OKLAHOMA CITY -- The NBA's board of governors approved Friday the relocation of the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City.

The board voted 28-2 in favor of the relocation. The two teams that voted against relocation were Dallas and Portland.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said he wasn't worried about the board of governors' vote in New York on Friday because city officials expected the proposal to be approved.

Nickels said his focus is in litigation.

However, Sonics' owner Clay Bennett fired back at the city of Seattle earlier this week, saying the city is simply trying to "increase the financial bleeding" by making the Sonics play in Key Arena for the remainder of the team's lease.

That lease runs through the 2009-10 NBA season.

The last two NBA team moves passed on a combined vote of 59-to-1. They included the Hornets relocating from Charlotte to New Orleans and the Grizzlies from Vancouver to Memphis.

Bennett could write a huge check to avoid the courts, a windfall Seattle might not be able to refuse. The city already has rejected Bennett's offer of $26 million to settle the lease agreement.

Bennett wanted Washington taxpayers to help pay for a $500 million arena, but legislators balked at the idea.

The state used tax money to build Safeco Field for baseball's Mariners and Qwest Field for the NFL's Seahawks.