About 4,000 seats have been withheld for single-game, group and partial season-ticket sales, Bennett said. Tickets to individual games will be sold in October.

Head coach P.J. Carlesimo expects the enthusiastic support to help his team rebound from a miserable 20-62 record last season.

"Clearly now, the sense of permanence here is welcome," Carlesimo told The Oklahoman. "Some of it didn't dawn on me until (tickets went on sale). Seeing people around town wearing our colors, wearing our shirt and hats, wearing 'the blue,' it's a significant step for us to be doing something in Oklahoma City."

Starting his second season as general manager of the Thunder, Sam Presti will work to see more improvement in his young team. A playoff appearance is probably still years away in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, but the Thunder should get a few more wins this season as players like Durant and Jeff Green continue to progress in their development.

"Our focus has been to keep our head down, get through this move and get things set up the best we can," Presti told The Oklahoman. "We want to establish some consistency. Whether you have 60 days or 180 days, you have to be ready the day training camp opens. And we will be. Our guys are excited to get started."