ESPN – Stern: NBA won’t return to Seattle if Sonics leave – NBA
Look, I’m no idiot. I can understand all the reasons the NBA wouldn’t want to go around building new stadiums for its franchises. I also understand why the owners wouldn’t want to fund a stadium project completely out of pocket. Still, I am very tired of reading all the threats to sucker cities/states into paying for these enormous arenas. Now even the commissioner is getting into the act. It’s an embarrassment to the league, but instead everyone makes it out as if the Seattle taxpayers are morons for not voting for some outrageous tax that will provide zero benefit other than entertainment for a few thousand people less than 1/8th of the year. So if Oklahoma City is willing to rape their citizens with promises of new jobs (yay, minimum wage for 40 days a year) and economic development in the surrounding area (in Milwaukee, we built an Arby’s by our tax-funded stadium) than fine. Let the folks making under $50,000/year pay a little more of their money so a multi-billion dollar industry can “afford” to come to their town. The fans should support something like this. I mean, with jerseys, shoes, ticket sales, and other merchandise providing so little income, the fans really need to start picking up the pace and helping “their” team out.
Oh and since the Brewers are “my” team in that same sense… do I get to have a vote on cutting Turnbow?
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4 responses to “Stern to Seattle – “Give us money or we’re done.””
Have you ever been to Oklahoma City? They will do anything to try and make that place livable. Not that the OKC Sonics will do the the trick.
I’ve been through OKC. Didn’t really feel the need to stop, and you’re right, having the Sonics there won’t change that. I realize that the potential of gaining professional sports (or losing it) is believed to define your status as a real city… but people just never learn that pro sports really add no economic benefit to their surrounding area. It’s embarrassing to see that people would rather spend hundreds of millions in tax money for a form of entertainment that the bulk of the community doesn’t care about or can’t afford to attend, all with the intention of improving the area. In reality, half that money invested in education would yield far more measurable and positive results. /rant
I spend 6 years of my life in Norman. Six years of my life that I’d gladly trade for, well, pretty much anything. The biggest problems with having a pro basketball team in OKC is the same problem Alabama runs into when it tries to justify a pro sports team.
1. Dallas is only 200 miles away, so the populace already has a “home” team.
2. The Sooners will outsell any team they put there. And I say this as a man who spent three years living one block from Lloyd Noble stadium.
GE – Great point about the Sooners. It’s the same problem with Jacksonville trying to support an NFL team or the Florida Marlins. There’s too many other big sports stories going on every week that you have this multi-billion dollar team that is at best, 2nd place in the interest of the people. In Florida’s case, you’re talking 4th or 5th as you have the Gators, the Canes, the Dolphins (even though they suck), the Heat, etc.