I think the winner will be Thunderdome...and Mel Gibson, who is looking for work, will be used at the naming ceremony...

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 like the Homeland Center...imagine...the whole crowd of 20,000 swaying with locked arms singing that catchy funeral dirge ditty they use in TV ads... "HOAM-LAYAND where Freshness is the Best"......and after each win--the crowd roars it out in unison...makes me misty-eyed...the glory...

it's not a dome, as in domed stadium.

Ford Center really is a true arena, designed that way from scratch.

By Zeus, is there any news on the new name? What's taking so long? Down economy?

Guarantee it will posted here immediately upon news, probably before the other media outlets

I don't know, but I think it's sad, cause I still reference it as the Ford Center all the time. Screw OKC Arena. Wee bit generic!

Wonder if the Thunder are waiting for all the improvements to be completed to fetch top dollar?...Sure the potential name buyers know they will be done but ya never know in this economy

The deal has been signed to my knowledge. It's going to be a bank.

The deal has been signed to my knowledge. It's going to be a bank.

THE REDNECK BANK ARENA!

http://www.newsok.com/article/3531542

THE REDNECK BANK ARENA!

http://www.newsok.com/article/3531542

Wow.

LMAO

Tonight, at the Redneck Bank Barn, in downtown Big City Oklahoma, The Thunder take on the Cavs. GIT R DUNNNNKED!

I am not happy with this. :-(

Lets just keep calling the place the Ford Center and Thunderdome.

I am not happy with this. :-(

Lets just keep calling the place the Ford Center and Thunderdome.

Did you even read the article? It was about the bank, not about the bank getting the naming rights...

Did you even read the article? It was about the bank, not about the bank getting the naming rights...

I read it about the bank. Looks like someone pulled a fast one on us. :-/

Just some light joshing and harmless leg pulling. For threads with zero fun or even negative3 levelsof fun, hang out over at the polyticks area.

I don't know who would want to pay whatever the Thunder are asking for when there is a medium to high chance the arena will be empty half the time next year with a NBA lockout.

I read it about the bank. Looks like someone pulled a fast one on us. :-/

No, Thunder, they were being serious. It actually is going to be the Redneck Bank Barn. They put up the money so they can name it whatever they want.

No, Thunder, they were being serious. It actually is going to be the Redneck Bank Barn. They put up the money so they can name it whatever they want.

I don't think Redneck Bank have that sort of money.

How about Thunder troll arena?

The deal has been signed to my knowledge. It's going to be a bank.

Would have to be MidFirst then...Would be weird to be the official bank of the Thunder playing in the BancFirst Arena

What if it's a national bank? Has Chase slapped their name up on anything yet?

Although it would be good advertising for MidFirst if they have aspirations to expand beyond OK and AZ.

Actually, everyone's wrong.....it's going the Hostess Twinkie Center.


Just kidding.

Yeah, it's going to be the MidFirst Bank Center. Done deal from what I've heard.

It was a done deal two weeks ago. Interesting they still haven't announced it.

It was a done deal two weeks ago. Interesting they still haven't announced it.

Maybe waiting for a dramatic moment, possibly during the playoffs, for maximum effect.

I said quite some time ago that among the owners, the privately held MidFirst is the logical answer. One of the companies associated with the owners that are public would have been a no go. This makes sense.

Maybe waiting for a dramatic moment, possibly during the playoffs, for maximum effect.

Takes some time for the signs to be manufactured also.

It was a done deal two weeks ago. Interesting they still haven't announced it.

Did they consult with you before the deal was signed?

Maybe waiting for a dramatic moment, possibly during the playoffs, for maximum effect.

That's an idea, although it is many months out still..

Takes some time for the signs to be manufactured also.

Hmmm, that might be dramatic to have the unveiling of the name/announcement after the signs are installed. Although it seems a bit of a stretch they could keep it a secret (out of the media) for that long or even for the 2 weeks mentioned here. Maybe the sponsor are also the new owners of Crossroads Mall? LOL

It is not a secret anymore. Everyone on here knows and now the media knows.

The Chase Center would gave been better...

Midfirst Bank Arena (MBA), sounds good. If this is true I like it. Would be awesome to see Midfirst take off into a true national bank, they could build upon so many banks being in trouble due to the mortgage meltdown and economic downturn. Not sure if this is something they are even considering though?

Midfirst Bank Arena (MBA), sounds good. If this is true I like it. Would be awesome to see Midfirst take off into a true national bank, they could build upon so many banks being in trouble due to the mortgage meltdown and economic downturn. Not sure if this is something they are even considering though?

Probably looking for more in the Phoenix area since they acquired two there already back in late '09....Having their name may help them some in AZ...I think a lot of folks there would like to bank with a conservative Okla bank right now

FWIW, Tues on channel 9's morning program, they had a short in studio segment with the Mayor and they asked about the name of the new arena (not the new name for the arena). mayor answered twice that he didn't know who it was. What I found interesting was he didn't say that it wasn't a done deal, just that he didn't know who.

FWIW, Tues on channel 9's morning program, they had a short in studio segment with the Mayor and they asked about the name of the new arena (not the new name for the arena). mayor answered twice that he didn't know who it was. What I found interesting was he didn't say that it wasn't a done deal, just that he didn't know who.

I didn't see the segment, but I would imagine its like area 51. He can neither confirm or deny a particular name exists.

Well that will be great national exposure for MidFirst, but I wonder if it makes OKC sound more small-time?

I don't think it does. Key Arena was named after a bank, I believe. And there's Bank North in Boston. Neither of those are national brands. It's far better to have a local sponsor than no sponsor. Oklahoma City Arena definitely sounds small time. As long as there's a commercial-sounding name and the team does well, it's all good.

But I will go along with then councilman Cornett when he voted against the Ford naming rights agreement. He stated then that we need to be promoting Oklahoma City and not some corporation. With that said, approach it the way Disney does w/corporate sponsorship. Keep the name "Oklahoma City Arena, sponsored by _________________". Or if that's too wordy, the "________________ Oklahoma City Arena".
That way the name of the building stays constant no matter if the sponsor changes (how many names has the Ballpark gone through and thats with the same sponsor). Always promotes the City. The sponsor still gets what they want out of it. And in this case, the team still gets what they want.

I'm fine with calling it the _______ Oklahoma City Arena, although that might end up being pretty wordy. What we will find, however, is that everyone will shorten it and the Oklahoma City part of the name will probably be left out during common usage.

I'm fine with calling it the _______ Oklahoma City Arena, although that might end up being pretty wordy. What we will find, however, is that everyone will shorten it and the Oklahoma City part of the name will probably be left out during common usage.

Kind of like the Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark. Whoever calls it that?

This sounds familiar but from the other side...who calls them the Oklahoma City Thunder? It gets shortened down to the Thunder all the time. But the argument put forth at the time was Oklahoma City will be mentioned every time in every paper in the country etc etc etc. The official name will be used in the lead sentence of the article or on-air report then after that it will get shortened.

I hear them being called Oklahoma City Thunder all of the time. Of course, Im not in Oklahoma - but on the nationals, it's always Oklahoma City Thunder or OKC.

In fact, I actually think Oklahoma City Thunder has a nice ring to it.

People shorten team names and names of buildings. I am not saying that you never hear Oklahoma City attached with the Thunder but take a close look at the next 10 stories you read or hear about the Thunder or any pro sports team and you may have the city name mentioned a couple of times, but more likely than not, the majority of references are shortened down (might even be a shortening to just the City even). But I agree that Oklahoma City should be in the name of the Thunder or the Arena. Know Cornett insisted that Oklahoma City be part of the official name of the Thunder and based on his city rather than a corporation statement, may have been influential in the current name of the Arena. Even if it is only mentioned in the first instance, better than nothing, right? Let's be consistent. Let's promote Oklahoma City since it is Oklahoma City residents that voted for the arena/improvements and are the primary payers of the sales tax that did both.

A google search of Ford Center brings up Oklahoma City of course, but also the Betty Ford clinic and there are Ford Centers in other parts of the country. When I first heard Staples Center, I fully expected that it was a Staples Super store. Some people probably thought Ford Center was a mega Ford dealership and most likely in Detroit (fortunately, there was a dealership next door). Things along those lines.

To those Thunder fans on this forum, what do you usually call them? The Thunder? The Oklahoma City Thunder? OKC Thunder? or if you are a certain sports columnist at the Oklahoman, the Boomers? LOL

People shorten team names and names of buildings. I am not saying that you never hear Oklahoma City attached with the Thunder but take a close look at the next 10 stories you read or hear about the Thunder or any pro sports team and you may have the city name mentioned a couple of times, but more likely than not, the majority of references are shortened down (might even be a shortening to just the City even). But I agree that Oklahoma City should be in the name of the Thunder or the Arena. Know Cornett insisted that Oklahoma City be part of the official name of the Thunder and based on his city rather than a corporation statement, may have been influential in the current name of the Arena. Even if it is only mentioned in the first instance, better than nothing, right? Let's be consistent. Let's promote Oklahoma City since it is Oklahoma City residents that voted for the arena/improvements and are the primary payers of the sales tax that did both.

A google search of Ford Center brings up Oklahoma City of course, but also the Betty Ford clinic and there are Ford Centers in other parts of the country. When I first heard Staples Center, I fully expected that it was a Staples Super store. Some people probably thought Ford Center was a mega Ford dealership and most likely in Detroit (fortunately, there was a dealership next door). Things along those lines.

To those Thunder fans on this forum, what do you usually call them? The Thunder? The Oklahoma City Thunder? OKC Thunder? or if you are a certain sports columnist at the Oklahoman, the Boomers? LOL

What is worse than the Carolina Panthers (which Carolina??) or the "New England" Patriots...why not the Southwest United States Wranglers...if you cannot add the city name...forget about it.

This sounds familiar but from the other side...who calls them the Oklahoma City Thunder? It gets shortened down to the Thunder all the time. But the argument put forth at the time was Oklahoma City will be mentioned every time in every paper in the country etc etc etc. The official name will be used in the lead sentence of the article or on-air report then after that it will get shortened.

Actually, if you watch the national sports news, which I do nightly, we are called Oklahoma City almost as often as we're called the Thunder. Some cities lend themselves to that. For instance, the Atlanta Hawks are called Atlanta almost as often as they're called the Hawks. The older teams, like the Celtics and Knicks are almost never identified by city, but for some reason Oklahoma City must have a ring to it the announcers and commentators like to use. Trust me, we've gotten an incredible amount of press as a city by having the Thunder. And, as we have gotten better and are on national television more, really nice shots of the city are shown at every break. This has been PR we couldn't afford to buy, just as was said before the team moved here.

My relatives in NYC are big Thunder fans, because of Kevin Durant, and if you watch away games you'll notice more and more people are showing up in Thunder gear. Kevin Durant's jersey last year was in the top 10 sellers internationally and I bet this year it will easily be in the top 5. He's the top vote getter for in the West forwards in the All Star balloting. He's probably done more to make Oklahoma City a "national brand" than anything in the history of the city. Instead of hearing, "Oh you're from Oklahoma City, where they had that bomb," I can guarantee you more and more people are saying, "Oh, you're from Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant is amazing." We've gotten our money's worth in advertising, not to mention the fact that people in Oklahoma City are having a tremendous amount of fun with the Thunder.

Larry - Here in Jax we NEVER refer to the Jags as the Jacksonville Jaguars. We don't have to, we live here. When I see people on Sunday afternoon I don't ask them how the Jacksonville Jaguars did today. I ask them how the Jags did. You take the Mayor way to litteral.

Southern Kansas (I.e. Wichita, etc.) Embrace the Thunder as well. This team has helped tourism into OKC. I personally know of some people in Austin, that fly to OKC about once a month for Thunder games and to see the city for the weekend. As the team brand is embraced into the NBA further, tourism will continue to increase.

Larry - Here in Jax we NEVER refer to the Jags as the Jacksonville Jaguars. We don't have to, we live here. When I see people on Sunday afternoon I don't ask them how the Jacksonville Jaguars did today. I ask them how the Jags did. You take the Mayor way to litteral.

This is another team the media frequently refer to by city. I hear the Jags called "Jacksonville" a lot by the national media. I probably would know nothing about Jacksonville if the Jaguars weren't there....and my son hadn't moved there.

Well, the Jags won't be here for long. The ground work has been laid to move the team to LA after next season.

"Oh you're from Oklahoma City, where they had that bomb," I can guarantee you more and more people are saying, "Oh, you're from Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant is amazing."

As superficial as it sounds, I think you make a good point. It has "rebranded" the city from a place known for tragedy to being associated with success and rebirth. Kevin Durant and the Thunder have kind of put something tangible to our new image and provided a medium in which the new image can be reinforced several times a year. It's as if they are the mascot for our new image.

Well that will be great national exposure for MidFirst, but I wonder if it makes OKC sound more small-time?

I think the chronic worrying about sounding small-time makes us sound more small-time than anything.

When the City sold the naming right they gave up throwing their 2 cents in.

I just wish that the MidFirst bank would just come up with an awesome name rather than self-image-greed to name the building after their own bank.

I just wish that the MidFirst bank would just come up with an awesome name rather than self-image-greed to name the building after their own bank.

LOL - in this world you live in, is it sunny all the time?

I just wish that the MidFirst bank would just come up with an awesome name rather than self-image-greed to name the building after their own bank.

You can blame that on the City for making the deal where they/the Thunder get to whore out the naming rights to the highest bidder.

I'm pretty sure every other arena does the same thing. If it helps the Thunder sign better players so we can be competitive in the league, then I am happy to have it named the just about anything arena. Redneck Bank is probably an exception. We're a small market. We don't have lots of corporate sponsor options. We have mid range ticket prices. If we don't want to end up scraping by and selling draft picks for cash, ala New Orleans, then we'll need to be supportive of the sale of naming rights.

I'm pretty sure every other arena does the same thing. If it helps the Thunder sign better players so we can be competitive in the league, then I am happy to have it named the just about anything arena. Redneck Bank is probably an exception. We're a small market. We don't have lots of corporate sponsor options. We have mid range ticket prices. If we don't want to end up scraping by and selling draft picks for cash, ala New Orleans, then we'll need to be supportive of the sale of naming rights.

Right on.

I'm pretty sure every other arena does the same thing. If it helps the Thunder sign better players so we can be competitive in the league, then I am happy to have it named the just about anything arena. Redneck Bank is probably an exception. We're a small market. We don't have lots of corporate sponsor options. We have mid range ticket prices. If we don't want to end up scraping by and selling draft picks for cash, ala New Orleans, then we'll need to be supportive of the sale of naming rights.

Oh, I agree. Just sorta agree with Thunder than an iconic-sounding name would be sweet. Hell, even the Thunderdome would be a hit for me. If I were worth a billion or two, I'd buy the rights, name it the Myriad for everything other than Thunder game, where it would be the Thunderdome. That's about right.

I'm pretty sure every other arena does the same thing. If it helps the Thunder sign better players so we can be competitive in the league, then I am happy to have it named the just about anything arena. Redneck Bank is probably an exception. We're a small market. We don't have lots of corporate sponsor options. We have mid range ticket prices. If we don't want to end up scraping by and selling draft picks for cash, ala New Orleans, then we'll need to be supportive of the sale of naming rights.

Good post. The Jags went 3 years without a stadium sponsor here in Jax - you can see the result on the field, which in turn led to the result you see in the stands.

"Naming rights" is a concept I pretty much dislike and, honestly, give no serious thought to. Like betts, as long as it's not 'Redneck Bank' I really don't care and fail to see why it stirs such passion. I think some want to find anything to be critical about because their lives are miserable. That may sound odd, but honestly, the people I have met who are oppositional are usually just unhappy people - period. Just name it and get on with it. Most of us really don't care.