected to tip-off until December, Bennett pointed out the difficulty that some teams may have with their operations by not playing meaningful games for nine months. The NBA suspended play on March 11.

As the NBA moves toward a plan of inviting 22 teams to restart a truncated season in late July, sources told ESPN, Bennett spoke of exhausting ways to accommodate non-playoff teams still wanting to play. He wondered: Was there a way to safely bring back all 30 teams?

On June 4, the Board of Governors is expected to approve the final plan put forward by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, and although it is likely to exclude teams that have already been eliminated from playoff competition, Bennett made the argument for the small market teams.

It should be pointed out that, at 40-24, the Thunder rank fifth in the Western Conference and trail the fourth-seeded Houston Rockets by just one game in the standings.

In other words, Bennett’s Thunder will participate in the postseason, regardless.

Still, a champion for the smaller market franchises, he further bolstered his reputation as such.

“The message was something bigger, reminding people that some teams can’t just reopen the doors in nine or 10 months and so easily sell tickets or a sponsorship without having played basketball for that long,” one high-level Eastern Conference official on the call told ESPN.

As the report eloquently laid out, there are still many details that need to be worked out before the league approves its return to play. Seedings, glory and millions of dollars are at stake, so expect the lobbying to continue between now and Thursday’s vote.

Near the end of the NBA’s Board of …

Near the end of the NBA’s Board of Governors call on Friday, Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett delivered an impassioned soliloquy on why the league and owners needed to consider the competitive and financial plights of smaller market teams that could be left out of the season’s summer resumption in Orlando — and the potential symbolic power of all 30 teams gathering there to play as one united association. As the NBA moves toward a plan of inviting 22 teams re-start a truncated season in late July, sources told ESPN, Bennett spoke of exhausting ways to accommodate non-playoff teams still wanting to play. He wondered: was there a way to safely bring all 30 teams?

As previously reported, Bulls president …

As previously reported, Bulls president and chief operating officer Michael Reinsdorf is doing due diligence on multiple candidates and multiple options. He’s seeking feedback from a wide variety of sources on a wide variety of candidates. Surely, the Bulls are performing due diligence on big names like Presti and Raptors president Masai Ujiri. Talk around the league is that the Raptors wouldn’t let Ujiri go but that Presti is so close with Thunder owner Clay Bennett that Bennett would let his friend pursue other opportunities if Presti wanted.