It's a joke ... as far as I know.

I hope this is a joke, but I wouldn't be surprised.

My guess is it will probably be the Gaylord Family Memorial Center, or NewsOK Center, or something like that. The Oklahoman has to have their name on everything around here.

Shoot, there's an easy fix to this. Either quit asking them for money or they can quit giving money and we can quit naming things for them. Or is that you want them to just give money and then go away?

Tulsa Arena!

Walmart Center

Now THIS--is a great idea. God knows--it would be "giving back" to the community it serves...

I don't think Walmart Arena is even realistic, BUT I'd be OK with that honestly. Naming rights are about 1 thing to the owners of a pro team - MONEY. To a City it is exposure. Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world, like it or hate it. With HOTROD's theory in mind, there doesn't get any more brand awareness than Walmart.

No, not Walmart Center. PLEASE not!

There is a Target Center and Target Field in Minneapolis, why not Walmart Arena in Okc?

No NBA in Arkansas...a natural...

Walmart Center

If has to be Walmart, why can't it be a SuperCenter. That way you can get an oil change while waching the game, plus pick up some groceries on your way home.

BTW, any chance you got your inside information mixed up and Walmart bought the Devon Building?

If has to be Walmart, why can't it be a SuperCenter. That way you can get an oil change while waching the game, plus pick up some groceries on your way home.

...


If it's to be the Wal-Mart SuperCenter, will there be a LFL Uniform Shoppe as well?

I beg to differ. The Oklahoma City Blazers experienced consistent attendance figures for 17 years. The only reason the franchise folded was due to interest moving up to AHL. If they had ANY financial difficulty, it was because someone didn't keep the books.



Wrong wrong wrong. The Blazers had good attendance because they literally comped thousands of tickets to each game. The attendance was so over-inflated it was ridiculous. That's why the attendance for the Barons has been so much less. They aren't comping all of these tickets.

Oh wait! I've got it! The Storm Center. Home of the Thunder! LOL!

Better yet. "Are you there Val" Arena......

Even better... Gentner Center.

We could call it...Tim?

KFOR Storm Center? News 9 Gary England Arena?

OK so now that it's being called Oklahoma City Arena...how long do you think we have to wait for it to be tagged with a name? Seems like they should have left the Ford Center stuff along until a new one was in place.

Or at least rearranged the letters:

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9929/dorf2.jpg

Maybe we could have at least gotten a Tim Conway concert out of the deal or something.

I heard that an OIL & Gas co. out of China is buying up huge assets in Ok. and Texas and will need a major office building in OKC. It will be named the Xing Xhang arena.

are you being funny RT, ....

I wouldn't mind at all if Walmart branded the arena. Hopefully they could come up with a catchy name for the brand if they did do it, but like metro said - it is true Walmart is a world brand like Ford (ford is actually bigger tho), and Walmart is very very big here in China.

Interesting to note, however - that outside of the US there isn't much advertising from NBA games seen around the world. For example, when your broadcast goes to commercial or even shows city-scapes or in-broadcast ads, we go to the Chinese announcers (in my case, CCTV-5) who just talk about the game and/or the players. In fact, they don't even really promote the team name/city either too much. They mostly promote the players.

Yeah, if WalMart wants to put up the money, calling it the Wal-Mart Super Center might be kind of interesting.

There's always room for another Target arena right? Just paint it on top.

Yeah, if WalMart wants to put up the money, calling it the Wal-Mart Super Center might be kind of interesting.

Just think...build the world's largest SuperCenter next to it--and you got 20,000 filing into it after the game--a marketer's dream!

An urban Wal-mart would go a long ways towards bringing some much needed retail to downtown. If you have ever see the iconic Kress buildings around the country you would know how cool discount chains can be in a downtown setting. Kress is the K in K-Mart.

Kress Building in downtown Memphis

http://images.travelpod.com/users/cobra1899/pauls_journey.1201574700.kress-building.jpg


Ft Worth
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2141/2451309200_ddbfaa2255_o.jpg

LA
http://djdomas.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/event_kress_building-225x300.jpg

Greensboro, NC
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/3778161132_667b95eff4_z.jpg

I still get confused over Kress and Kresge...I believe they were both retailers...with those red banner signs not unlike TG&Y...and F. W. Woolworth...

I drive on the Crosstown every day to and from work. I can't stand how bare the arena looks without its lettering! It also doesn't help that you can see where the letters were placed. It makes the arena look bush league. They can at least put a banner over the areas where there was lettering. Way to go OKC.

I still get confused over Kress and Kresge...I believe they were both retailers...with those red banner signs not unlike TG&Y...and F. W. Woolworth...

Perhaps you're not as confused as you thought. Contrary to Kerry's post above, the K in Kmart was from Kresge, not from Kress.

Perhaps you're not as confused as you thought. Contrary to Kerry's post above, the K in Kmart was from Kresge, not from Kress.

I stand corrected Oil Capital. Thanks for the info.

Screw the naming rights. The citizens of Oklahoma City have paid for that arena. Why not thank them by giving them the naming rights and the freedom to vote on what they want to name it? Have citizens submit names, then take the names with the most votes and go with it. It's about time the citizens of KC be recognized for the money they put up to build this facility.

No name on the arena is bush league


bush league

A slang term used to describe play that is of minor league or unprofessional quality. The "bushes" or the "sticks" are small towns where minor league teams may operate, the latter term also used in the acting profession, famously in the Variety headline of July 17, 1935, "Sticks nix hix pix", meaning small towns reject motion pictures about small towns. A "busher" refers to someone from the "bush leagues": see subtitle of Ring Lardner's first book, "You Know Me Al: A Busher's Letters"

Screw the naming rights. The citizens of Oklahoma City have paid for that arena. Why not thank them by giving them the naming rights and the freedom to vote on what they want to name it? Have citizens submit names, then take the names with the most votes and go with it. It's about time the citizens of KC be recognized for the money they put up to build this facility.

So your preferred solution is to have the city break the contract with the ownership of the local NBA team. The ownership was promised the naming rights income. Who makes them whole after the city decides to call for a do over?

So your preferred solution is to have the city break the contract with the ownership of the local NBA team. The ownership was promised the naming rights income. Who makes them whole after the city decides to call for a do over?

Without "Ford Center" the ownership get nothing this season. This is bad appearance for the city.

Screw the naming rights. The citizens of Oklahoma City have paid for that arena. Why not thank them by giving them the naming rights and the freedom to vote on what they want to name it? Have citizens submit names, then take the names with the most votes and go with it. It's about time the citizens of KC be recognized for the money they put up to build this facility.

You're kidding right. You see, the team needs the money from the naming rights to field a competitive team and subsidizes the cost of tickets and food. Look at what a couple of years of no naming rights money did to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team couldn't afford to get good players and as a result the stadium is only half full. Does that sound like a good idea? Most people I know take pride in their city being associated with some of the world’s most recognizable brands. You might say it adds a little gravitas.

And not to be a debbie downer, but when OKC kept the rights on the Myriad, it stayed nothing more than crap. It's since been sold, and during that same time, we've seen marked improvements to the facility, granted for various reasons. Often the "municipal" arenas are not as nice...simple fact.

Without "Ford Center" the ownership get nothing this season.

You do realize that contracts have terms, right? If they re-upped the naming rights to the ford center it 1) wouldn't have been what they are worth given the higher profile of the arena and 2) the ownership would have been locked into the deal for at least a couple of years, restricting their ability to shop the naming rights for real market value. They believe the opportunity cost of taking what they can get now is too much, given the potential of what they could get for the rights in the next couple of years. There's always risk, but given how bad the previous naming rights deal was, it's probably minimal. If they get a deal in the next two years, whatever they give up now with the Ford Dealerships will likely be more than worth it.

They can do all of these things AND still leave the signs on the building until a replacement is agreed. Removing the signs is just pathetically stupid. It makes the building look dull and abandoned. It is an embarrassment to OKC.

It is an embarrassment to OKC.

Stop being dramatic and premature. I doubt anyone has even realized this outside of OKC.

can't be any worse than the auqa green new orleans arena

http://basketball.ballparks.com/NBA/NewOrleansHornets/aerial.jpg

Worthy Cook, that place is horrible! It is all concrete....no grass...no trees...no shrubs...no flowers...if any very little.

And not to be a debbie downer, but when OKC kept the rights on the Myriad, it stayed nothing more than crap. It's since been sold, and during that same time, we've seen marked improvements to the facility, granted for various reasons. Often the "municipal" arenas are not as nice...simple fact.

That has more to do with improvements from the original MAPS and the partnership they now have with SMG to manage the space, and not as much to do with the name on the building.

I will say I've changed my mind on naming rights. If you can make some millions off of selling the naming rights, go for it. That will help pay player's salaries.

They can do all of these things AND still leave the signs on the building until a replacement is agreed. Removing the signs is just pathetically stupid. It makes the building look dull and abandoned. It is an embarrassment to OKC.

If they broke the deal with the Ford dealers, why leave the Ford Center name on it? We're not in the business to offer free advertising.

If they broke the deal with the Ford dealers, why leave the Ford Center name on it? We're not in the business to offer free advertising.

Free advertising is still there. Just look at the bricks. And people will still refer the stadium as the Ford Center.

If they broke the deal with the Ford dealers, why leave the Ford Center name on it? We're not in the business to offer free advertising.

If I recall the news correctly, no deal was broken. Business was, and still is, simply being conducted according to the existing agreement.

Ford had first rights to negotiate with the ball club.
Those negotiations failed to produce a number acceptable to both Ford and the club ownership.
The club ownership notified Ford they were ending negotiations and seeking a new suitor.
And a-seeking they are.

It's a separate Q whether the city gave away too much to the club, but as I recall, the city ends up making pretty much what they would have made under their original agreement with Ford.

I hope they find a good corporate partner with a global name, but barring that, I hope they maximize their income potential.
And that's from someone who only sees them occasionally on tv. Even a non bballer like me can see that they are good for the OKC, and thus the metro and the state as a whole.

If I recall the news correctly, no deal was broken. Business was, and still is, simply being conducted according to the existing agreement.

Ford had first rights to negotiate with the ball club.
Those negotiations failed to produce a number acceptable to both Ford and the club ownership.
The club ownership notified Ford they were ending negotiations and seeking a new suitor.
And a-seeking they are.

It's a separate Q whether the city gave away too much to the club, but as I recall, the city ends up making pretty much what they would have made under their original agreement with Ford.

I hope they find a good corporate partner with a global name, but barring that, I hope they maximize their income potential.
And that's from someone who only sees them occasionally on tv. Even a non bballer like me can see that they are good for the OKC, and thus the metro and the state as a whole.

This is from memory so if some of the details are off...

The original naming rights agreement with the Ford Dealership Group was for 15 years (signed in 2002)

Article mentioned ... "A year later, however, that clock has yet to tick ... the Thunder has yet to trigger terms for renegotiating the naming rights deal"

Previous article said the clock HAD started ticking ["Naming Rights: What's next?" (7/3/08)]. It said that the 90 day clock had started ticking on the Thunder's window for renegotiating the naming rights to the Ford Center (by them settling their Seattle legal differences). The article said that if they didn't agree, the Ford Dealers group had 180 days after that to meet or beat any new offer.

We are in the 3rd year of the Thunder and LONG since past the 90/180 day time frame to redo the naming rights. Seems to me that the Thunder/SMG/City of unilaterally severed the Ford agreement that should be in full force and effect until 2017.

Also, the City is getting shortchanged with the Mayor/City Manager self-described "break even" approach with the Thunder agreement. Under the naming rights portion, the City continues to get $409K/year (any renegotiated naming rights, the Thunder gets to keep the excess). Sounds good except the City isn't breaking even at all. Under the Ford agreement, the City was getting $540K/year. That means the City is getting shortchanged $131K/year. Not a great deal of money in the grand scheme, but it does add up. That is money that should have stayed with the City (on a taxpayer built/improvements paid for facility).

I'm not sure what exactly constitutes an arena being a garden, i.e. the Rose Garden in Portland and the TD Garden in Boston, but I think Chesapeake Garden has a nice ring to it...any word when an announcement will need to be made?

hm, that does sound nice. Hertz Garden, Sonic Garden,

Devon Sports Palace. .....

Loves Sports Center. .....

Hobby Lobby Arena. .....

American Fidelity Center. .....

Express Garden. .....

SandRidge Center. ..... 'we promise not to tear this down....'

OPUBCO Arena. .....

hm, that does sound nice. Hertz Garden, Sonic Garden,

Devon Sports Palace. .....

Loves Sports Center. .....

Hobby Lobby Arena. .....

American Fidelity Center. .....

Express Garden. .....

SandRidge Center. ..... 'we promise not to tear this down....'

OPUBCO Arena. .....

Maybe...Gaylord Family and Friends and Relatives and Acquaintances and Oklahoma City Times Memorial Arena...?

Would wrap nicely around the whole circumference...

Century Martial Arts Dome, Tinker Federal Credit Union Arena, Loves Travel and Rest Center Dome, Paycom Center, My Dentist Dome, Homeland Center, Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Center

I'm not sure what exactly constitutes an arena being a garden, i.e. the Rose Garden in Portland and the TD Garden in Boston, but I think Chesapeake Garden has a nice ring to it...any word when an announcement will need to be made?

or the most famous garden of all, Madison Square Gardens

Century Martial Arts Dome, Tinker Federal Credit Union Arena, Loves Travel and Rest Center Dome, Paycom Center, My Dentist Dome, Homeland Center, Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Center

Citizen's Bank?

I hear its down to 2 names/companies, and Clay Bennett is not telling ANYone!

I heard it will be named the Devon Energy Center.

Just remember....someone knows...someone knows...

What if all the OKC energy companies banded together with their monies and tied the name to the overall industry and market OKC as the energy capital of the US..........simply call it the Oklahoma City Energy Center. I know that would never happen with corporate america and egos involved, not to mention how they would decide who gave what amount, but just a thought.

I hear its down to 2 names/companies, and Clay Bennett is not telling ANYone!

Huh?

Maybe we oughta just call it the Clay Pit and be done with it?

What if all the OKC energy companies banded together with their monies and tied the name to the overall industry and market OKC as the energy capital of the US..........simply call it the Oklahoma City Energy Center. I know that would never happen with corporate america and egos involved, not to mention how they would decide who gave what amount, but just a thought.

It would be a waste of money. Everyone knows Housron is the real capital and would make us look even more like wanna bees

Crest Foods Arena,Red Dirt ready center,Big friendly arena,Sam Walton center,OK Medical Examiners arena,Fields pecan pie center,Bass Pro center,Toby Keith's I love this arena,Key arena,David Stern center,Texas sux arena,Wal Mart Supercenter!OK OK just kiddin!

Crest Foods Arena,Red Dirt ready center,Big friendly arena,Sam Walton center,OK Medical Examiners arena,Fields pecan pie center,Bass Pro center,Toby Keith's I love this arena,Key arena,David Stern center,Texas sux arena,Wal Mart Supercenter!OK OK just kiddin!

:LolLolLolHa!!! I would totally go there more often if it was called the Fields Pecan Pie Center... that sounds pretty tasty! Toby Keith's I Love This Arena...bwahahha good one!!!

Stop being dramatic and premature.

:congrats: