Clayton Bennett

Clayton "Clay" Ike Bennett is an American businessman and chairman of the Professional Basketball Club LLC, the ownership of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA franchise that was formerly 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.

Early business career highlights

Bennett was one of the principal owners of the San Antonio Spurs in the mid-1990s, where among his primary duties was to represent the team on the NBA Board of Governors. Immediately prior to 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.

Owner of the Oklahoma City NBA franchise

Bennett is the chairman of the Oklahoma City-based Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), which owns the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. The team was purchased from Howard Schultz in 2006 for approximately $350 million. At the time, the team was known as the Seattle SuperSonics. After failing to get public assistance in building a new arena for the team, Bennett notified the NBA on November 2, 2007 of the ownership group's intent to move the team to Oklahoma City. On March 21, 2008, Bennett proposed a plan that would allow the basketball franchise to be relocated without the franchise retaining rights to the team name, logo, colors, and history. On April 18, 2008, the NBA owners gave approval for moving the franchise for the 2008-2009 season from Seattle pending the outcome of the city's case to uphold the lease and the former ownership group's lawsuit to rescind the purchase. On July 2, 2008, Bennett's ownership group reached a settlement agreement in the lawsuit filed by the City of Seattle, thus allowing the move of the franchise from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

Personal life

Bennett is the husband of 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. 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, himself, is also a "staunch" Republican.

References

External links

• Oklahoma Heritage -- official site