Clayton Bennett

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This article is about the Oklahoma City businessman; for the cartoonist, see Clay Bennett.

Clayton "Clay" Ike[1] Bennett is an American businessman and the majority owner of the Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise.

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[edit] Early business career

Bennett is the chairman of Dorchester Capital, as well as the chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the Oklahoma Heritage Association.

Bennett was one of the principal owners of the San Antonio Spurs in the mid-1990s, where he represented the team on the NBA Board of Governors. Immediately prior to the 2005-06 NBA season, Bennett, along with Aubrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy, Tom L. Ward of SandRidge Energy, and G. Jeffrey Records Jr. of 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 temporary 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.

[edit] Owner of the SuperSonics franchise

Main article: Seattle SuperSonics possible relocation to Oklahoma City

Bennett is the chairman of the Oklahoma City-based Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), which owns the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics franchise. The team was purchased from Howard Schultz in 2006 for approximately $350 million. 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.[2][3][4] 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.[5] 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.[6] A number of emails between Bennett and the rest of the ownership group were uncovered as a result of the City of Seattle's lawsuit and were also mentioned in the initial filing of the previous owners' lawsuit, including some that were sent prior to completion of the team's sale, seemed to show that the ownership group had intended to move the team.[7]

[edit] 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.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Unwanted attention: The man who will take over the SuperSonics franchise reluctantly puts himself in the spotlight. The News Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  2. ^ Sonics tell NBA of intent to move SuperSonics to Oklahoma City. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  3. ^ Bennett: Seattle arena costs projected around $500 million. The Oklahoman. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  4. ^ An interview with Clay Bennett, owner of Sonics. Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  5. ^ Sonics owners willing to leave behind team name if franchise moves. The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  6. ^ NBA owners approve Sonics' move, pending litigation. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  7. ^ Howard Schultz plans to sue Clay Bennett to get Sonics back. The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
  8. ^ Sonics' owner hopes to have arena plan by year's end. CBSSports.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.

[edit] External links