NBA approve sale of Sonics to Oklanhoma City Group

The NBA Board of Governors Tuesday approved the sale of the Seattle SuperSonics to an Oklahoma group.

The 350 million-dollar sale includes the SuperSonics and the WNBA's Storm from coffee magnate Howard Schultz to an investment group, which has vowed to seek a way to keep the team in Seattle, led by Clay Bennett.

"We appreciate the support of the Board of Governors and we are honored to become a member of the NBA," Bennett said in a release. "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 Sonics, a fixture in Seattle since 1967, have been looking for a new arena for some time.

Schultz was unable to come to an agreement with city officials on the amount of public funding he wanted for a facility to replace KeyArena.

Refurbished through public funding in 1994, KeyArena is smaller than some of the NBA's newer venues and has a revenue sharing agreement with the city that is unfavorable to the team.

Source: Xinhua