Why did the Seattle Supersonics leave Seattle?


In 2006 the owner of the team, Howard Schultz, sold the team Clay Bennett. Clay Bennett originally agreed to keep the team in Seattle, however, he then told the city that if a new arena was not built using public funds that he would move the team. Ultimately, public funding for the arena fell through and the team was moved to Oklahoma. The team is now known at the Oklahoma City Thunder. The relocation of the team was very controversial as local news organizations and fans believe that Clay Bennett's intention was to remove the team from Seattle and did not provide reasonable terms for a renovation of the basketball arena.