Hard work, luck make billions for Oklahoma executive

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Aug 13, 2007 by Jerry Shottenkirk

Basketball is more than an investment for McClendon. He could be seen on many occasions on Hornets telecasts, pumping an arm in the air and cheering on the then-local club.

"I've had good seats," McClendon grinned. "I've now been really caught up in the excitement of the (Sonics) because there is a certain stamp of 'we've arrived,' and the people of Seattle kind of look down their nose at us and think these guys are trying to climb the civic ladder. They take pride in Seattle not needing a NBA team to be considered a world-class city. That's probably true, they don't. But I think for Oklahoma City to distance itself from other midsize cities, I think enthusiastic support of a well-run, successful NBA team says a lot about the spirit of this community. We've got a can-do spirit and we've got a fan base that's turned out. This is a sports town; nobody ever knew it was a pro sports town. I think it is."

McClendon got involved in NBA ownership when civic leaders here wanted to hang on to the Hornets, who played two seasons here after Hurricane Katrina forced a move out of New Orleans.

"When I first heard about it I was in New York and got a phone call from Clay and (Mayor) Mick Cornett," McClendon said. "They said we had a chance to get the Hornets. I probably was immediately (doubtful) of our chances, just figuring there would be another city that would snatch the team away. But I also thought 'why not us?' If the league was going to serious consider us, I knew Clay and Mick working together could be pretty powerful in bringing a team to town."

Chesapeake became a "pioneer" sponsor.

"Tom Ward (Chesapeake president at the time) was probably a bigger basketball enthusiast then, but when Clay called and asked if I'd be interested, I said sure, and told him Tom would probably be interested as well," McClendon said. "We thought it would be a great employee perk to grab some tickets. Later, after the first year, we began to get more serious about buying the Hornets from Mr. (George) Shinn, and for a while we thought we'd be able to."

After a taste of the NBA, Bennett, McClendon, Ward and others in the group wanted more.

"We started to look around, and at that time the Sonics were going through some ownership challenges in Seattle," McClendon said. "So Clay, very artfully and skillfully, put himself in the middle of those discussions and to the great amazement and surprise to everyone in Seattle, some rednecks from Oklahoma, which we've been called, made off with the team. At any rate I'm pleased to be part of the ownership group and Clay has done a terrific job of managing the process."

McClendon said the team would probably make more money if it stayed in Seattle.

"But we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here," he said. "We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even we'd be thrilled."

Bennett said McClendon's participation is felt on many levels of local sports and business, and he's also a good friend.