Oklahoma move a step closer . . .

[PHX]

Oklahoma City Voters Approve $121.6M In Upgrades To Lure NBA Team
March 5, 2008 - 1:05 am Associated Press -

Oklahoma City voters approved a sales tax extension Tuesday to fund $121.6M in improvements to a downtown arena and build a practice facility in hopes of luring an NBA team, according to an Associated Press report.

The proposal received support from 44,849 voters, or 62 percent of those who cast ballots, according to final results from the Oklahoma County Election Board.

The plan calls for a one-penny sales tax to be extended by 15 months to pay for $97M in upgrades to the Ford Center and another $24.6M for a brand new practice facility.


Cant say they arent trying . . .

 

[The Casey Cat]

On most of the message boards I post on people thought the Hornets should have stayed in Oklahoma even once New Orleans had been cleaned up after hurricane Katrina.

 

[PHX]

Was a much more viable option imho but I think purely for PR measures and morally they had to stay in New Orleans and see it through.

If they had've packed up and left the City the NBA and the Hornets themselves would've got massive critisism. It just couldnt be done, wouldve been a PR nightmare.

 

[The Casey Cat]

Was a much more viable option imho but I think purely for PR measures and morally they had to stay in New Orleans and see it through.

If they had've packed up and left the City the NBA and the Hornets themselves would've got massive critisism. It just couldnt be done, wouldve been a PR nightmare.

Yeah that was ultimately conceded despite the view that the team had better support in Oklahoma.

 

[Inferno]

Was a much more viable option imho but I think purely for PR measures and morally they had to stay in New Orleans and see it through.

If they had've packed up and left the City the NBA and the Hornets themselves would've got massive critisism. It just couldnt be done, wouldve been a PR nightmare.

We are the Hornets, we are used to PR nightmares (hello Charlotte).

Morally it was the right thing to stay, the NBA are backing us up with it as well.

TBH I don't think the Sonics will draw much bigger crowds in Oklahoma City then we do in New Orleans in the long term, the novelty for Oklahomans having an NBA team will wear off. Oh well just means we can move to Seattle if we can't survive in New Orleans.

 

[Troy Wingate]

We are the Hornets, we are used to PR nightmares (hello Charlotte).

Morally it was the right thing to stay, the NBA are backing us up with it as well.

TBH I don't think the Sonics will draw much bigger crowds in Oklahoma City then we do in New Orleans in the long term, the novelty for Oklahomans having an NBA team will wear off. Oh well just means we can move to Seattle if we can't survive in New Orleans.

David Stern has already said that if the Sonics leave Seattle, then Seattle will never be an NBA city again.

 

[PHX]

David Stern has already said that if the Sonics leave Seattle, then Seattle will never be an NBA city again.

How can he possibly rule on that when Seattle are owned by Oklahoma businessmen.

Way to punish the city.

 

[celtic_pride]

How can he possibly rule on that when Seattle are owned by Oklahoma businessmen.

Way to punish the city.

And most fans want the Sonics to stay in Seattle as well ...

I have no prob with Oklahoma having a team, but surely it's better to relocate a fairly redudant team like the Clippers there then the Sonics ? (mind you Donald Sterling's such a tight-ass I doubt he'll consider the logistical benefits of that move etc)

 

[PHX]

Where can I find a page that gives average home crowd attendances?


I know its not the be-all and end-all but Im interested.

EDIT: Found it: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/attendance

 

[celtic_pride]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sonics/2004264013_sonics06m.html

There is talk about the microsoft CEO trying to take over, but I fear it's all too late ...

 

[Inferno]

David Stern has already said that if the Sonics leave Seattle, then Seattle will never be an NBA city again.

If a relatively small city like New Orleans can have a second chance in the NBA I can't see why Seattle wouldn't even though Stern said that. If the Hornets move Seattle would be a 1000000x better option then somewhere like Louisville (only known because of a horse race, most people can't even pronounce the place properly) or Kansas City (less people then New Orleans and still competing with an NFL team).

 

[celtic_pride]

If a relatively small city like New Orleans can have a second chance in the NBA I can't see why Seattle wouldn't even though Stern said that. If the Hornets move Seattle would be a 1000000x better option then somewhere like Louisville (only known because of a horse race, most people can't even pronounce the place properly) or Kansas City (less people then New Orleans and still competing with an NFL team).

Stern has a bloody massive conflict of interest in this issue (apparently he is very close friends with one of the owners of the Sonics who want to move the team)

He has no right to dictate whether Seattle is worthy of having an NBA team there.
The fans clearly want them to stay, most of the players want to stay in Seattle, it's only those knob-jockey owners with their own hidden/sinister agenda that want to move the sonics ...

 

[Inferno]

Stern has a bloody massive conflict of interest in this issue (apparently he is very close friends with one of the owners of the Sonics who want to move the team)

He has no right to dictate whether Seattle is worthy of having an NBA team there.
The fans clearly want them to stay, most of the players want to stay in Seattle, it's only those knob-jockey owners with their own hidden/sinister agenda that want to move the sonics ...

Stern seems to like to see teams move around, guess it means more money for him with the relocation fee, I'm still trying to work out how Memphis is better for the Grizzlies then Vancouver when it is half the size and Vancouver is rolling in money.

To be fair though the last 5-6 years Seattle have had bad crowds (in our first 2 years in New Orleans we averaged bigger crowds and both us and the Sonics were only making up numbers in the playoffs) but we all know the type of support the fans up there give when they are winning (fickle fans maybe?).

Depends how long Oklahomans support a shithouse team I guess...