Ford Center improvements up for March 4 vote

[solitude]

I agree with betts, the Bentley analogy breaks down with the fact others can use it (except the "practice facility"... arghhh).

Doug, I think it could be either way and there's probably no way to forensically know who is running this site (without a court order to identify IP addresses of those actually posting to the site and the registration info). And it's for one simple reason: The site is hosted by Yahoo. The IP address you see that mentions Seattle is ONLY a Yahoo IP address - NOT the IP address of those running the anti-March 4 site. Look at your own IP address for your personal domain - it shows servers in OKC, because you have your site hosted with a local company. It's not YOUR IP, but an IP for WaveLinx.

I can only imagine how dirty the back and forth can get if you're fighting it out on the Internet. It's ugly and disgusting, no question about it. Keyboard warriors are a scary lot when they resort to such low tactics as they have done with you.

The important thing here is that the people of OKC weigh the options and realize that Oklahoma City can move forward with the excitement of professional sports and the resulting benefits (a lively Bricktown on game nights, etc.) and vote "YES" on March 4th.

[gmwise]

Walking is not a issue.
I have heard people keep saying walk the rest of the way, thats not it.
Its not the cost of parking, once more,not the issue.
We as a City need to take care of the infrastructure, the security and the cleaniness of the City,not just Bricktown but CityWide
I just do not think we're in a place, where we are prepared with the influx of new elements, thats best to be left in NBA hosted Cities.

[betts]

All of these "Bentley" analogies are begining to get somewhat confusing. I can't speak for Bornhere. Nevertheless, I think what he is saying is that; my neighbor should have first come to me with his plan, before he bought the Bentley.

He will undoubtedly park it in Kansas City, Las Vegas or even Seattle then, so hopefully you are fine with that. The one real fallacy is the belief by some that this is an attempt by the NBA to see if we're willing to pay for the Ford Center upgrades, but Bennett or someone else will pay for them if we don't. Not going to happen. Those who vote "no" had best be in favor of no NBA.

[andy157]

He will undoubtedly park it in Kansas City, Las Vegas or even Seattle then, so hopefully you are fine with that. The one real fallacy is the belief by some that this is an attempt by the NBA to see if we're willing to pay for the Ford Center upgrades, but Bennett or someone else will pay for them if we don't. Not going to happen. Those who vote "no" had best be in favor of no NBA.

If he (they) park(s) somewhere else thats his (their) decision, not mine, or yours. No doubt, that should this vote fail, there will be no NBA team in OKC. But that decision is their choice. Not mine, or yours. On the other hand, should this vote pass, there will most likely be an NBA team in OKC. But even a yes vote doesn't make getting a NBA team an absolute given.

I assure you this, I do not adhere to the fallacy that the NBA just wants to "see if we (or someone else for that matter) are WILLING to pay for the F.C. upgrades"(I would). No thats not it at all. What the NBA has decided on and now wants to see from this vote is this, are we GOING to accept, adhere to, and pay for their absolute demands. Which as you well know not only requires upgrades to the F.C., but their 20 Mil. practice facility. If you are not willing to meet those demands then OKC is SOL.

Sorry we've been told, their hands are tied. Those are the rules, guidelines, and policy for doing businesss as decided upon by the NBA. They are final and binding.

My No vote will having nothing to do whatsoever with any favor, or disfavor of NBA basketball. It will have to do with, and be made solely on, my disfavor of being extorted by the NBA to meet their demands, or else. Again thats their decision not mine

[betts]

If he (they) park(s) somewhere else thats his (their) decision, not mine, or yours. No doubt, that should this vote fail, there will be no NBA team in OKC. But that decision is their choice. Not mine, or yours. On the other hand, should this vote pass, there will most likely be an NBA team in OKC. But even a yes vote doesn't make getting a NBA team an absolute given.

No, if the team is parked elsewhere it's David Stern's decision, not Clay Bennett's. And yes, even a "yes" vote does not make getting an NBA team an absolute given. But I'm in favor of the Ford Center upgrades even if we don't get an NBA team, and the practice facility argument will be moot if we don't get a team.

Sorry we've been told, their hands are tied. Those are the rules, guidelines, and policy for doing businesss as decided upon by the NBA. They are final and binding.

My No vote will having nothing to do whatsoever with any favor, or disfavor of NBA basketball. It will have to do with, and be made solely on, my disfavor of being extorted by the NBA to meet their demands, or else. Again thats their decision not mine

I'm not thrilled about being extorted either, but I love basketball, and I loved what having the Hornets brought to our city. I'm not going to cut off my hands to spite my face by voting "no", because that means I don't get to enjoy basketball or the excitement our city would have if we had a team(sorry, I'm a huge fan of trite aphorisms). I look at it similarly to how I look at diamonds. Diamonds are really beautiful, and when I look at them, I want to own them, because I like pretty, sparkly things. All they are is lumps of carbon. But, because they are scarce, jewelers set the prices they do, and if I want to own one, I pay their price or I go without. (Mostly without). I have to make a decision as to whether I can afford one before I buy it, because I cannot change the price. Yes, the jeweler is using "extortion", but I can't go out and dig them up myself, so I pretty much have to pay his/her price if I want one. Actually, every merchant is using the same "extortion" you're arguing the NBA is when they set their prices, because they choose a price that is far above what their costs are, and I can either buy that merchandise or I can go without.

There are only 30 NBA team, and you might notice that with a few exceptions, cities really like having one of those teams. In fact, the few exceptions are related to price, not the desirability of having a team. Even Seattle would be thrilled to keep the Sonics if they didn't have to pay what is being asked. But NBA teams are rare, and they don't move very often. If I want one of those, I have to ask myself if I can afford the price. I certainly can afford the few cents a day the sales tax will cost me, and I figure, "If Salt Lake City can have a team, why can't we?"

I was recently told that Nordstrom, a store I'd love to see in Oklahoma City, is demanding $40 million from the city to locate here. The NBA doesn't have a monopoly on such demands, as we know. But, the way I see it, Nordstrom is one of many stores. Nice stores aren't scarce, and a nice Dillards can provide me with pretty much anything Nordstrom can. So, I'd say no to Nordstrom because I can get something similar for less. There isn't a Dillards version of an NBA team.

[Doug Loudenback]

In deference to what both Solitude (as well as an anonymous commenter in the blog) had to say, while I've left what was already there in place, I've added an update this morning ... Doug Dawgz Blog .