July 18, 2006

Clay Bennett and a group of Oklahoma businessmen buy the Sonics and Storm, Seattle’s WNBA franchise, for $350 million. Bennett pledged a “good-faith” effort to keep the team in Seattle.

August 2007

Sonics part-owner Aubrey McClendon tells an Oklahoma newspaper, “We didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come to [Oklahoma],” according to the Seattle Times. The NBA fined McClendon $250,000 for the remark.

Sept. 21, 2007

Sonics owners file for arbitration on KeyArena, seeking approval to pay a cash settlement instead of keeping the team in Seattle for the final two years of the team’s lease.

Sept. 24, 2007

The City of Seattle files a lawsuit seeking to hold the Sonics to its KeyArena lease through 2010.

Nov. 2, 2007

Bennett announces he is seeking NBA permission to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City. He says the Storm can stay in Seattle, according to the Seattle Times.

Jan. 8

Bennett sells the Storm to Seattle investment group Force 10 Hoops.

April 18

The NBA approves the Sonics’ move from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

June 16

Trial Day 1: The trial between the City of Seattle and the SuperSonics’ Oklahoma City-based ownership begins in an attempt to keep the team at KeyArena for the remaining two years of its 15-year lease. A deal is a deal, and the SuperSonics should stay, a Seattle lawyer told a federal judge.

June 17

Trial Day 2: Clay Bennett, the principal owner of the Seattle SuperSonics, takes the stand in the second day of the trial. Attorneys for the team attempted to paint a picture of KeyArena being a place no longer worthy of an NBA franchise, claiming the Sonics stood to lose $65 million over the next two years if forced to uphold its lease.

June 18

Trial Day 3: Bennett finishes his testimony in front of a Seattle Federal Court. Bennett spent two days testifying in an attempt to convince state leaders to approve a plan for a new $500 million facility in Seattle. Bennett once again cited financial projections which show the team, if forced to stay in Seattle at KeyArena, could lose millions over the next two years.

June 19

Trial Day 4: The City of Seattle’s attorneys rests its testimony. Lon S. Hatamiya, an economic consultant used by the city in the trial, told U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman that the 41-year-old basketball franchise supports between 1,200 to 1,300 jobs and is responsible for nearly $188 million in local economic activity.

June 23

The Seattle SuperSonics court case reaches a hiatus until June 26 because of scheduling conflicts by Judge Pechman.

July 2

Bennett agrees to settle the lawsuit with the City of Seattle. The settlement calls for a payment of $45 million to the city immediately, and would include another $30 million in 2013 unless the state Legislature in Washington authorizes at least $75 million in public funding to renovate KeyArena by the end of 2009, or Seattle obtains an NBA franchise of its own within the next five years.

July 8

The newly relocated SuperSonics don black mesh jerseys with the words “Oklahoma City” emblazoned across the front. The team’s new masot, logo and colors have yet to be decided.

— Adam Kohut/The Daily