SEATTLE - As the City of Seattle on Friday vowed to keep the fight going to save the SuperSonics, the owners of the team sent a letter to Oklahoma City's mayor formally announcing their intent to move the team as early as this year.

It all comes one day after the state legislature decided not to vote on a $300 million plan to renovate KeyArena in an attempt to keep the NBA in town.

The plan: Big time investors including Microsoft's Steve Ballmer put up half the money - $150 million - for a KeyArena expansion and renovation. $75 million would have come from Seattle and $75 million from King County taxes. But Gov. Chris Gregoire says there was not enough support in the House or Senate to bring it to a vote.

Now, the City of Seattle says it will try to come up with that $75 million on its own.

"We've got a couple more weeks where we can pull a rabbit out of a hat on this thing," said Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis.

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But Ceis says, there is another reality to deal with.

"Competing for human services and fire and police and all those things. We've gotta avoid that. We've gotta stay away from that. Those are high priorities for city spending and we can't move into their budgets," said Ceis.

Despite the obstacles, Ceis says Mayor Greg Nickels has green-lighted giving the Sonics the city's best shot.

"We can do it. We can make it if we can figure out the right fund sources," said Ceis. "If there is a solution out there, we're gonna find it. And if we don't find it, it never existed."

Ceis was tight-lipped about where to find the additional $75 million and said there are no guarantees the Sonics will come up with a way to save the Sonics.

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The clock is ticking. On April 10, the $300 proposal will be taken off the table. One week later, the NBA will decide whether to grant the Sonics' move. A judge will hear arguments in June over whether to let the Sonics out of its lease with KeyArena.

Sonic fans are hoping even those who aren't interested in the team will still support the plan for a number of reasons: Because of the business it generates, the fact that without KeyArena there would be a huge hole in the Seattle Center and the history of 41 years in this city.

(KING 5's Don Porter and Roberta Romero contributed to this report.)