View Full Version : Does Oklahoma Deserve an NBA team?
reevie
7/18/2006, 08:11 PM
That's the poll on ESPN.COM:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/fp/flashPollResultsState?pollId=38147
Oddly enough, 32% of the voters in Washington think we should get a team.
The liberal pansies in Oregon must hate us. Only 37% think we deserve a team.
Our friends seem to be in Kansas (69%) and Arkansas (67%).
That's the poll on ESPN.COM:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/fp/flashPollResultsState?pollId=38147
Oddly enough, 32% of the voters in Washington think we should get a team.
The liberal pansies in Oregon must hate us. Only 37% think we deserve a team.
Our friends seem to be in Kansas (69%) and Arkansas (67%).
That looks like the 2004 presidential election results map! (red and blue are opposites, tho)
CORNholio
7/18/2006, 09:48 PM
the coasts hate us.
the coasts hate us.
We're just mere peasants.
the coasts hate us.
Especially now that we are taking one of their teams.
BigRedJed
7/18/2006, 10:24 PM
What a bizarre question. What are respondents supposed to base that on? Basically, they could have asked "do you like Oklahoma?" and they would have gotten about the same responses, more than likely. If they base it just on attendance, corporate support, group sales and the factors that typically decide if a city "deserves" a permanent NBA team, OKC deserves it more than 2/3 of the cities in the league.
But the way they ask the question just makes it a popularity contest, and it's going to be a long time, and take a lot of image marketing, before Oklahoma does well in nationwide popularity contests.
And oh, BTW, shocker that Louisiana doesn't think we deserve one. Asshats. All we did was throw open our arms, embrace a team that they barely paid attention to, with no strings attached, and then one of our corporate citizens apparently just ensured their team will return to NOLA. They can all **** up a rope for all I care.
jkm, the stolen pifwafwi
7/18/2006, 10:33 PM
Instant Poll
The Sonics have been sold. If they leave town, do you care?
Yes - 29%
No - 34%
Good Riddance - 37%
3219 Responses
www.komotv.com
it should be noted that these two franchises comprise 100% of the pro sports titles that the city of seattle has collected. my bet is they trade for mason and najera during the year for ticket sales next year...
slickdawg
7/18/2006, 10:34 PM
sh*t, the support y'all gave the Hornets CLEARLY shows OKC is more than
ready for an NBA team.
GrapevineSooner
7/19/2006, 12:19 AM
NBA teams typically do well when they're the only sport in town.
Which is to say I think any team that moves to OKC will do just fine.
Hot Rod
7/19/2006, 09:02 AM
sh*t, the support y'all gave the Hornets CLEARLY shows OKC is more than
ready for an NBA team.
I could be wrong, but I remember hearing that we had the 4th best attendance in games last season.
OklahomaTuba
7/19/2006, 09:20 AM
I am sure ESPN's webmaster sitting in Tulsa, OK had fun putting that poll on the website.
slickdawg
7/19/2006, 09:40 AM
I could be wrong, but I remember hearing that we had the 4th best attendance in games last season.
The support was incredible - almost every game was a sellout.
That was the best support from the fan's I've ever seen!
...All we did was throw open our arms, embrace a team that they barely paid attention to, with no strings attached...
To be fair, there was an agenda involved...or motive if you will...
Stoop Dawg
7/19/2006, 01:39 PM
Looks like most people fall squarely into the "I don't give a ****" camp. Welcome, have a beer.
BlondeSoonerGirl
7/19/2006, 01:41 PM
That or the 'deserve has nothing to do with it' camp.
'Cause that's where I'm camping.
mdklatt
7/19/2006, 01:46 PM
The support was incredible - almost every game was a sellout.
That was the best support from the fan's I've ever seen!
First of all, there was the newness factor of a pro team in OKC. Plus, dirt-cheap tickets were made available. Would we be able to support an NBA team over the long haul while paying full NBA prices--especially if that team is not so good? I don't think so, unless we can draw in fans from Tulsa and possibly Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri.
Of course you know Tulsa fans will cheer for whoever our biggest rival is just because. :D
BigRedJed
7/19/2006, 05:44 PM
...dirt-cheap tickets were made available. Would we be able to support an NBA team over the long haul while paying full NBA prices--especially if that team is not so good? I don't think so, unless we can draw in fans from Tulsa...
Contrary to what you say, those WERE full NBA prices. People just spout off this **** without checking into it. Sure, Hornets tickets were below the league average, but so were nearly all the teams in the league!! OKC wasn't even the cheapest ticket in the league, and the average Hornets ticket was only a few bucks below Detroit's.
There are only a few teams in the league that command prices above league average, and they are iconic franchises like the Knicks, the Lakers, and a few in super affluent markets like Dallas. They raise the average league price greatly. Most teams are actually FAR BELOW the league average for their average ticket price.
I'll say it one more time, and I'll type really slowly: the OKC NBA team will ALWAYS have cheaper tickets than most, in large part due to the fact that the MAPS-funded arena is debt-free and is passed on to the team rent-free. One of the reasons Dallas has a high ticket price is because of the debt service on the palace they play in. Higher operating costs = higher ticket prices. Lower operating costs = lower ticket prices.
The cost of doing business in Oklahoma City is cheaper than almost anywhere in the country, and allows for lower ticket prices, which equals more butts in the seats. Advantage: us.
BlondeSoonerGirl
7/19/2006, 05:45 PM
Uh-oh.
You've got him all bristled-up now...
mdklatt
7/19/2006, 05:49 PM
Contrary to what you say, those WERE full NBA prices. People just spout off this **** without checking into it.
When they first moved here I heard from various media sources--based on info from team and NBA officials I assumed--that many tickets would be subsidized by the league or the team or the city or whoever.
BigRedJed
7/19/2006, 05:50 PM
I'm sorry, but I really get tired of Oklahomans poor-mouthing Oklahoma. We have a really dumb inferiority complex. When given opportunities like this we generally exceed everybody's expectations. I guess it helps that everyone has very limited expectations of us.
I've been on this board since '99-2000 saying this major league sports could work here. Back then it was the Blades vs. Blazers argument. Back then, almost nobody would agree that OKC could even HALF fill an arena for major league sports. They were proven wrong last year, so now they say "yeah, but..."
So, we don't believe in ourselves. Same song, different verse. Do you know who does believe in OKC? David ****ing Stern, that's who.
Mixer!
7/19/2006, 05:50 PM
Having said all that, I wouldn't mind seeing the FC do a little sprucing up. It's always looked unfinished on the inside (save for the second level) to me.
BlondeSoonerGirl
7/19/2006, 05:56 PM
I don't think he's finished yet...
BigRedJed
7/19/2006, 05:56 PM
When they first moved here I heard from various media sources--based on info from team and NBA officials I assumed--that many tickets would be subsidized by the league or the team or the city or whoever.
Well, they reported it wrong. The total financial breakdown is this: it required zero -- ZERO -- subsidy from the state, the city, or the investors who guaranteed the revenue for the Hornets. They made their goal of 105% of the 2004-2005 local New Orleans revenue, they reimbursed the City for costs it had fronted, such as moving expenses, office expenses, etc., and there was still between $750,000 and $3 million profit (depending on whether you're George Shinn or City manager Jim Couch), left over to be split, not by the Hornets, but by the city, state and private party guarantors. The city didn't subsidize, THEY MADE A FRICKING PROFIT.
BlondeSoonerGirl
7/19/2006, 05:58 PM
*squeezes in between the Jed double-post...*
mdklatt
7/19/2006, 05:58 PM
Well, they reported it wrong.
Okay, okay--I believe you!
FYI, I'm don't consider myself an Oklahoman so I feel entitled to dump on this state and its inferiority complex. ;)
BlondeSoonerGirl
7/19/2006, 06:00 PM
DAMMIT!
NormanPride
7/19/2006, 06:02 PM
Oklahoma is nothing but wasteland and chickens.
;););););)
BlondeSoonerGirl
7/19/2006, 06:03 PM
Mmmm, chicken...
BigRedJed
7/19/2006, 06:03 PM
Having said all that, I wouldn't mind seeing the FC do a little sprucing up. It's always looked unfinished on the inside (save for the second level) to me.
The estimate right now is between $15 million and $35 million. It was built to be functional, but without a major league tenant, not built to a typical major league finish. It has great bones, but will ultimately need team offices, a practice facility, concourse dressing up, and amenities upgrades on the floor level for the fans paying $350-$1000 per seat, per game. Right now they have concrete, limited bathrooms and some ghetto drapes. Not typical millionaire fare.
The improvements could be paid for a couple of ways: one, a quick and dirty sales tax; two, bundling it with other projects for the almost assured MAPS 3 projects; or three, some use tax dollars like the ones they used to build Bass Pro.
Mixer!
7/19/2006, 06:09 PM
Will that price include the inevitable remodel to a more NBA friendly set-up (seeing as how it was built for the NHL and all...)?
Just seems that the NBA prefers their arenas to be customized for their sport.
royalfan5
7/19/2006, 06:09 PM
The estimate right now is between $15 million and $35 million. It was built to be functional, but without a major league tenant, not built to a typical major league finish. It has great bones, but will ultimately need team offices, a practice facility, concourse dressing up, and amenities upgrades on the floor level for the fans paying $350-$1000 per seat, per game. Right now they have concrete, limited bathrooms and some ghetto drapes. Not typical millionaire fare.
The improvements could be paid for a couple of ways: one, a quick and dirty sales tax; two, bundling it with other projects for the almost assured MAPS 3 projects; or three, some use tax dollars like the ones they used to build Bass Pro.
What's the naming rights deal like on the Ford Center? If you have a permanant NBA tennant, would you be able to squeeze more cash out of the existing deal, or buy it out and replace it with a more lucrative one?
KC//CRIMSON
7/19/2006, 06:24 PM
Okay, okay--I believe you!
FYI, I'm don't consider myself an Oklahoman so I feel entitled to dump on this state and its inferiority complex. ;)
First they get a lottery, and now a possible NBA team.
Look out 21st Century! here they come!!
ducks, running away.....
BigRedJed
7/19/2006, 06:29 PM
First they get a lottery, and now a possible NBA team.
Look out 21st Century! here they come!!
ducks, running away.....
Oklahoma City has The Flaming Lips. Olathe has... ...Beloved Dust.
ducks, running away.....
KC//CRIMSON
7/19/2006, 06:33 PM
Oklahoma City has The Flaming Lips. Olathe has... ...Beloved Dust.
ducks, running away.....
Ask Wayne which key to the city he has...
owned.
BlondeSoonerGirl
7/19/2006, 06:36 PM
Wait...you guys gave him a key!??!?1/
Don't come crying to us when you wake up with a bunny head in your bed!
:D
BigRedJed
7/19/2006, 06:37 PM
What's the naming rights deal like on the Ford Center? If you have a permanant NBA tennant, would you be able to squeeze more cash out of the existing deal, or buy it out and replace it with a more lucrative one?
I want to say that the Oklahoma Ford Dealers paid $8 million for a 15 year deal. I don't know if there are any outs on that, but it seems to be locked in for a while. They got one hell of a bargain, in retrospect, but of course they signed up before there was a major league tenant, and before it became a hugely successful concert venue.
Obviously when it comes up for renewal it will be... ...a little pricier.
BigRedJed
7/19/2006, 06:40 PM
Ask Wayne which key to the city he has...
owned.
Dude, he doesn't need a key to this city. He LIVES HERE.
YOSHIMOWNED.
Sooner_Bob
7/19/2006, 06:44 PM
Pffffft . . .
BigRedJed
7/19/2006, 07:59 PM
Great read:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?id=2523492
Oklahoma City ballooned into an authentic "Dallas Lite" since I moved away seven years ago. At that time, Bricktown was still in its infancy and Molly Hatchet at Frontier City was still a big draw.
OF COURSE Oklahoma City can support an NBA team! Didn't attendance figures from the Hornets prove that?
When we gamble with our time, we choose our destiny.
We CHOOSE our desiny.
Mixer!
7/19/2006, 08:33 PM
Heh, "Flirtin' With Disaster".
Double heh.
Big Red Ron
7/19/2006, 10:43 PM
the coasts hate us.The coasts hate America too.
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