The Oklahoma City Thunder will remain in the city through at least 2053 as part of a new lease, mayor David Holt announced. The long-term agreement ensures the franchise, which relocated from Seattle in 2008, will spend nearly a quarter century at a new downtown arena set to open its doors in 2028. Oklahoma City’s commitment to the Thunder comes as the franchise is just one win away from its first NBA championship since relocation. The Thunder won Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers on Monday to take a series lead at 3-2.
Paycom Center, which opened in 2002, has served as the home of the Thunder since their arrival. Voters overwhelmingly approved in December 2023 the construction of a new publicly funded arena, which is currently in the design stage and is scheduled to become operable in three years. The city and franchise have been in negotiations on a new lease for the last 18 months.
That lease includes significant penalties should the franchise leave Oklahoma City before 2053. Departure from the city in the early years of the agreement would constitute penalties as large as $1 billion.
“Most of all, thank you to the people of Oklahoma City, whose willingness to invest in our city has been rewarded many times over,” Holt said. “We have been reminded of those rewards these last few weeks, and as we celebrate our NBA Finals run, it is wonderful to know that our big league status is now secure for another generation.”
When the vote to build a new arena passed, the expectation was that construction would cost at least $900 million. The Thunder agreed at the time to contribute $50 million to the cause, while the majority of funding would come by way of a one-cent sales tax increase over three years.
Oklahoma City is just the 42nd-largest market in the United States, and it is the third-smallest market in the NBA, ahead of only New Orleans and Memphis.
The Thunder relocated from Seattle (the team was then named the SuperSonics) after team ownership and the city failed to reach an agreement to build a new arena. KeyArena, now Climate Pledge Arena, was the smallest venue in the NBA by seating capacity.
Many of the best years in franchise history came during the Seattle SuperSonics era, but the Thunder are on the brink of planting their flag as NBA champions for the first time since their move. They are in the midst of their first NBA Finals appearance since 2012. Coach Mark Daigneault oversaw win total increases in each of the last four years and guided the Thunder this year to a franchise-best 68 regular-season wins.
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