Career
Bennett was one of the principal owners of the San Antonio Spurs in the mid-1990s, where one of his primary duties was to represent the team on the National Basketball Association Board of Governors. Immediately prior to the 2005-2006 National Basketball Association 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 Junior. 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 National Basketball Association"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.
Bennett is the chairman of the Oklahoma City-based Professional Basketball Club Limited Liability Company (PBC), which owns the National Basketball Association"s Oklahoma City Thunder. The team was purchased from Howard Schultz in 2006 for approximately $350 million on condition that Bennett would give a good-faith effort to keep the team in Seattle.
At the time, the team was known as the Seattle SuperSonics. East-mails revealed that Bennett"s group never intended to keep the team in Seattle and planned to move the team to Oklahoma City.
After failing to get $500 million in public funding from local taxes to build a new suburban arena for the team, Bennett notified the National Basketball Association on November 2, 2007, of the ownership group"s intent to move the team to Oklahoma City.
On March 21, 2008, Bennett made known his plan that would relocate the basketball franchise without them retaining rights to the original team name, logo, colors, and history. On April 18, 2008, National Basketball Association owners gave approval for moving the franchise from Seattle for the 2008–2009 season 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 franchise to move from Seattle to Oklahoma City.
In April 2011, Bennett was named chairman of the National Basketball Association"s relocation committee.
On April 29, 2013, Bennett was a part of the relocation committee that unanimously voted against a proposed relocation of the Sacramento Kings to Seattle.
