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It was announced today that the NBA Board of Governors has approved the sale of the Seattle SuperSonics & Storm to the Professional Basketball Club (PBC) LLC at the annual Board of Governors meeting.

On July 18, 2006, the Basketball Club of Seattle (BCOS) announced that it had signed a purchase agreement to sell the Sonics & Storm to Professional Basketball Club (PBC), an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma based investment group led by Clayton I. Bennett, chairman of Dorchester Capital, a private investment company.

Additional members of the group include Aubrey K. McClendon, Chairman and CEO, Chesapeake Energy Corporation; G. Jeffrey Records, Chairman of the Board and CEO, MidFirst Bank; Tom L. Ward, Chairman and CEO, SandRidge Energy, Inc.; William Cameron, Chairman, President and CEO American Fidelity Assurance Company; Bob Howard, President, Mercedes Benz of OKC; Everett Dobson, Executive Chairman, Dobson Communications Corporation; and Jay Scaramucci, President, Balon Corporation.

Although the Board of Governors has approved the sale of the franchise, it will become official when the transaction is completed on Tuesday, Oct. 31.

“We appreciate the support of the Board of Governors and we are honored to become a member of the NBA,” Bennett said. “We are excited about owning one of the outstanding franchises in sports in one of America’s greatest cities. We are looking forward with great anticipation to the 40th Anniversary season of the Sonics.”

The first full day of ownership for PBC of the Sonics and Storm will be Wednesday, Nov. 1, which is also the home-opener for the Sonics against rivals the Portland Trail Blazers.

“Clay Bennett and his ownership group will bring a tremendous amount of experience and business expertise to the Seattle Sonics and Storm,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “The Board of Governors felt overwhelmingly that Clay is the right person to lead these extraordinary franchises into the future. I fully recognize Clay's commitment to keeping the Sonics and Storm in Seattle and we will do everything we can to support those efforts. I also want to thank Howard Schultz and the previous ownership group from Seattle for doing their part to help us build the NBA into a global brand with tremendous value.”

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