Wow!! Marlins Baseball To Oklahoma City?

[metro]

You can email Fallin about her political stunt at : info@maryfallin.org

[BDP]

I think Swake make some great points. The MLB is not a great product for smaller markets like the NBA is. I'm not saying it is an either/or thing. The truth is, they don't really translate that well. They are run very differently and it's much easier for the larger markets to muscle the smaller ones around. I know that Oklahoma City can win a championship in the NBA. I'm not sure we would come close in baseball.

But, I like the effort. One thing these processes can net us is a concrete list of needs. Anytime we have any organization look at the market for any reason, we stand to at least gain some good knowledge of where we stand and what more can be done to improve the market or its quality of life. The only way to get better is to play with the big boys and rookies, like OKC, need all the PT they can get.

[OKCNDN]

MLB would be great to have. It would give many something to do year-round in OKC area. I think OKC could support a MLB team but the team may have to be the only pro team in the area. I don't know if OKC could support two pro teams and still have the Yarddawgs/Blazers/Redhawks/Sooners/Cowboys.

I think just trying to get a franchise is the right thing to do. At least just sound interested. The most they can do is say "no, thanks Oklahoma City". Ask away and see what they say you need to improve on. I think that if the Hornets do leave then OKC is one of the top targets for re-location for pro sports teams and whoever is the first team to locate here may very well hit the long-term jackpot. I just hope that it's not hockey. I don't like hockey.

[windowphobe]

I've got to side with swake on these things: until MLB gets something resembling a salary cap, small markets will always be at a serious disadvantage.

Not that the NBA's cap is all that tight - most of the teams are over it by at least a few bucks - but it's not a function of how big your potential audience is: the Bulls are spending only about $47 million this season, only slightly more than the Hornets (who are 28th out of 30 in salary expenses).

[swake]

NFL and NBA are the ways to go for Oklahoma now, MLB and NHL have to fix internal problems before either city in this state should stick it's neck out for them.

[Luke]

I'd love to see an NFL team here.

[mranderson]

I'd love to see an NFL team here.

Give it time and you will. NFL is looking at us for expansion. Los Angeles has the next one, however.

On the Marlins. I wish them luck, however, I do have to vote nay on this one. Our baseball stadium rarely sells out as it is. Who knows, maybe major league vs. minor leauge is the key and we can fill the stadium. Yes. We need to expand it. It can be expanded to seat around 30,000. Small by MLB stadards, but about right for the area. Combine that with low ticket prices and a killer televsiion contract, and we may have a chance. Not as good as the NBA and NFL, however. Those are sure shots.

[Luke]

Yeah, expanding the Bricktown Ballpark to 30,000 or 40,000 would be great. It's better than having two ballparks, especially if the idea is that they both be downtown. I'd say that much land could be better used for business, retail and housing.

[TheImmortal]

I personally like the idea of building on the river. I say one day in the future when we need new facilities, a sports complex should be built on the river with an MLB, NFL, and NBA/NHL arena consolidated in the same general area. And possibly MLS if that ever comes to fruition, but I believe Tulsa is only in the running this year and Edmond is out. Anyways, then if a new Frontier City/Whitewater Bay were built it could also be in the same area. I think it would be awsome. I dont know about the theme park idea but I know Mayor Mick Cornett has spoken more than a few times about wanting to develop a sports complex in OKC. But either way I do think MLB would thrive here. Well I am just rambling now, I am out.

[Bobby H]

First thing, I think Oklahoma City could support pro sports teams in the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL. Even Major League Soccer could work as well.

The Oklahoma City metro area has over 1 million people. The city is in a very centralized location within the state. At least another 1.5 million residents outside Oklahoma City metro (Tulsa in particular) live within little more than an hour's driving distance. The potential draw on population is already better than what is available in a good number of markets that already have MLB and NFL teams.

I believe this is one reason why the Hornets have been doing so well on attendance. Oklahoma is a large and unexploited market, simply because much of the rest of the nation hasn't taken this area seriously.

Oklahoma City's chances of gaining a Major League Baseball team, such as the Marlins, are still slim. It does help that the owner has some previous ties to the area. However, competing markets -the giant San Antonio/Austin market in particular- may be able to offer deals too good to resist.

Ultimately, that's the big deal breaker on bringing NFL and MLB teams to a new location. The local taxpayers get to foot the bill on a new stadium, and such projects can cost $250 million or more. To make matters worse (pro football stadiums are really bad about this) many local citizens are priced out of being able to attend the games. Critics argue stadium deals are often huge taxpayer give-aways to a bunch of rich people.

If Oklahoma City taxpayers, or taxpayers state-wide, have to foot the bill for a new Major League Baseball stadium in order to attract the Marlins then the deal will not happen. If private interests want to step in (particularly some really rich oil business interests) then the deal would be a distinct possibility.

Regardless of that outcome, OKC's Ford Center is already a great place to host both NBA and NHL games.

[Jack]

I think all this market will ever be able to support is one major league team. Folks, you have to remember, we have OU and OSU to support as well.

[mranderson]

I think all this market will ever be able to support is one major league team. Folks, you have to remember, we have OU and OSU to support as well.

I seem to remember some people saying Oklahoma City will never have a major league franchise. Humm. Think about that.

[Jack]

I think we need to take one team at a time here. Quit jumping the gun. And get Geroge Shinn some pickles.

[Bobby H]

I think all this market will ever be able to support is one major league team. Folks, you have to remember, we have OU and OSU to support as well.

NCAA college football has its own built in customer base. I live in Lawton and know lots of people here who drive to OU and OSU games, and Lawton is hardly the most affluent community. Those two schools draw spectators, typically alumni, state-wide. I strongly doubt pro sports teams in Oklahoma City will negatively affect OU and OSU ticket sales at all. The only thing that will make OU and OSU ticket sales drop at all is if either team starts losing all of their games (not likely to happen either).

[Nuclear_2525]

I think all this market will ever be able to support is one major league team. Folks, you have to remember, we have OU and OSU to support as well.

College and professional sports fill different niches. Some people could care less about OU and OSU because they went to other colleges in state or out, and don't care about either team. For those people, having a professional team is what they want. I think it is stupid to say that a professional team is going to detract from college or vice versa.

As far as saying that this market will never be able to support more than one team is probably the the most ignorant thing you've ever said in a post, and thats coming from some pretty ignorant things. Nobody thought Charlotte would be able to support a team, they landed the Hornets, the city began to grow because it became a major league city, through sports and other things as well, and now look at Charlotte. The same goes for Portland. As OKC continues to grow and with the success of the Hornets, I think it will only be a matter of time before another professional sport heads this way.

[Jack]

What teams does Portland have besides the Blazers?

[Bobby H]

Cincinnati isn't any bigger a city than OKC, yet it has pro football and pro baseball teams. Milwaukee is around the same size of city as OKC, it has the Brewers MLB team and Green Bay has the Packers NFL team just up I-43 from there. Green Bay is kind of unique in that the city owns the NFL team.

Of course, the OKC area needs to accomplish the first step and land a pro sports team permanently. The Hornets may stay as long as the city supports them. Landing another sports league team is another matter. The transformation of downtown OKC may help in that. In the long run I think chances are better OKC will gain an NFL team than a major league baseball team due to the popularity of football in the state. But I could be wrong. I'll be supportive over whatever teams come to the Sooner State.

[Luke]

Are there any private groups or any local leaders actvely pursuing an NFL team for OKC?

[Nuclear_2525]

What teams does Portland have besides the Blazers?

They have the Blazers now, but the Marlins are also looking at them for relocation, and the NFL has already moved them to either the top or the 2nd city for relocation of a team.

[Jack]

Are there any private groups or any local leaders actvely pursuing an NFL team for OKC?

No. If we had a facility, that might be a different story. Local leaders are currently most interested in NBA and NHL since we have the facility in place.

[El Gato Pollo Loco!!!]

They have the Blazers now, but the Marlins are also looking at them for relocation, and the NFL has already moved them to either the top or the 2nd city for relocation of a team.

Portland is also in conversations for the relocation of the Pittsburgh Penguins if they do not get a new arena. Portland is one of those "We'll move there if you don't do this for us" sites, just as San Antonio and I believe OKC is/will become.

[Boston]

The penguins are going to either Kansas City or Houston I believe. I haven't heard of a portland ownership at this point. Honestly, I think the OKC still needs to grow a bit more to add the MLB. Lots of MLB franchises are in trouble (Twins, Marlins, Royals etc) and I don't think you'd want to toy with one with the leagues current state. A capped league with revenue sharing may be more suitable for you guys in the long run (I.E NFL, NHL, and NBA which I'm not sure if they have revenue sharing).

Just my 0.02 cents.

[El Gato Pollo Loco!!!]

The penguins are going to either Kansas City or Houston I believe. I haven't heard of a portland ownership at this point....

The front-running city in that is Kansas City (Due to the new stadium and one of the old Whalers owners among the canidates for buying the team), but different sources I've read in many Canadian sports news sites have mentioned Portland, as well as Winnipeg, Las Vegas, and Houston. I do agree that Portland is a long shot in that though.

[Boston]

The front-running city in that is Kansas City (Due to the new stadium and one of the old Whalers owners among the canidates for buying the team), but different sources I've read in many Canadian sports news sites have mentioned Portland, as well as Winnipeg, Las Vegas, and Houston. I do agree that Portland is a long shot in that though.

The whalers owner won't nah. The AEG group will get someone to own it since they already own the kings and the new arena being built in KC. I would like them go to portland because that area of the country has a rich hockey history and there has been no team put in that neck of the woods since the early 1900's. Winnipeg has a really small arena (15,000) and I doubt they'll move there, they also have no ownership group. The only places I've read about that have all the pieces in place are Houston (owner of the rockets has been wanting a team for years) and KC.

[HOT ROD]

Ya, we root for the NHL Vancouver Canucks in this neck of the woods (Pac NW).