Oklahoma City gets ready to rejoin major leagues

Bennett said the "most important piece" of the organization was the players, and they would be the top priority. Presti and interim team president Danny Barth will oversee the relocation of the business operation. The Sonics have informally asked their approximately 125 Seattle-based employees whether they'd be interested in following the team.

"We did offer to them that if they wanted to make a move to Oklahoma, we would attempt to find a spot for them and we're committed to that. It's a long move, and I'm not sure how many will come," Bennett said.

"We want to put together the best team we can. We will evaluate who wants to come, where they fit, how it works and then fill in from here. But we'll have a significant hire from Oklahoma."

Ford Center general manager Gary Desjardins said he had held 75 dates open in the event that the Sonics relocated, and the NBA had been creating two schedules - one assuming the team remained in Seattle, and the other preparing for a move.

He's also trying to map out when the arena renovations -- which include new suites, restaurants and clubs -- can be done with the least impact on NBA and minor league hockey games, concerts and other events such as the Big 12 basketball tournament and NCAA tournament regionals.

Desjardins said the arena could be shut down for two months following the conclusion of the NBA season.

"There'll probably be a good deal of work done during our slow time of year, which is usually the summertime," Desjardins said.

Cornett said there's only so much that can be accomplished before the NBA season starts in a few months.

"We can probably get some of the bunker suites taken care of, and I think we'll work with the team on revenue enhancements and what changes could we make on a very short timeframe that would have the biggest impact?" Cornett said.

To get everything done before preseason games start in October may seem like a daunting task, but Oklahoma City had even less time to get prepared after Katrina struck New Orleans in late August 2005.

"Normally, I think a mayor would be worried about taking an NBA team under such a short timeframe, but we're the only city in American history that's ever had to do something in five weeks," Cornett said. "This is plenty of time. We don't know any different."