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

[soonerfan_in_okc]

I would love for tulsa to get an NHL team. Call them the "tulsa __", and i would still feel attached to them. Partly because they are in the state, partly because i have no team. But i would definitely go up there a few times to see a NHL game.

[kevinpate]

Tulsa businessmen can go get their own teams, just like OKC businessmen did for OKC. There's no reason for OKC businessmen to make Tulsa major league. ... Sorry Laramie, you lost me with that proposal. ...

Or, they can elect to leave it to OKC business folk to do it for them, as has already happened, more than once.

Hope they remembered to say thanks to them, even though they were not from T-town. As a former resident myself, I thought it fairly nifty that someone saw fit to do that for today's Tulsa.

[Laramie]

I would love for tulsa to get an NHL team. Call them the "tulsa __", and i would still feel attached to them. Partly because they are in the state, partly because i have no team. But i would definitely go up there a few times to see a NHL game.

Thank you soonerfan_in_okc! Two cities working together can achieve more! This fighting and jealousy among some posters on both boards does nothing to achieve progress for both cities. Tulsa & Oklahoma City both have 'positives' and that's what we should accentuate.
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Hot Rod:

Tulsa businessmen can go get their own teams, just like OKC businessmen did for OKC. There's no reason for OKC businessmen to make Tulsa major league. ... Sorry Laramie, you lost me with that proposal. ...
__________________
Oklahoma City, RENAISSANCE CITY!


Hot Rod, my proposal wasn't to make Tulsa major league, I feel that with both cities working together we could enjoy the NBA and the NHL since both sports overlap. It would be risky for OKC to attempt to support both the NBA and the NHL.

I would travel to Tulsa to support an Oklahoma NHL experience. The NHL would insist that the team be called Oklahoma; however, if it was called Tulsa ___?____, I would still support it. Our 1997 bid for NHL expansion stipulated that the team be called Oklahoma____?_____; marketing it as a state team--hence Oklahoma Redhawks was to be unveiled.

The NBA did not place this stipulation on Bennett & PBC when they moved the Sonics to Oklahoma City. It was the City of Oklahoma City that made it clear that the team would be called Oklahoma City since this city was investing in the financial relocation (NBA ready arena) that the team reflect the community name which made all of the relocation possible. The whole big league city campaign was a breakthrough effort to vault OKC as a big league market. We are far from a true big league market, we are in the infancy stages.

OKC and Tulsa could work together to bring both cities closer together and should light rail become a reality (OKC-TUL) there are other possitivies which both cities could achieve.

[HOT ROD]

sorry, I still don't agree.

This is OKC, so we don't need Tulsa to have a NHL team for OKC to be successful. If OKC wants an NHL team, then Clay Bennett (and Co) can go buy one in a few years and put it in OKC.

There's no reason at all, for OKC to go buy Tulsa an NHL team just so OKC fans can go up to Tulsa to support the team. Im just not buying that proposal at all and there is no other precedent for this in any other market or league. OKC is getting/has an AHL AAA-team, so why would OKC go and get an NHL team for Tulsa just so OKC fans could go help support it?????

Face it, Tulsa is not major league and there's nothing wrong with that. Not every city in America can make it work and just because OKC has a team doesn't mean Tulsa needs one. OKC can get more teams when OKC is ready for it. In my assessment, all OKC needs is common ownership of the NBA and NHL/NFL/MLB then it would work once the metro gets above 1.5-2.0 million.

Tulsa can do very well taking on OKC's AAA status and supporting OKC teams in a tertiery way (just like every other market with large small cities nearby); this is much more realistic than getting Tulsa an NHL team so that both cities can co-market/support. I think Tulsa could do very well as a true AAA city (like OKC has been) and more or less take over OKC's place there.

Tulsa has the WNBA and the NBA D-League, provided by OKC businessmen. This (in my view) was not a slap to them but rather an attempt to create a homogeneous Oklahoma market for basketball, giving Tulsa what it CAN support and 'should' do well. They need to go and support those teams and if they become above 1.3m then perhaps they could get their own major league team.

If Tulsa wants to go out on their own, by all means; but OKC should focus on it's own teams and let Tulsa (naturally) take on more of a AAA-role in most sports where they can enjoy more local/hometown success.

[Yahola]

Uhhh, yeah T-town thanks you for your scraps, I know we aren't worthy of the glamour of OKC.

[SkyWestOKC]

Tulsa needs to find a niche just as OKC has done. There's no reason why both cities can't be successful. OKC needs to realize Tulsa has some good qualities, just as Tulsa needs to realize OKC has some good qualities.

I think Tulsa needs to accept that OKC leapfrogged them. Let's put the bitterness aside. Tulsa needs to face the reality that it is smaller than OKC.

[earlywinegareth]

This state needs to be more competitive so we stop losing corporations to Texas. If you want to point fingers, point them at the suits at the capital who spend their working hours passing unconstitutional abortion bills.

[ljbab728]

This state needs to be more competitive so we stop losing corporations to Texas. If you want to point fingers, point them at the suits at the capital who spend their working hours passing unconstitutional abortion bills.

I agree with you completely but I don't quite see the connection with this thread.

[Mr Big]

Tulsa needs to find a niche just as OKC has done. There's no reason why both cities can't be successful. OKC needs to realize Tulsa has some good qualities, just as Tulsa needs to realize OKC has some good qualities.

I think Tulsa needs to accept that OKC leapfrogged them. Let's put the bitterness aside. Tulsa needs to face the reality that it is smaller than OKC.

Great post. There's no point in Tulsa being jealous of OKC and trying duplicate it. Tulsa needs to continue developing its own identity, which is very different from OKC. In the end, our state having different major cities will benefit us a lot more than a state having two cities that look and act exactly alike.

[earlywinegareth]

I agree with you completely but I don't quite see the connection with this thread.

Economics. Major league sports rely on corporate sponsorship. A city needs Fortune 500 corporations to support major league sports - they provide a base of well-paid fans and the corporations provide major bucks and receive PR. The main reason we have the Thunder is because of the rise of Devon and Chesapeake. The corporate heads have teamed up with the Oklahoman, Mid-First, SandRidge, and OG&E. They are the economic foundation that makes it work in OKC.

Tulsa has seen its corporate base erode over the years to Texas.

Therefore, Oklahoma needs to be more attractive and provide a competitive advantage for Oklahoma-based corporations to grow and remain here.

Class dismissed.

[earlywinegareth]

Here's the economic reality...the state of Texas has 57 of the nation's Fortune 500 corporations. Texas is tied with California for the most. Where are they?

Houston - 25
DFW - 24
San Antonio - 4

On the Texas list are former Oklahoma corporations: Conoco-Phillips, Halliburton, and Anadarko Petroleum.

Now let's look at Oklahoma. Oklahoma has 4 Fortune 500 companies:

Tulsa - Oneok and Williams
OKC - Devon and Chesapeake

We are a tiny speck compared to Texas. We can't afford to lose more to Texas. This kind of economic loss puts our state behind in every category there is. Our state legislators should be efforting night and day to make Oklahoma at least equal competitively to the economic power on our southern border.

[progressiveboy]

Economics. Major league sports rely on corporate sponsorship. A city needs Fortune 500 corporations to support major league sports - they provide a base of well-paid fans and the corporations provide major bucks and receive PR. The main reason we have the Thunder is because of the rise of Devon and Chesapeake. The corporate heads have teamed up with the Oklahoman, Mid-First, SandRidge, and OG&E. They are the economic foundation that makes it work in OKC.

Tulsa has seen its corporate base erode over the years to Texas.

Therefore, Oklahoma needs to be more attractive and provide a competitive advantage for Oklahoma-based corporations to grow and remain here.

Class dismissed.

Very well said earlywinegareth! As others on OKC talk, including myself, we have come to realize that OKC/Tulsa does need to continue the renaissance and that includes both cities, COC, city leaders putting forth much effort and attract Fortune 500 companies to relocate to OKC/Tulsa. It is "not enough" with what companies we do have here. We need to work diligently to help them to expand, however also to be aggressive in attracting others to want to relocate here. That includes a great business climate and incentives. This also does apply to Tulsa as well!

[ljbab728]

Economics. Major league sports rely on corporate sponsorship. A city needs Fortune 500 corporations to support major league sports - they provide a base of well-paid fans and the corporations provide major bucks and receive PR. The main reason we have the Thunder is because of the rise of Devon and Chesapeake. The corporate heads have teamed up with the Oklahoman, Mid-First, SandRidge, and OG&E. They are the economic foundation that makes it work in OKC.

Tulsa has seen its corporate base erode over the years to Texas.

Therefore, Oklahoma needs to be more attractive and provide a competitive advantage for Oklahoma-based corporations to grow and remain here.

Class dismissed.

Thanks for the lesson, teacher. However, that's still a little bit of a stretch to explain anything about Tulsans being upset about the franchise being named "OKC". It would seem that your statement would be more accurate in saying that Tulsa needs to be more attractive than saying Oklahoma needs to be more attractive. You make a good case for OKC keeping and utilizing it's corporate base to it's advantage.

I do agree that legislature should be spending more of it's time focusing on growing the state's economic base instead of wasting so much time on unconstitutional social agendas that many of them have.

[Laramie]

Uhhh, yeah T-town thanks you for your scraps, I know we aren't worthy of the glamour of OKC.

Tulsa is a very unique city; however, what I see Oklahoma City doing is investing in herself.

Tulsa has a lot more advantages than Oklahoma City; however, that mentality that voting a sales tax is going to break the city or is undesirable become of the principle of the matter is why Oklahoma City has managed to make herself more attractive.

MAPS has had an economic impact on this city that far exceeded expectatins and MAPS will continue that trend.

Look for OKC to begin to attract move businesses as corporate giants like Devon, Chesapeake and Sandridge Energy companies invests in defining this city.

When a city has new enterprises with new monies circulating throughout the city, a city become more vibrant; Tulsa is a beautiful and clean city; however, she is becoming stagnant; nothing really new is happening--whereas, you look at OKC and
construction is happening everywhere.

[bombermwc]

If we could only get some companies to come into town and see how much more profitable they could be if they based themselves here...with more than just call centers.

Rent is cheaper, payroll is cheaper, commutes are shorter, the emenities are here even if there aren't multiple copies of the same stores 20 places around town. Come back in 20 years and see what's happened, you'll be amazed. Think where we were 20 years ago....1990, downtown and OKC in general is seen as crap. Definitely NOT that now.