The NBA's New Orleans Hornets became the first major league sports franchise based in Oklahoma when the team was forced to relocate to Oklahoma City's Ford Center, now known as Chesapeake Energy Arena, for two seasons following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In July 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics, a franchise owned by the Professional Basketball Club LLC, a group of Oklahoma City businessmen led by Clayton Bennett, relocated to Oklahoma City and announced that play would begin at the Ford Center as the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2008–09 season, becoming the state's first permanent major league franchise.