OK Guys and Gals.

There's been all of this talk about OKC's viability as an NBA market, which most of us probably would agree is viable. Yet, the one thing in contention happens to be media market, of which OKC's is small due to it being JUST the OKC CMSA.

I think, an OKC based NBA team would need to market to the region but I want to be sure what that region is. So in this poll, Im asking "which markets would an OKC NBA team be able to use as its media region?"

Keep in mind, usually media region translates into 'at least' transient fanbase, meaning they might consider coming to a live game.

Please checkmark those markets/regions who you think would support an OKC major league team at least passively (meaning would watch on cable and/or attend at least one game per year).

OKC metro is a given. 1.3M

What about?
Tulsa metro? 0.9M
remainder of OK (consisting of several 'outside' media markets)? 1.4M
Wichita/S. KS 1M
KC MO/KS region 2.2M
rural KS .5M
NE 1.7M
NM 1.7M (there's really only one media market there).
W TX 1M (Lubbock, Amarillo - which includes part of Oklahoma)
W AR 1.5M (FT. Smith - which includes part of Oklahoma, NW AR, half of Little Rock)
SW MO 1.5M
NW LA 1.2M (includes far SE Oklahoma in its territory)
N TX outside of DFW 2M (includes Wichita Falls/Lawton which has some of OK in)

Here are some more farfetched.

E AR
El Paso region
SW TX outside of El Paso region
LA
SW CO

Also, given your vote(s)

please give a rough population estimate (and breakout if you will). This way, we can finally put to rest the media reach we'd really have with a team here.

Tulsa 0.9 (I hope)
Oklahoma 1.4
Oklahoma City 1.3
Wichita & S KS (iffy)1.0
Texas Panhandle (maybe, you know how Texas people are) 1.0
West Arkansas (possible ties to Memphis) 1.5

7.1 mil. MAX

Cuatrode, I concur with your breakout

but I'd also add in rural KS, NE, and N. TX outside of DFW. Reasons why?

They have nothing else and might take to an OKC team - at least from cable packages and possibly tourist packages. Now Im not talking about droves of people coming from there to every game, no way.

but I am talking about at least transient interest and support, especially given the sooners are here and get GREAT support from this same region - maybe that would rubb of on the Sonics when they come (ESPECIALLY considering Kevin Durant would most likely be ours). I think with the talent of KD, and possibly Chris Paul making a return to OKC, the market could be HUGE.

But I agree, 7.1M seems more likely long term.

I am going off of my personal experience being that I was a season ticket holder both seasons with the Hornets in Okc. I met many people from all over the region that loved the fact that they could see the NBA in Okc.

I was always surprised at how many season ticket holders were not from Okc. I met season ticket holders from Tulsa, Dallas, Witchita, Amarillo, Arkansas and one businessman from Denver.

OKC 1.3M - no questions
Tulsa 0.9M - I know many Tulsans that had season tickets last two years
OKLA 1.4M - these people love to visit Okc especially for weekends
Wichita/S. KS 1M - Just an extension of I-35 north, easily reached market for Okc.
W TX 1M - I-40 West connects this area to the Okc market.
W AR 1.5M - I40 East also connects this area to the Okc market
N TX outside of DFW 2M - many Okies live in north DFW and the DOK is sold here.

TOTAL MARKET POSSIBILITY = 8 to 9 MIL.

okclee.

I wasn't a season tix holder, but I figured the market for the Hornets was more than JUST OKC. surely we all will agree, that the BULK of the season ticket holders will come from the OKC metro, no doubt. But it is nice that you can confirm there were large amounts of folks from Tulsa, OK, Wichita, W TX and AR; even DFW, which I figured actually since Im sure they were originally from OKC.

I think that is what people dont realize unless they live in the OKC region, just how much pull OKC has. Im not saying it is at the same level as DFW - but I think it is just below it, given the amount of people that are originally from OKC and/or follow the sooners.

I actually went to four games over the two years (and at least two games, I brought multiple people); no doubt if/when the Sonics move there would be at least casual trips to OKC to see the team (esp if the Sonics get Oden/Durant and keep some local Seattle talent).

Im not saying the bulk of tickets would be from out of town, but you have to realize that in the OKC region there are/will be no less than seven NBA teams (Mavericks, Nuggets, Grizz, Hornets, Spurs, Rockets, Sonics) - and so on the dates any of those six teams play the Sonics in OKC you know their fan base would come to OKC (at least 1K-5K people depending upon the day).

And we probably will be in the same division as the Mavs and Spurs, so you're talking about perhaps 8-12 games in OKC that will definitely be sellouts. Add in the markee teams and you would have to expect OKC to have 3/4 of the 41 games as sellouts. I imagine the others would be very close - the team could offer McDonald's family nights and/or tourist packages from regional cities on those dates.

But with the media market, we aren't ONLY talking about attendance - we're talking about folks in the region who would watch a game on cable; and I think this number would be huge.

I truly think this will work here and agree that the market is at least in the 6M-9M range.

Even if you JUST consider OKC's market to be the state of Oklahoma outside of Tulsa {basically the OLD 405 area code}, that would be 2.7M people at least!!! That is not insiginifcant in its own right. In reality, this is what it really should be (instead of Wichita, Wichita Falls/Lawton, Amarillo, Ft Smith, Shreveport, and Ardmore/Ada/N. TX eating into it).

The hidden factor would be ......... "JUST WIN BABY!!"

Yep, that and talent on the floor.

Kevin Durant is going to be JUST HUGE. So would a return of CP3.

KD alone would bring up people from TX and the Big XII cities.

The most important thing to remember is that the people LIKE WATCHING GOOD TEAMS. If the Sonics (assuming that's who we are talking about) become good enough to make some Finals runs and win a championship in the next 5-10 years, then the media market would be huge. People who have lived here and moved away would start re-claiming OK/OKC as their home. Even people in the oh-so-mighty city to our South (dallas) who went to OU/OSU/etc. or had some other ties to OK/OKC would claim the OKC Sonics as "their team and always have been". Basically what I am saying is that if the team is terrible, the market is terrible no matter where they play (aside from the majors like NYC, LA, Chicago, etc.). If the team is good, the market is good. PERIOD

Im sure Clay has this in mind ^,

regardless of what he does while the team is still here in Seattle - Im sure he will put a good product on the floor in OKC. I agree that OKC is a success and therefore should be rewarded with a successful team - at least one that could vaguely compete with the Mavericks and Spurs - regional powerhouses.

I see it developing into just another Big XII competition, which means good for OKC (since the Sooners are at the top of the Big XII).

Now that it's official, Kevin Durant will come to Oklahoma City/Seattle Supersonics, does anyone have a change in their vote???

Seattle made some pretty good moves in this draft in my opinion. I know Ray Allen is a great player and probably a fan favorite in Seattle but the Sonics should be better if not this year definitely the year after. I hope these good young players don't make the people in Seattle interested in going to see the Sonics again.

So far, the interest level is - hum..... ........

Good news for OKC!

double post

I chose doors 1, 2 and 3.

I see that several also selected Ft Smith and West Arkansas and the W Texas panhandle region, but that seems unrealistic to me. But, who can say?

Clay Bennett is voting statewide:

"I'm increasingly convinced that the economic viability of the team in Oklahoma City is better than it will be here," Bennett said. "It (would be) the only pro franchise in the state. There's enormous enthusiasm for the NBA. There's not the dilution of the broad entertainment activities in this marketplace.

"The Sonics would be an iconic event for Oklahoma City," he said. "It would get the focus and support of people statewide and become an important event not just for sports, but for social and economic development."

Betts............where is the link located?

Northwest Progressive Institute: One year after purchase of Sonics, Bennett still hoping for public subsidy (http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2007/07/one-year-after-purchase-of-sonics.html)

Sorry, I thought I'd included it. I believe this is a quote from the Seattle Times or p-i, but there are so many articles, I just picked the first link I found.

As a former resident of both Ark and Texas I gotta say I can't imagine OKC having any pull whatsoever in either of those places. West Ark might pull for a team based out of Tulsa but that's about it. They aren't really pro-oklahoma. And Texas, need I say more, not a chance especially north texas over texas panhandle. Dallas or Houston or SA not really much room for an out of state team is there. Possibly the panhandle though, maybe. South Kansas maybe as well. That's about it though.

So I guess my vote would be:
Oklahoma statewide-definitely
South Kansas-maybe
Texas panhandle-maybe
West Ark-doubtful
All the rest-not a chance

It's not like this would be and Oklahoma Team. An NBA team is alot more.

You don't have to be from Texas or even like Texas to be a Dallas Cowboys fan.

People , no matter what state they are from, will support a regional team. We don't always like each other when it comes to college competetion. But let someone from the northeast talk trash about our region, and things change.

Now, not everyone will fit that mold, but for the most part you'll see an extended fan base because of proximity.

^ I agree Saberman.

what chuck fails to realize, is that many people in N Texas actually hail from OKC, and they would support an OKC based team. They went to DFW for jobs but now that OKC is rolling again, they may not return to OKC but WOULD arguably support an OKC based team (if nothing else, by visits to OKC).

I dont think the OKC hatred or disdain is as bad in the region as you think. Yet I do somewhat agree with Chuck's prediction but I am a little more optimistic.

I definitely think OK statewide, KS statewide also, W TX also and W AR also. No question. Now, there will be support from N TX but probably not media support unless the Sonics are a really winning team and the anticipated rivalry with the Mavericks really takes off (which who would doubt it would not develop).

N TX support will come from visits to OKC, MO will be tough also but I think they might be a draw in the cable market, esp if the Sonics are good, ditto that for NM since there is NOTHING to do there but ski (and that is only half of the year and only in the north).

And yes, like Saber said, you will have fans everywhere, regardless of where you live. But the bread and butter will of course be in OK, S KS, W AR, and W TX (maybe SW MO). The others are 'extensions' where people would support via cable or visits to OKC, esp if the teams are good.

Well sure there will be a few fans all over the place but I can't imagine any large scale support in most of those areas. Most fans will look to their local market first for teams if no team exists then on to a regional team or a recently/historicaly successful team to support (i.e. dallas cowboys fans). NM has very little association with OKC. The majority of their support I would think would go to Suns/Jazz or some other western team. Southern Kansas would be the best bet for regional support as a longstanding absense of any regional team and somewhat of a lowlevel connection to Oklahoma in general. The Ft. Smith areas and NWA might support the sonics for the same reason as southern kansas but Little Rock and such are too drawn to Memphis.
I will have to simply disagree about the N. Texas issue based on the popularity of the Mavs and Spurs. I can't see any texans supporting the sonics except for relocated Oklahomans of which there are quite a few but still a small percentage of the overall population and not nearly enough to affect the television market.

That may be true but I am very interested to see how the league is going to handle the divisions when and if the Sonics move. The Hornets moving here makes way more sense division-wise because you would have the 3 TX teams the OK team and Memphis. If we are in the same division as the TX teams then there is more interest just from a competitor's perspective. Also, being in the same division you are guaranteed two home/away games a year. The drive from Dallas is close enough that we are pretty much guaranteed a good old fashioned OK/TX rivalry almost right away. Good stuff imo. Assuming that the Sonics are any good.

CC, definitely agree. And definitely assume the Sonics will be joining the 'Texas League' so to say, the rivalries that will be established with OKC vs the Dallas Mavericks is a GIVEN, I think also Houston since we are both energy titans and even San Antonio since the Sonic's mgmt hails from there. I even think there might be some sort of rivalry with the Hornets while they exist in New Orleans.

Memphis?? I think that will be the team that moves, perhaps to the division with Chicago. Heck, we might even would have a nice little rivalry with Chicago even, and perhaps Denver.

Good Times ahead!! Good Times indeed!!!!!

Nationwide!!!!

Oh my God

do you guys think durant would really resign with us if we had the team in 2011?

OK, this thread has had some time to populate - let's review the results and come up with some numbers:

Oklahoma City's NBA/Expanded Media Market =

100% Metropolitan Oklahoma City 1.3M *duh
90% State of Oklahoma (exculding the two metro areas) 1.6M *pretty reasonable also
69% Wichita and S. Kansas 650K *I agree, wichita will support/watch/buy
67% Tulsa Metro 900K *Im surprised this is only 67%. I think peeps not being honest
65% Fort Smith Metro and W. AR 350K *Im surprised this is so high actually
49% Amarillo/Lubbock/W. TX/Panhandle Region 1M (this is a conservative guess actually)

Taking the top 50% = 5.8M people

If you consider, that Washington (not including SW) = 5.5M people

the two markets are pretty dang close.

I know there are some who might say Seattle's market extends into Vancouver BC 3M+, Victoria BC 500K, ID 2M, MT 500K, and AK 400K; but I disagree. This is because the Sonics are not shown on TV in these areas and therefore there certainly is NO television market/advertising going on for them (which is the reason SW WA gets cutt off as well since Portland Trailblazers have that part of the state).

Nope, the Sonics market almost exclusively to WA (except SW) and N. ID, which for all intensive purposes = 5.5M people.

I figure, and agree, that the Oklahoma City franchise would market (advertise, televise) to the top 50% areas listed above; perhaps also to SW Missouri and Rural KS but NOT to DFW - so Im pretty confident that OKC's Market will be 5.8-6.0M people (which is ACTUALLY BIGGER than what Seattle Sonics Markets to),

This is in contrast to the Seattle Mariners (who market to all of WA, OR, BC, ID, MT, AK and to some respects Japan) and the Seattle Seahawks (similar large market area). Seattle can NOT lay claim to the same market for these two teams for the NBA; I can confirm without a doubt that they don't market outside of WA and ID (I think they used to until Vancouver got a team and they haven't been back to marketing in Vancouver since).

anyways, it is nice to see how the vote came out and even much nicer to confirm that the OKC market is actually bigger than Seattle's NBA market.

I think the team will be JUST FINE in Oklahoma City, but I am positive they will need to give some pre-season games to Tulsa, Wichita, Lawton and perhaps an annual rotation between Amarillo/Lubbock, FT Smith, and Joplin/Branson? .. to keep everyone in the region happy. This is NOT unlike how the Sonics currently have preseason games in Spokane, which is good enough for the E WA/N ID side.

as for N TX, I agree there will be LOTS of support from there even though Dallas has a team, this because there are LOTS of Oklahoma City expats that live there. I think the same could be said for the Houston area too. This is the EXACT reason why Mark Cuban did not want the team to move to OKC - it cuts HEAVILY into his market, especially if/when the team gets good.

However, what Cuban didn't realize IS the INSTANT RIVALRY!!!

This holds especially true if OKC gets moved into the same league as Dallas, Houston, and New Orleans; all of which are NATURAL rivals [there will be 4 games per matchup] Add San Antonio to that just for spite. That's 16 games (8 home games for OKC) that no doubt should be selllouts!

I think Portland might be sellouts, as would the TOP NBA teams when they visit (Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Cleveland, Phoenix, Denver).

Now you begin to see, that at least 14 of 41 games will be sellouts/standing room only (that's 35% of the schedule btw).

do you guys think durant would really resign with us if we had the team in 2011?I'm gonna say yes.

Do all the games get picked up in Wichita? I'm moving there in a couple weeks and was really hoping that I could see games with regular cable...

do you guys think durant would really resign with us if we had the team in 2011?

What are you even talking about? KD already signed a deal to be here for 5 more years. And why wouldn't we have a team in 2011? I'm confused.

What are you even talking about? KD already signed a deal to be here for 5 more years. And why wouldn't we have a team in 2011? I'm confused.

Kilgore, please note that the referenced post was from March of 2008. The team's first season here had not started yet.

Lol. I didn't even notice that.