Move to Oklahoma City showing franchise permanency

Almost a month since the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics began its move to Oklahoma City, some indications of the franchise’s permanency are starting to become known.
Within the last 10 days, the yet-to-be-named team has announced the purchase of a temporary practice facility, the location of its offices for the next two years and the flagship radio station for its network. On Thursday, the team revealed that it planned to purchase an NBA Development League affiliate in Tulsa for $2.25 million.
Other issues must be resolved — including answering the ever-present question of what the team’s nickname will be — but team officials seem pleased with how the franchise’s move is progressing.
“There’s a lot happening,” Bennett said Wednesday during an interview on Oklahoma City radio station WWLS, his first public comments since July 2, when he announced the team was moving from Seattle. “It’s all fun, and we’re making good progress.”
When the New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina, that franchise had a little more than two months to make the move.
The NBA season doesn’t open until late October or early November, giving the new Oklahoma City team four months to make the transition.
That’s both a blessing and a challenge, Bennett said.
“It’s not much more of a time frame than we had with the Hornets, yet this time, we’re making decisions not on a temporary basis, when, if you miss something, you can get through for two years,” he said.
He said he’s confident the franchise will thrive in Oklahoma City.
“What I’m most excited about in this is the Oklahoma City story, how we came together ... and how this is going to be a great success,” he said.
Bennett, an Oklahoma City native who routinely was vilified in Seattle, isn’t the only team official glad the franchise now is in the Sooner State. During an interview with WWLS — which will serve as the anchor of the franchise’s radio network — coach P.J. Carlesimo also expressed positive feelings about the move.
“Oklahoma City is the best thing that’s ever happened to our basketball franchise and basketball team,” Carlesimo said, adding that “the enthusiasm for NBA basketball in Oklahoma City ... is unbelievable.”
Carlesimo called that enthusiasm “a breath of fresh air for us. We can build something from the ground up. ... We can’t get there quickly enough.”
Bennett said the team has had about 18,000 people sign up for a season-ticket request list and that the team planned to begin selling tickets for the upcoming season around Sept. 1.
People who bought season tickets for the Hornets probably won’t receive any special consideration when it comes to buying those tickets for the new team, Bennett said, noting his franchise does not have access to the Hornets’ season-ticket lists from their time in Oklahoma.
“That’s their proprietary information,” Bennett said. “That said, it’s a very different product. This is not a temporary situation. It’s a permanent situation. Pricing will be different. Now that it’s permanent, we can offer more and different amenities to ticket holders, And so it’s a completely new launch and rollout.”
Bennett would not comment on a report by Oklahoma City television station KOCO that the team’s nickname would be “Thunder.” He also declined comment on if the nickname would be any of the six for which the NBA has filed for trademark rights with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshalls, Thunder and Wind.
“I’ve got some interesting letters about what we should name them,” Bennett said.
“There’s lots of considerations, from legal and licensing down to strategic marketing. But we’ll announce the name soon.”