New Downtown Arena

[BoulderSooner]

For comparison at OU:
40-50 yard line ticket lower bowl - $600
Donation - $1,000


40-50 yard line ticket in the lounge area - $700
Donation - $2,500

The lounge gives you free hotdogs/hamburgers and an indoor place to go. This is what teams are moving towards as a whole. Creating various experiences throughout the arena that allow for significant price increases and small cost increases.

With a city owned facility could they attempt to sell seat licenses like Golden State?

40-50 yard line ticket lower bowl requires a 1,500 per seat donation

[SouthOKC]

40-50 yard line ticket lower bowl requires a 1,500 per seat donation

Not in the newly opened former student section it’s a $1k donation.

The university picks up another $10M-$15M per year, if they can get 10k people to commit to the lounge area.

[BoulderSooner]

Not in the newly opened former student section it’s a $1k donation.

The university picks up another $10M-$15M per year, if they can get 10k people to commit to the lounge area.

i see that my bad .. i was looking at the west side ..

[Teo9969]

The Thunder aren't "severely underperforming". There are 5 teams that made less revenue than the Thunder last year. Considering OKC's comparative market size the Thunder just aren't doing badly. I'm all for finding reasons to get the arena passed but suggesting the NBA might be on the verge of taking some kind of action regarding the Thunder's revenue isn't a reason. Trying to make any point that the owners are possibly having to make up any difference, which I'm not even sure is the case, could backfire big time. A lot of voters seem to already have an issue with the "wealthy owners" getting such a break.

Not saying the Thunder are currently severely underperforming, but perhaps the push for this to happen as quickly as possible is due to some pressure from the NBA based on future modeling. If not then it's not a valid point, but the way it's currently presented is coming off as "wealthy owners just want more money" as it could be. Helping a team stay competitive financially would be enticing for "budget-minded" voters than "we should build new arenas every 30 years".

[SouthOKC]

i see that my bad .. i was looking at the west side ..

No worries. I guess with all these early kickoffs you should get a $500 discount for sitting in the sun. lol

[BoulderSooner]

No worries. I guess with all these early kickoffs you should get a $500 discount for sitting in the sun. lol

true statement

[Rover]

I think the Thunder has always made money. And I think they have made more than they would have in Seattle.
.

Probably did make more than if in Seattle because Seattle voted not to build a new Arena to make it possible for them to make even as much as they could in OKC. That is why they moved.

[Laramie]

NHL Oklahoma Coyotes

5. Oklahoma City, Paycom Center, 15,152 and/or Tulsa, BOK Center, 17,096: https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...ne-pipe-dream/


Let's face it, with the plan for a new arena in Tempe being decisively voted down by area residents, the time has come to seriously consider relocating the Arizona Coyotes.

Playing in a 4,600-capacity college hockey arena with a vague idea about the future isn't going to cut it in a major professional league.


No question, hockey fans in the Valley of the Sun — and they are legion — deserved much better. Can you imagine if your favourite team had gone through nine owners, constant franchise uncertainty and three local relocations in 26 seasons, and had made the playoffs once in its last 11?


One last dim hope remains: Mat Ishbia, the new owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, is an owner willing to take chances.

"I would be surprised if Gary Bettman and the NHL, if they haven't already, meet with him to gauge his interest in supporting the idea of turning the Suns' current rink into a facility that could also support the Coyotes," Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman told Jeff Marek on the latest edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. "That would take some work, it might take two summers, it'll take a couple hundred million dollars. ... But I don't think the NHL wants to abandon the Arizona market unless it absolutely has to."

But the facts are the facts: a near-record turnout of residents to a local election spoke loudly and clearly that the Coyotes' future is cloudy. The NHL and the Coyotes expressed similar comments of being "disappointed" in the results.


"We are very disappointed Tempe voters did not approve Propositions 301, 302, and 303," Coyotes president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said after the vote. "As Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said, this was the best sports deal in Arizona history."

So, what's next? Wild speculation of relocation has been rekindled.

But what makes the most sense? After 27 years, the mission in Arizona has apparently failed, so it's likely time for the team to pack up its gear for good and move out of the state.

With this in mind, we've come up with a helpful list of cities the Coyotes can relocate to, listed with arena and arena capacity.

1. Salt Lake City, Vivint Arena, 14,000: If these were power rankings, this entry would be No. 1, especially since Utah Jazz and Real Salt Lake owner Ryan Smith met in late March with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, as reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. And Smith, who bought the building and the Jazz in December 2020, hasn't exactly dampened the enthusiasm, replying to a fan's tweet asking to bring the Stanley Cup Playoffs to Salt Lake City with a cryptic, "In motion."

A move due north by the Coyotes to Salt Lake City would also align with keeping the club in the Western Conference, mark a return to a market rich in hockey history, might well foster a rivalry with the Avalanche and Golden Knights and, although it would be a time-share with the Jazz, there's a decent building available to immediately move into. Sure, it would be the second-oldest building in the league, but there is promise of the Winter Olympics returning to the city, which would bring along with it a modern facility. Plus, there's something to be said for a city that wants a team.


2. Houston, Toyota Center, 17,800: This surely is the most logical destination. The NHL has been dying to move to Houston, the No. 5 U.S. market by population (No. 7 by TV market), for years. Sure, it takes away a mega expansion-team fee, but don't you think we're at peak NHL? We're good at 32 teams. And there hasn't been a passionate interest by owners of the NBA's Rockets to have an NHL tenant in the building, frankly.

But a move to Houston would keep the team in the Western Conference, actually makes for a shorter trip than Phoenix for most fellow Central Division teams, aligns them with the Central time zone and creates an instant rivalry with the Dallas Stars. Heck, hold an outdoor game at one of those outrageous high school football stadiums in the state to kick off the first season. You could even call them the Aeros, or the Houston Howes. Bonus: Arena holds more than 4,600 capacity for NHL games (copy and paste that sentence for all these entries).

3. Sacramento, Golden 1 Center, tbd (17,608 for basketball): The No. 20 TV market is in the mix because Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé apparently visited Ottawa as part of the Senators sales process, which could mean he'd be up for taking on an existing team. This one feels like it works better on paper than in actuality, given there's not much history of hockey in this city or in this particular arena. But the NHL loves California, Sacramento is the No. 20 TV market and you could keep the team in the West. And they'd get to keep the San Jose Sharks company.

4. Kansas City, T-Mobile Center, 17,544: Kansas City seems to get thrown into the mix every time it's rumoured the Coyotes are moving, so why not toss the city in here again? But it does make some sense. T-Mobile is operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Los Angeles Kings and Crypto.com Arena — so there's familiarity with how the NHL does things — and is perfectly suited for hockey. It was built in 2005, too, so is fairly modern. A team here would be in the Central time zone, closer to other teams in the division and also provide a good regional rival to the neighbouring St. Louis Blues.

Problems and challenges that exist with every other plan B arena site in Arizona



.

[Dob Hooligan]

^^^^

NBA and NHL in the same market is almost always the last of the Big 4 leagues going into a city. They usually directly compete for the arena dates, sponsors, luxury suite rentals, and paying fans. Gotta have a lot of people in the market for that.

[Laramie]

^^^^

NBA and NHL in the same market is almost always the last of the Big 4 leagues going into a city. They usually directly compete for the arena dates, sponsors, luxury suite rentals, and paying fans. Gotta have a lot of people in the market for that.

Definitely agree with your statement since I've never known of a U.S. market city with NBA and NHL in one city.

Still believe Tulsa's BOK Center could provide a better fan base than Arizona since it's apparent Phoenix doesn't want the Coyotes.

Mayor Mick Cornett labeled Oklahoma City-Tulsa market as one:

MSA Population: Combined: 2,439,503 = OKC 1,459,380 & TUL- 1,034,123. Using the 1 million support per major league market. Both MSAs have a combined TV (2022) estimated viewership around 1.3 million.

OKC-TUL is equipped with a 439,505 more when you look at a market supporting NBA and NHL It would provide those non NBA fans in both cities a choice.

BOK Center seats 17,096 for NHL; this would provide a better support than a 4,600-capacity college hockey arena, Arizona doesn't seem to have any interest in the NHL.

Oklahoma City yet to be approved arena could be used in 2030 if the NHL isn't successful in T-Town. Personally, I think Tulsa is ready.

[Laramie]

BTW: The other four markets -

1. Salt Lake City, Vivint Arena, 14,000 - Market 1,266,191 too small for NBA and NHL.
2. Houston, Toyota Center, 17,800 Has never shown an interest in the NHL.
3. Sacramento, Golden 1 Center, 17,500 - 2,416,702 Too Close to San Jose 89 miles
4. Kansas City, T-Mobile Center, 17,544 - Oversaturated Market with NFL and MLB - 2,209,494
5. Tulsa, BOK Center, 17,096, spinoff for non NBA fans in OKC as additional support. 1,034,123

Tulsa IMO is ready--lots of future manufacturing planned for Tulsa MSA for 2026-30.

[PoliSciGuy]

Tulsa getting an NHL team would be fun. I think Oklahoma as a whole could support both an NHL and NBA team, but neither of our metros could support both.

[theanvil]

BTW: The other four markets -

1. Salt Lake City, Vivint Arena, 14,000 - Market 1,266,191 too small for NBA and NHL.
2. Houston, Toyota Center, 17,800 Has never shown an interest in the NHL.
3. Sacramento, Golden 1 Center, 17,500 - 2,416,702 Too Close to San Jose 89 miles
4. Kansas City, T-Mobile Center, 17,544 - Oversaturated Market with NFL and MLB - 2,209,494
5. Tulsa, BOK Center, 17,096, spinoff for non NBA fans in OKC as additional support. 1,034,123

Tulsa IMO is ready--lots of future manufacturing planned for Tulsa MSA for 2026-30.

Austin is a better NHL opportunity than any of those cities. 2.3 million population, huge Fortune500 corporate presence for sponsor partners, and no other major league sports franchise.

[Boop]

Thunder arena will be adding Empire Slice pizza, does that mean no more Mazzio's?

[April in the Plaza]

Thunder arena will be adding Empire Slice pizza, does that mean no more Mazzio's?

Wow, they’ll be asking like $12/slice for Empire

[GoOKC1991]

I said before and with the 2-0 start to the season, I will say it again, this team and what they are building is reason enough to vote yes on December 12th!! THUNDER UP BABY!!

[scottk]

Austin is a better NHL opportunity than any of those cities. 2.3 million population, huge Fortune500 corporate presence for sponsor partners, and no other major league sports franchise.

Agreed. With the Stars being the only NHL team in Texas, it gives Austin a professional team, where the NFL and NBA wouldn't expand to Austin with the saturation of existing teams in Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston and MLB with Houston and Dallas.

[ditm4567]

Is there a reason they aren't running any sort of ads or campaigning for the vote at the Thunder games? I assume there is a reason, but does anyone know?

[Rover]

Is there a reason they aren't running any sort of ads or campaigning for the vote at the Thunder games? I assume there is a reason, but does anyone know?

One would assume Thunder fans would already be for it, wouldn't they? At least a huge majority of them.

[ditm4567]

One would assume Thunder fans would already be for it, wouldn't they? At least a huge majority of them.

What about the OKC citizens (read: voters) that are given tickets at the last minute and still go yet have zero idea there is a vote next month? What about the word-of-mouth that follows? You would think there would be at least one ad/message. In reality, who does know? The "official" Twitter/X account "Keep OKC Big League" has 231 followers; the Instagram account has 160 followers. Outside of Mayor Holt and this platform/organization, not much is being pumped out there.

What's that old saying about "assuming"?

[caaokc]

What about the OKC citizens (read: voters) that are given tickets at the last minute and still go yet have zero idea there is a vote next month? What about the word-of-mouth that follows? You would think there would be at least one ad/message. In reality, who does know? The "official" Twitter/X account "Keep OKC Big League" has 231 followers; the Instagram account has 160 followers. Outside of Mayor Holt and this platform/organization, not much is being pumped out there.

What's that old saying about "assuming"?

Haven’t seen any TV ads during Thunder games either.

[Anonymous.]

I think the YES campaign is going to start picking up. If you read their website section for getting involved, it kind of entails their basic plans: window/yard signs, booths at events, social media sharing, emailing your employees/customers.

https://www.keepokcbigleague.com/get-involved

[Rover]

What about the OKC citizens (read: voters) that are given tickets at the last minute and still go yet have zero idea there is a vote next month? What about the word-of-mouth that follows? You would think there would be at least one ad/message. In reality, who does know? The "official" Twitter/X account "Keep OKC Big League" has 231 followers; the Instagram account has 160 followers. Outside of Mayor Holt and this platform/organization, not much is being pumped out there.

What's that old saying about "assuming"?

Been in marketing a very long time and done a fair amount of marketing consulting. Based on my experience they wouldn’t focus on an already sold audience, but hit the undecided or unreached audience with saturation at a point much nearer the actual vote. I am sure they are spending time and money on polling and watching sentiment right now so they know when, where and how best to deploy marketing dollars to be most effective. It’s a process.

[dankrutka]

Haven’t seen any TV ads during Thunder games either.

They announced the vote on the play by play the other day.

[April in the Plaza]

I think, if you’re The Chamber and Holt, the process is somewhat similar to dating. If you are a 3 or a 4 on a good day (which is probably a fair rating for the current deal), you can’t try to run the full court press on a complete 10 (the OKC Taxpayers holding the purse strings on 1.6 Billion Dollars).

Finesse, and no small measure of panaché, is absolutely required.