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Oklahoma City . . . Sonics?


yh

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From ESPN.com today:

"There is a very, very small chance that the SuperSonics have played their last game in Seattle. I'm told that at a meeting Tuesday with more than 100 Sonics employees, owner Clay Bennett said he was "99 percent" certain the team will be back in Seattle for the start of the 2007-08 season.

I also heard it is not a slam dunk that Bennett will move the Sonics to Oklahoma City, even though every single member of his ownership group is from there. Apparently, Kansas City is so eager to get a flagship tenant for its new arena, signals have been sent to Bennett and a handful of other owners that the deal they could get in K.C. would be far superior from an economic standpoint to whatever deal any of them might make elsewhere. "

Interesting to say the least.

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From ESPN.com today:

"There is a very, very small chance that the SuperSonics have played their last game in Seattle. I'm told that at a meeting Tuesday with more than 100 Sonics employees, owner Clay Bennett said he was "99 percent" certain the team will be back in Seattle for the start of the 2007-08 season.

I also heard it is not a slam dunk that Bennett will move the Sonics to Oklahoma City, even though every single member of his ownership group is from there. Apparently, Kansas City is so eager to get a flagship tenant for its new arena, signals have been sent to Bennett and a handful of other owners that the deal they could get in K.C. would be far superior from an economic standpoint to whatever deal any of them might make elsewhere. "

Interesting to say the least.

Gotta love ESPN. I don't think anyone believed that Bennett would pack up the Sonics this offseason (doesn't he have to give the league notice well in advance of a move anyway??). It's the next year that Sonics fans in Seattle should be worried about.

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These guys may not be leaving town just yet...

http://royalbroughamway.com/2007/04/it-ain...uss-moving.html

I sure hope that something comes of that.

broken link

My dream senario is have every NBA team stay where they at and just expand to 2 out of 3 cities Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, or Kansas City

*slap*

The talent pool is already too diluted. Adding 2 teams is not the answer we are looking for.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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This could be the beginning of BIG expansion for the league. If the Sonics go to OKC the NBA will promise a team, much like the Browns, but all their nice, cute orderly divisions would be off.

...you'll see Seattle, Vegas, KC, San Jose, etc. (any East? maybe the Twolves get their wish...move memphis too?)

Whatever that does to dilute things is arbitrary. In 10 years they want 5 teams in Europe, but there are a lot more viable cities in the US and I guess they'll max those out and maybe even move the less successfull attendence and $ making teams overseas instead of expanding more.

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This could be the beginning of BIG expansion for the league. If the Sonics go to OKC the NBA will promise a team, much like the Browns, but all their nice, cute orderly divisions would be off.

...you'll see Seattle, Vegas, KC, San Jose, etc. (any East? maybe the Twolves get their wish...move memphis too?)

Whatever that does to dilute things is arbitrary. In 10 years they want 5 teams in Europe, but there are a lot more viable cities in the US and I guess they'll max those out and maybe even move the less successfull attendence and $ making teams overseas instead of expanding more.

There will be no Cleveland plan without a new Seattle arena, which is not something Seattle is interested in.

Furthermore, after the trouble the Bobcats have gone through, and given how it looks like the Sonics are "poisoning the wells" in Seattle, the NBA will not attempt a reclamation project in the near future. Seattle will have been nuked as a market for a decade, maybe two.

A lot of the complaints being thrown the NBA's way are related to talent dilution and overexpansion, and David Stern is a pretty smart guy, so he won't start throwing more teams into the mix.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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This could be the beginning of BIG expansion for the league. If the Sonics go to OKC the NBA will promise a team, much like the Browns, but all their nice, cute orderly divisions would be off.

...you'll see Seattle, Vegas, KC, San Jose, etc. (any East? maybe the Twolves get their wish...move memphis too?)

Whatever that does to dilute things is arbitrary. In 10 years they want 5 teams in Europe, but there are a lot more viable cities in the US and I guess they'll max those out and maybe even move the less successfull attendence and $ making teams overseas instead of expanding more.

Well, first off, if the Sonics move to OKC, the divisions work out fine still (both # and geographically)

Second, the quote was Stern looks to expand 5 teams in Europe in 20 years not 10. Won't happen.

Finally, the NBA's approach to getting fans in the seats isn't team loyalty, it's star power. In the NFL, teams reguarly sell out every home game (there's only 8), because fans come to see their team play/win.

In the NBA, there are many more home games (41), so in order to get fans to come reguarly, teams have to market superstars coming to visit (Kobe, LeBron, Garnett, etc.). The NBA's crowd seeks more entertainment than just seeing their local team compete every game. If you expand, and dilute the talent base, that will result in lowered attendance as less and less stars are available per team, and therefore per game. Just look at the attendence for the Bobcats, because the team doesn't have a star yet.

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Seattle Oklahoma City Kansas City Las Vegas Supersonics, Anyone?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2850918

MetsChiefsEspnSig.gif

College sports as we know them are just about dead. The lid is off on all the corruption that taints just about every major program and every decision that the schools or the NCAA make is only about money, money, and more money. We'll have three 16+ team super-conferences sooner rather than later, killing much of the regional flair and traditional rivalries that make college sports unique and showing the door to any school that doesn't bring money to the table in the process. Pretty soon the smaller schools are going to have to consider forming their own sanctioning body to keep the true spirit of college sports alive because the NCAA will only get worse in it's excess from here
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The NBA needs to contract teams, not start diluting the pool even more with expansion.

And Clay's as slick as a greased up pig, i'll tell you this. Pitting four cities against each other for a middling franchise?

How many successful teams do you know of that move? :therock:

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Like the article says Clay Bennet just wants to pit Vegas, KC & OKC all against each other to see who gives him the best deal.

BINGO.

KC just went through this with the Penguins.

I would say, KC has the best upside.

OKC may have sold out and had good fan support, but the arena there is no match to the Sprint Center. I'm not knocking it, just pointing out the facts.

But I'd say OKC has the inside track due to Stern liking OKC after hosting the Hornets. Also AEG wants NHL for the Sprint Center.

Unless they don't feel that will happen, then AEG will have to go after the NBA. They promised an anchor tennant, and will get one.

Las Vegas. Gimmie a break. they don't even have a suitable arena yet. Or plans to build one anytime soon.

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Like the article says Clay Bennet just wants to pit Vegas, KC & OKC all against each other to see who gives him the best deal.

BINGO.

KC just went through this with the Penguins.

I would say, KC has the best upside.

OKC may have sold out and had good fan support, but the arena there is no match to the Sprint Center. I'm not knocking it, just pointing out the facts.

But I'd say OKC has the inside track due to Stern liking OKC after hosting the Hornets. Also AEG wants NHL for the Sprint Center.

Unless they don't feel that will happen, then AEG will have to go after the NBA. They promised an anchor tennant, and will get one.

Las Vegas. Gimmie a break. they don't even have a suitable arena yet. Or plans to build one anytime soon.

Isn't the Ford Center in OKC relatively new itself? I would assume that an arena of that age would have just as many amenities (i.e. luxboxes) as needed.

And Vegas is being used as leverage again. No arena, no plans to ever get an arena done.

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Like the article says Clay Bennet just wants to pit Vegas, KC & OKC all against each other to see who gives him the best deal.

BINGO.

KC just went through this with the Penguins.

I would say, KC has the best upside.

OKC may have sold out and had good fan support, but the arena there is no match to the Sprint Center. I'm not knocking it, just pointing out the facts.

But I'd say OKC has the inside track due to Stern liking OKC after hosting the Hornets. Also AEG wants NHL for the Sprint Center.

Unless they don't feel that will happen, then AEG will have to go after the NBA. They promised an anchor tennant, and will get one.

Las Vegas. Gimmie a break. they don't even have a suitable arena yet. Or plans to build one anytime soon.

Isn't the Ford Center in OKC relatively new itself? I would assume that an arena of that age would have just as many amenities (i.e. luxboxes) as needed.

And Vegas is being used as leverage again. No arena, no plans to ever get an arena done.

Ford's fairly new, but its also pretty austere IIRC. Also KC and Vegas both have a better upside in corporate presence.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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Like the article says Clay Bennet just wants to pit Vegas, KC & OKC all against each other to see who gives him the best deal.

BINGO.

KC just went through this with the Penguins.

I would say, KC has the best upside.

OKC may have sold out and had good fan support, but the arena there is no match to the Sprint Center. I'm not knocking it, just pointing out the facts.

But I'd say OKC has the inside track due to Stern liking OKC after hosting the Hornets. Also AEG wants NHL for the Sprint Center.

Unless they don't feel that will happen, then AEG will have to go after the NBA. They promised an anchor tennant, and will get one.

Las Vegas. Gimmie a break. they don't even have a suitable arena yet. Or plans to build one anytime soon.

Isn't the Ford Center in OKC relatively new itself? I would assume that an arena of that age would have just as many amenities (i.e. luxboxes) as needed.

And Vegas is being used as leverage again. No arena, no plans to ever get an arena done.

Ford's fairly new, but its also pretty austere IIRC. Also KC and Vegas both have a better upside in corporate presence.

Aside from the Casinos, there's not much of a corporate presence in Vegas. The TV market ranking is middling (I think it's 51st). The Maloofs are pretty much the only ones who've shown any kind of interest in supporting professional sports in Vegas.

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The potential move of the Sonics is a headache for the NBA no matter which way you analyze it.

National Rank of City Population

#23 - Seattle - 571,480

#29 - Las Vegas - 534,847

#31 - Oklahoma City - 528,042

#39 - Kansas City - 444,387

National Rank of CSA/MSA Metro Population

#14 - Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia, WA - 3,876,211

#27 - Kansas City/Overland Park/Kansas City, MO-KS - 2,034,796

#31 - Las Vegas/Paradise/Pahrump, NV - 1,820,232

#44 - Oklahoma City/Shawnee, OK - 1,240,977

National Rank of Nielsen Media Designated Market Area

#14 - Seattle/Tacoma - 1,724,450 TV Homes

#31 - Kansas City - 913,280 TV Homes

#43 - Las Vegas - 671,630 TV Homes

#45 - Oklahoma City - 662,380 TV Homes

Number of Fortune 500 Companies Headquartered in City/State

Seattle - 5 / Washington - 9

Oklahoma City - 4 / Oklahoma - 6

Kansas City - 1 / Missouri - 10

Las Vegas - 2 / Nevada - 2

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