A lot of us can think for ourselves. I personally don't rely on my mayor, chamber and/or ads to make my decision. Nor do I rely on economists. There are some things that make sense. Do you grab onto anyone whose theories fit with what you want them to be, or do you think for yourself? Did you notice that Seattle was more than willing to put economists on the stand who disagree with those of the Sonics', and were the tables turned, the city of Seattle would be trotting out the Sonics' economist. They're all politicians, and anyone who expects complete honesty out of politicians is bound to be seriously disappointed in life. The honest ones have trouble getting elected, sad to say. The Seattle city government has been proven to be at least as mendacious as those here, and they're certainly dumber. So much for it being a hotbed of elite intellectualism up there.

Personally, I think there are some economic benefits to having a team here, but far less than the pro-economists estimate and more than the anti-economists estimate. They haven't looked at Oklahoma City specifically, which suffers from countrywide underenthusiasm as far as impression goes, and which would benefit from more attention being focused on it. Oklahoma City is a far nicer city than the rest of the country assumes, and so having a team here helps improve our image, which can have economic benefits.

But, the main reason I was pro-arena, which is almost identical to most of my friends, is because it's just fun to have an NBA team in town. It's the best $50 I could spend for a lifetime of entertainment.