Why are some Tulsans upset the thunder are called "okc"?

[soonerfan_in_okc]

I am sure this has been posted, but there are 31 pages and ill be damned if i look through em all. I was looking at a tulsa board, and an awful lot were upset because they say they paid some sort of tax. Not sure what they are talking about and how legit their argument is.

[Midtowner]

The Thunder get some tax credits for bringing quality jobs to Oklahoma. I'm sure that has something to do with it.

[Of Sound Mind]

That's because the Tulsans' mindset is, "What's our is ours and what's yours is ours." They should consider the D-league 66ers as recompense for their begrudging miserly contribution.

[earlywinegareth]

This is the least of their worries. Their city is slowly dying.

[metro]

I am sure this has been posted, but there are 31 pages and ill be damned if i look through em all. I was looking at a tulsa board, and an awful lot were upset because they say they paid some sort of tax. Not sure what they are talking about and how legit their argument is.

No need to read 31 pages when the answer is often on page 1.

[circled9]

on a similar to related subject, has anyone ever considered (long term) a first class sports venue in Stroud halfway up the turnpike with light rail going from both okc and tulsa to the complex?

i have seen several on this board talk about major league sports other than basketball in the future. it seems to me that this would be the only way to make the market large enough.

Then the team would not be OKC but would be called Oklahoma. Just a thought that I am sure somebody has expressed before.

[soonerfan_in_okc]

No need to read 31 pages when the answer is often on page 1.

LMFAO @ how ruined you are.

[warreng88]

I think the main reason they are upset is because Mayor Mick came out and said he expects support coming from Tulsa like we had when the Hornets were here. Then we go off and name them the OKC Thunder, not the Oklahoma Thunder. Tulsans think "If you want our support, it needs to be named after the whole state." If the people living in the OKC area are the ones who paid the taxes to expand the Ford Center to house an NBA team, it should be named OKC Thunder. If it were a statewide tax, then I would be ok with Oklahoma Thunder.

[bluedogok]

Those Tulsans that are going to support the Thunder are going to support them regardless of whether "City" is in the name or not. For the most part those that whine and cry about the name weren't going to support the team anyway.

[windowphobe]

You don't see anyone from here complaining about the WNBA's Tulsa Shock (which, incidentally, opens its season tonight at BOk against the Minnesota Lynx).

[Laramie]

As I mentioned on another thread; those people on the Tulsa Now forum wanted the team to be named Oklahoma for one reason--take Oklahoma City out of the equation so people just might think that team was based in Tulsa.

When they had the North American Soccer League Tulsa Roughnecks in the 80's they thought they were big time and had no problem claiming them as Tulsa's. When the USFL fail to secure a lease for Oklahoma Memorial Stadium the team flew northeast to Tulsa's then 41,000-seat Skelly Stadium.

Oklahoma Outlaws was to be the name if the team had stayed in Norman; before moving to Tulsa the name was already history.

Should an NFL fanchise happen upon us, I would have no problem calling it "Oklahoma" and making it a state team especially if the team played in Stroud or Oklahoma City. I wouldn't have no problem with the Thunder being called Oklahoma if Tulsa supported it as they did the Hornets.

Maybe Tulsa can lure an NHL franchise and call it Oklahoma; they would definitely need OKC's help to support a franchise of that magnitude.

OU officials found it difficult to say no to the Outlaws, so they proposed charging an unbelieveable amount for rent and they wanted over 50% of the gross food concessions and the team would have only been allowed to sign a three year lease. OU told them they that unless a stadium plan was in place to house the team they didn't want to get into sharing Memorial Stadium and supporting professional football.

[Swake2]

Very few people "want" the name to be Oklahoma instead of Oklahoma City, and I doubt anyone is upset over that.

What's upsetting is the $6 million plus per year in state taxes going to the team.

[Laramie]

Very few people "want" the name to be Oklahoma instead of Oklahoma City, and I doubt anyone is upset over that.

What's upsetting is the $6 million plus per year in state taxes going to the team.

Why should the $6 million plus per year in state taxes going to the Thunder be upsetting?

There wasn't any money from the state coffers used to get the team and there is actually more money being put into the state by the players being here (just not as much as it could have been without the exemption). The economic impact that this team brings to Oklahoma City as well as the State of Oklahoma is small potatoes in what state and city stands to reap.

What did Tulsa do (financially) to attract this team to Oklahoma?

1. Oklahoma City businessmen purchased the franchise for $350 million which was valued at $280 million.
2. Oklahoma City voters built the Ford Center with no state money.
3. Oklahoma City voters extended a sales tax (MAPS for HOOPS) to make the arena more NBA ready for relocation.


This tax break came under state incentives for attracting this team here; so just like any other corporation of importance you give up something to get something. The Thunder didn't ask for this tax break; leadership wanted to add to insure the long-term ability of the NBA to remain in Oklahoma. Just as Mayor Mick Cornett summed it up saying that smart cities know what it takes to bring a major league franchise to their communities and help them to be successful.

How was this any different from when AA expanded its Tulsa maintenance facility under the Quality Jobs Program?

[HOT ROD]

it's no different Laramie. It's called, "Little Man's Syndrome" and it is because the Thunder was a success.

If the team sucked, Im sure there would be NO real noise coming from Tulsa about anything, other than the usual "OKC sucks, and so does their bball team...." But since the team is good and has a promising future, there are SOME up there would would like it to masquerade as theirs - particularly with this 'desire' of theirs for home games. That combined with the name "Oklahoma Thunder" and most idiots in America would assume the team was based in Tulsa. ...

This is nothing less than everything Tulsa has done in the past, taking all of the limelight for Oklahoma while shunning the much larger state capital city. In the past, OKC sat back and let it happen - but NOW - OKC is running the show and it is OKC who is putting up the money to make this happen.

Like you said, the state didn't GIVE OKC or the Thunder anything, the ONLY thing that the state allowed was the Quality Jobs exemption to apply to the upper percentile of the player's salaries. As you have mentioned, these salaries/players WERE NOT PREVIOUSLY IN OKLAHOMA...... SO IT IS STILL A GAIN TO THE STATE DESPITE THE $6M OR SO DOLLARS THE STATE C O U L D H A V E BEEN RECEIVING WITHOUT APPLYING QUALITY JOBS. ........ And like you said, this is no different than AA or all of the other expansions/relocations that Tulsa had enjoyed under the program.

Is there any way somebody can explain this to those idiots up there who are supposedly much smarter than us in hickville?

[sgt. pepper]

This is the least of their worries. Their city is slowly dying.

This is sooooo far from the truth

That's because the Tulsans' mindset is, "What's our is ours and what's yours is ours."

yep

take Oklahoma City out of the equation so people just might think that team was based in Tulsa.

yep

Maybe Tulsa can lure an NHL franchise and call it Oklahoma

will NEVER happen, not that Tulsa will not lure an NHL team, but that it will not be called "Oklahoma ______"

[evh5150]

I am sure this has been posted, but there are 31 pages and ill be damned if i look through em all. I was looking at a tulsa board, and an awful lot were upset because they say they paid some sort of tax. Not sure what they are talking about and how legit their argument is.

if you think about it, it makes since considering that most NBA teams are named after a city, and not a state.

there are a few exceptions: jazz, warriors, pacers, t-wolves, nets.

besides, if our team was called by its state name, rather than by city, then tulsa would cry foul that the stadium is located in downtown okc and not downtown tulsa. then they would want the stadium moved to chandler to be equidistant to both okc and tulsa fans.

who knows, maybe tulsa will get an nhl expansion team someday, and then okc will raise our own gripes.

[evh5150]

tulsans are a rather eccentric lot. i find that i have to often times remind myself that they are oklahomans as well.

[evh5150]

I think the main reason they are upset is because Mayor Mick came out and said he expects support coming from Tulsa like we had when the Hornets were here. Then we go off and name them the OKC Thunder, not the Oklahoma Thunder. Tulsans think "If you want our support, it needs to be named after the whole state." If the people living in the OKC area are the ones who paid the taxes to expand the Ford Center to house an NBA team, it should be named OKC Thunder. If it were a statewide tax, then I would be ok with Oklahoma Thunder.

you bring up an interesting aspect. ...NBA fans are everywhere!-worldwide. Just because someone lives in one place doesnt mean that they have to support the team thats closest to them. You can have someone living in Manhattan New York, who has never stepped foot in California, and yet be an avid fan of the Lakers, and care nothing for the Knicks.

[fuzzytoad]

What I find interesting is so many people here even care what anyone else thinks...

I really haven't seen any posts from Tulsans claiming to be upset.. I haven't really seen any Tulsans saying anything at all about the Thunder..

What I *do* see are a bunch of people stating what they *think* Tulsans are saying/thinking as if it were fact without anything to back them up..

Just more of the same from this forum..

[adaniel]

Actually the Thunder's lack of embrace from the 918 set is more than talk forum banter.

Tulsa World: Tulsans slow to warm to Thunder

and a follow up article....

Tulsa World: Stress about the game, not team's name

Also, read the comments in both, as they are pretty telling of some people's attitude about the situation.

Personally, I could really care less, and I wish some peope would give this whole team name thing a rest. Its a done deal. We have a good regional (and national) fanbase and will do so as long as the team has a good record and the players keep their egos in check. Yes,the team qualified under the state Quality Jobs program and got money, and the validity of that program is definitely up for debate. There are plenty of companies in Tulsa that got even bigger checks from the state. Should people from OKC be upset that Semgroup got Quality Jobs money only to fold?

[Shake2005]

it's no different Laramie. It's called, "Little Man's Syndrome" and it is because the Thunder was a success.

If the team sucked, Im sure there would be NO real noise coming from Tulsa about anything, other than the usual "OKC sucks, and so does their bball team...." But since the team is good and has a promising future, there are SOME up there would would like it to masquerade as theirs - particularly with this 'desire' of theirs for home games. That combined with the name "Oklahoma Thunder" and most idiots in America would assume the team was based in Tulsa. ...

This is nothing less than everything Tulsa has done in the past, taking all of the limelight for Oklahoma while shunning the much larger state capital city. In the past, OKC sat back and let it happen - but NOW - OKC is running the show and it is OKC who is putting up the money to make this happen.

Like you said, the state didn't GIVE OKC or the Thunder anything, the ONLY thing that the state allowed was the Quality Jobs exemption to apply to the upper percentile of the player's salaries. As you have mentioned, these salaries/players WERE NOT PREVIOUSLY IN OKLAHOMA...... SO IT IS STILL A GAIN TO THE STATE DESPITE THE $6M OR SO DOLLARS THE STATE C O U L D H A V E BEEN RECEIVING WITHOUT APPLYING QUALITY JOBS. ........ And like you said, this is no different than AA or all of the other expansions/relocations that Tulsa had enjoyed under the program.

Is there any way somebody can explain this to those idiots up there who are supposedly much smarter than us in hickville?

The quality jobs act had to be altered to give the handout to the Thunder, and it happened after the team announced they were moving. It was a dirty inside political deal with a relative of the Gaylord family, business as usual in Oklahoma.

The quality jobs act was intended to be used for jobs that brought new money into the state. New American Airlines workers that could just as easily be employed at Ft Worth or Kansas City certainly fit this description, just like workers at Dell here in Oklahoma City, or Devon could qualify. No issues there. But Service industry jobs do not qualify, or rather did not before the law was altered just for The Thunder. The NBA team brings no, or almost no, new money into Oklahoma. Those salaries are paid for by tickets bought by 99% Oklahomans with local discretionary income, that money was likely going to be spent on something here in the state and was just redirected to the NBA team. If that money had been spent elsewhere in the economy it would have actually generated more income and more taxes in Oklahoma than the team because so many of the players live and spend their money elsewhere.

Six million a year in a state that is laying off teachers. Brilliant.

The question is, why aren’t you upset? The team was already moving here when this payout happened. It had nothing to do with getting the team and everything to do with further enriching the rich people that own the team.

[betts]

Actually, the NBA pays every team $49 million dollars as its share of television and merchandise sales. That money comes to Oklahoma City, and didn't before. Playoffs bring even more money into the state. In addition, most of the players live in Oklahoma City. Several are currently buying houses. Because they are young, some go home to their families in the summer, but they live here from August to April at least. They shop here (you will see them with packages at Penn Square Mall on weekends), they buy food here, they buy cars here, they pay income tax here and they will pay property taxes here.

Although it is not a large number, we do get people traveling here from Kansas and Texas to go to games, as well as the people involved in television production of games shown on national networks. They stay here and eat at our restaurants.

In addition, OKC, and indirectly the state, gets a massive amount of publicity from having an NBA team. Every televised game shows the most attractive pictures of the city it can find when it goes to commercial. Since our team improved so much, we will undoubtedly have a larger number of games on national television. Every playoff game is seen around the world. Everything great that was said about our crowd during the playoff games was heard by people in China, Europe, Australia and South America. Seen all those tourism commercials states spend millions on on national television? We basically got those and everything else I mentioned above for your six million in tax credits and a penny sales tax for 18 months.

The team owners spent $350 million to buy the team. They spent an additional $75 million to bring the team here. It's going to take years for them to break even on their investment, much less enriching themselves.

[Ezrablum]

Doesn't the weirdness between Tulsa and Oklahoma City go back a lot farther than Thunder basketball?

My friend is from a small town outside of Tulsa. She went to OSU. Her friends were all from either Tulsa and the surrounding area, or Stillwater. She came to OKC for a job. She had only lived here a few months after graduating from OSU before she was tired of it and ready to leave. She hadn't made any new friends here in OKC yet, and none of her old friends lived here. None of them had ever considered moving here before. It was like OKC was a foreign land. From what I can tell this was instilled in them from their parents. And it probably goes back a heckuva lot farther.

I've hung with some of her friends before. It was almost always in Stillwater. A couple of times they came to her apartment over the couple of years she has lived here. But usually if she wants to hang with those old friends, she has to go to them.

I don't know what it is, but there's definitely something amiss.

[dcsooner]

This is a really Dumb and irrelevant discussion

[Laramie]

The NBA approved the name Oklahoma City Thunder although Commissioner David Stern did have some initial reservations.

Let's face it folks, I can only think of one reason why Tulsans would be indifferent to the team being called Oklahoma City, simply because it leaves Tulsa out of the equation.

You don't have this problem in Texas in the Metroplex where the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers (Arlington-Fort Worth area); Dallas Mavericks or Stars. You don't hear Fort Worth people complaining about the Mavericks and Stars being called Dallas. Why not the Fort Worth Rangers--would Dallas stop supporting the team?

If the Texas Rangers were called the Dallas Rangers would you hear Metroplex fans complaining?

Tulsa just plain doesn't want Oklahoma City to receive credit for this NBA franchise--plain and simply.

When they had the Tulsa Roughnecks in the NASL; you didn't hear Oklahoma City fans complaining about the team favoring Tulsa as part of the name?

I went to many NASL games in Tulsa and heard some TV announcers make the mistake that Tulsa was in Texas.

Sure, I've heard Kobe and other NBA players on NBA-TV refer to the team as Oklahoma; that doesn't mean that they don't recognize Oklahoma City. New York City is often referenced as New York.

Funny Tulsa didn't name the WNBA Shock--Oklahoma Shock!