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Another hoops team in OK?? Are you serious??

Re: Another hoops team in OK?? Are you serious??

Ok, let's look at this situation:

2001 - Vancouver Grizzlies move to Memphis, TN

2009 - Grizzlies finish 29th in league attendance.

I've always found it strange that Pittsburgh doesn't have a team, and a new building for the Pens would have been a perfect opportunity to put a team there.

Other places better than OKC:

Tampa Bay
San Diego
Cincinnati
 
Re: Another hoops team in OK?? Are you serious??

Ok, let's look at this situation:

2001 - Vancouver Grizzlies move to Memphis, TN

2009 - Grizzlies finish 29th in league attendance.

I've always found it strange that Pittsburgh doesn't have a team, and a new building for the Pens would have been a perfect opportunity to put a team there.

Other places better than OKC:

Tampa Bay
San Diego
Cincinnati

You do realize that there are more than a few moving parts here, right? Pro sports teams operate with a lot of different variables to have success. Market size, corporate support, population, history, arenas/facilities, revenue generation, committed ownership, etc.

Atlanta is a large city and a pretty good market on paper, right? Yet they've been in the bottom 5 of NBA attendance for years.

Even the strongest markets need a team with a chance of winning from time to time to draw fans.

Small market teams can and do succeed. Big market teams can and do fail.

As for your suggestions:

Tampa Bay - they have a team 70 miles up the road in Orlando.
San Diego - the Clippers have been there and done that. They also don't have an arena worth a ****, as well as being fairly close to LA.
Cincinnati - please, after 1996, I would hope college hockey fans would be aware of Cincinnati's arena situation. It hasn't improved in the intervening 13 years...
 
Re: Another hoops team in OK?? Are you serious??

You sure about that?

OKC MSA: 1.26 million

SLC MSA: 1.15 million

Salt Lake's population along the Wasatch Front is indeed higher, but if you're going to go down that road, you might as well do the same for OKC and consider Tulsa part of their media market as well.

QUOTE]

Yeahm the Census Bureau seems to be on this new kick of splitting up previously larger metro areas (they did this with the Bay Area for some bizarre reason).

I was referring to this, which is actually smaller than the entire Wasatch front, which also includes Provo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Lake_City-Ogden-Clearfield,_UT_CSA#Combined_Statistical_Area

or this:

http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/mm001050.asp

Oklahoma City and Tulsa don't appear to have enough interaction to create a Combined Statistical Area.

Oh and for the WNBA this move is probably a good one, although there was some statement by someone in Oklahoma about how they didn't want the Seattle WNBA team following the Sonics b/c it would bring in "those kind of fans" or something like that, i.e mannish lesbians. If that is indeed a large part of the fanbase, I'm not sure about this move. Oklahoma is in the running for last state to legalize gay marriage.
 
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Re: Another hoops team in OK?? Are you serious??

Timely commentary on the state of the WNBA.
http://www.slate.com/id/2232562/

Interesting tidbit in there: "The World Series of Poker has averaged a 0.91 rating for ESPN in 2009; ESPN2's primetime coverage of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals received a 0.43 rating..."
 
Re: Another hoops team in OK?? Are you serious??

Streaker, it's not often that you and I agreen on things, but this statement is exactly what I had in my head, but didn't feel like taking the time to type out. The Pistons/Shock are not "Detroit". They are Detroit only in name.

This is becoming too common lately. Maybe we should have that beverage soon. :D

The only team not "in" Detroit are the Pistons/Shock. The Wings, Tigers and Lions all have their homes downtown- but not in the bombed out sections of Detroit we all would like to nuke.
 
Re: Another hoops team in OK?? Are you serious??

Which is exactly why a team in Tulsa could succeed.

Now, the WNBA is a different animal, but the original poster had to drag OKC and the NBA into it, too - which is a huge mistake IMO.

If Tulsa supports it, great. I think it has more to do with the product than the location. I mean, when I was a teen, Tulsa had a professional soccer team in the NASL and got fair support... but the product stunk and so did their team.
 
Re: Another hoops team in OK?? Are you serious??

Timely commentary on the state of the WNBA.
http://www.slate.com/id/2232562/

Interesting tidbit in there: "The World Series of Poker has averaged a 0.91 rating for ESPN in 2009; ESPN2's primetime coverage of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals received a 0.43 rating..."

I love the comment at the end of the story about how giving away tickets may help the league by encouraging skeptical fans to come out. Giving away tickets is never a good thing for a league or franchise. If it actually worked the Washington Nationals would be the most popular team in sports. The absolute only reason the WNBA continues to exist is because of the W. When the owners finally get sick of losing money the WNBA will fade away into oblivion.
 
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