WHEN THE NBA considered placing a franchise in Oklahoma City, the league trumpeted the possibility of Tulsa embracing the new team.
Three years later, as the Oklahoma City Thunder heads into Saturday's Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets, it's finally happening.
TV ratings are up in Tulsa. So are ticket sales, website visits and merchandise sold.
"We're clearly making some inroads," said Brian Byrnes, the Thunder's senior vice president of sales and marketing.
For many Tulsans like Dean Majors, Thunder fever took over during last year's playoff duel with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Majors went to Game 6 of the series and got hooked on the atmosphere. Soon after, he bought season tickets to guarantee his seat for the Thunder's postseason.
"The Lakers series really woke people up to the potential the team had and how good this was sitting two hours down the turnpike," said Majors, 40.
Sales for season tickets or multi-game packages increased 30 percent among Tulsa residents this year, Byrnes said.
Single-game ticket sales are also up 5 percent in the area from last year.
The number of northeastern Oklahomans who have signed up for the team's insider emails has spiked 63 percent from this time last year, Byrnes said.
The Thunder also reports a "significant increase" in Web visitors from northeastern Oklahomans to its official website (tulsaworld.com/thunder) and profiles on Twitter and Facebook.
TV ratings reflect a greater interest here, too.
Ratings in Tulsa for the Thunder's games on Fox Sports Oklahoma have doubled this season. USA Today reported that TV ratings for ESPN's NBA games are up 127 percent in the area.
The Thunder game dominated the big screens at Tulsa Hills' Buffalo Wild Wings on Wednesday.
Connor Struttmann watched Oklahoma City's 106-89 win over Denver with a few friends in the restaurant. The 18-year-old said he's followed the team since it moved from Seattle, but last year's Lakers series increased his excitement.
"It's been more fun this year, that's for sure," Struttmann said.
Excitement around the Thunder is helping out area stores' sales.
The Sports Authority on 71st Street started carrying more Thunder gear around the start of last year's playoffs.
Now a display of Durant jerseys and blue shirts hangs across the aisle from Kendall Hunter and Ryan Broyles jerseys.
"Right now, Thunder merchandise is probably our biggest seller," store manager Amber Payne said.
Lids Locker Room in Woodland Hills Mall has also seen a spike in sales.
"Nobody ever used to request it at all," store manager Tante Walters said.
Now the Thunder's sales are behind only Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, thanks in part to All-Star guard Russell Westbrook.
"Everybody's after Westbrook (jerseys)," Walters said.
The NBA schedules the regular season, and the Thunder can only list one home site - Oklahoma City Arena. That's why the team can't play more games in Tulsa, Byrnes said. But the BOK Center has hosted Thunder preseason games in each of the team's three years in the state, and attendance has risen every time.
The Thunder's first game in Oklahoma drew 10,007 fans to the BOK Center in 2008. Last October, the Thunder-Grizzlies game attracted an announced crowd of 11,297 - an increase of 13 percent from the first year.
"Every time we come to this arena and play," star swingman Kevin Durant said after this season's exhibition game, "we feel like we're playing in Oklahoma City."
Byrnes said some of the rising interest comes from the franchise's steps to become more visible in Tulsa. It has a sales team devoted to Tulsa and met with area businesses in the fall to promote sales. The Thunder also has booked player appearances in town.
"There's clearly been an increase in our resourcing and our effort throughout Tulsa," Byrnes said. "And in partnership with all that is the fact that the team's playing well.
"When the team continues to play well and continues to develop an identity as the state's professional basketball team, there's no question their on-court success tries to mirror what we're doing off the court."
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