Oklahoma City Lease OK'd if Sonics Move

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Commissioner David Stern and three NBA owners believe Oklahoma City should be the future home of the Seattle SuperSonics.

Jim Couch, city manager of Oklahoma City, left, talks with Mick Cornett, mayor of Oklahoma City,...

Jim Couch, city manager of Oklahoma City, left, talks with Mick Cornett, mayor of Oklahoma City, during a city council meeting in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, March 25, 2008. The council passed terms of a proposed lease agreement with the Seattle SuperSonics should the basketball team relocate. (AP Photo)

(AP)

To make his relocation request a reality, Sonics owner Clay Bennett now needs to win over at least 13 more of his peers.

After a tour of the Ford Center and a presentation from Oklahoma City and state officials, Stern said Tuesday a subcommittee of three NBA owners would suggest approval of the SuperSonics' move by the rest of the league.

"We made important progress today," Bennett said. "A lot more to be done, but a very important step. I think it was a very successful day and we look forward to the next step."

Gov. Brad Henry, Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops and numerous other representatives of the city, state and sports community came out to welcome Stern, New Jersey Nets owner Lewis Katz, Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon and Los Angeles Lakers vice president Jeanie Buss as Oklahoma City brought out fancy cars and hard facts to woo its first major-league sports franchise.

"It was a pretty full presentation and pretty much a tour de force on behalf of Oklahoma that I'd say impressed the members of the committee greatly," Stern said.

While the relocation would mean a move to a much smaller market, Stern said he was encouraged by the amount of support from area leaders and fans, and the revenue potential the team would have in a downtown arena being remodeled with $121 million in public funds approved by 62 percent of the voters earlier this month.

"When you come to a place like Oklahoma, you look for the single-team market as opposed to, for example, a market that has three or more professional sports leagues in it," Stern said.

When asked about a group of Seattle businessmen who have offered to fund half of a $300 million renovation at KeyArena, the Sonics' current home, Stern rejected the option.

"The reason that this journey began was because KeyArena was not an adequate arena going forward and there were a lot of recommendations made for another arena ... but the tax revenues and the various contributions weren't forthcoming," Stern said.