Just to clarify, I am a PRO-FORD CENTER VOTE citizen however I wanted to post this in a new thread because there are so many NBA threads that have lost focus. I picked up this week's edition of The Gazette that just came out today. The cover story is about Bennett and the upcoming election. Here is a quote from Bennett from Page 19, the last few sentences of the page.


Bennett: "We have applied to relocate to Oklahoma City. That is specific in our application. You should vote for this because these are great improvements to the building to make it viable and help us for a long time with or without the team. But we have to have it to get the team.

To David Glover (who seems to be enjoying his short lived 15 minutes of fame) and all the other naysayers, how to you rebuttal Bennett's latest remarks??:bright_id You often claim that the team is coming regardless if this vote passes. Bennett himself just said it ain't so.

Here's the link to verify yourself:

Article | OKG News.com (http://www.okgazette.com/p/12776/a/1742/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=LwBEAGUAZgBhAHUAbAB0AC4AYQB zAHAAeAAslashAHAAPQAxADIANwAyADkA)

Just to clarify, I am a PRO-FORD CENTER VOTE citizen however I wanted to post this in a new thread because there are so many NBA threads that have lost focus. I picked up this week's edition of The Gazette that just came out today. The cover story is about Bennett and the upcoming election. Here is a quote from Bennett from Page 19, the last few sentences of the page.



To David Glover (who seems to be enjoying his short lived 15 minutes of fame) and all the other naysayers, how to you rebuttal Bennett's latest remarks??:bright_id You often claim that the team is coming regardless if this vote passes. Bennett himself just said it ain't so.

Here's the link to verify yourself:

Article | OKG News.com (http://www.okgazette.com/p/12776/a/1742/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=LwBEAGUAZgBhAHUAbAB0AC4AYQB zAHAAeAAslashAHAAPQAxADIANwAyADkA)Come on Metro. What else could he say?

Andy157 - So are you saying you don't believe what he said?

I can't speak to what David Glover said, but I didn't say the Sonics would come even if the tax didn't pass. I didn't address that issue at all.

What I would say is that they might come anyway, although Bennett's quote in the Gazette makes it clear that's not his opinion.

On the other hand, there's no guarantee the Sonics will come if we do pass the tax.

Andy157 - So are you saying you don't believe what he said?Not at all. I do believe what he said. Absolutly. The Mayor, Bennett, Stern have all said from day one, if the vote don't pass then the team don't come. And I trust that they were telling the truth.

On the other hand, there's no guarantee the Sonics will come if we do pass the tax. - Bornhere

I like your line.
And i like your prices.
But there's a problem.
There's no guarantee on the box.


If they break down, you can call
me at home, even if i'm watching TV.
Callahan has guaranteed
every part sold since .


Maybe so, but it's not on the box.
It should always be on the box.


Comforting you, calling out
"I'm good. I'll never let you down."
"But if i do, i'm gonna
make all things better."
Our brake pads are made of
a non-corrosive poly-plated...


Son, if you're not talking
about a guarantee, skip it.
My customers need to see that little
label, lookin' at 'em right in the eye.


- Hey, you can get a good look at your butcher...
- No.


What?


- Remember, chicken wings.
- Chicken wings?


Alright, uh, you wanna talk
about guarantees, then...

Fellas, you just ran out of time.

Chicken wings.


Let's think about
this for a sec, Ted.
Why would someone put a guarantee
on a box? Hmm, very interesting.

Go on! I'm listening.


Here's the way i see it, Ted.
A guy puts a fancy guarantee on the box 'cause
he wants you to feel all warm and toasty inside.


- Yeah, makes a man feel good.
- Of course it does. Why shouldn't it?


You figure you put that little box
under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy
might come down and leave
a quarter, am i right, Ted?


What's your point?

The point is, how do you know
the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer?
"Building model airplanes" says the
little fairy. Well, we're not buying it.

He sneaks into your house once,
that's all it takes.
Next thing you know there's money missing
off the dresser and your daughter
is knocked up.
I've seen it a hundred times.


But why do they put a
guarantee on the box then?


'Cause they know all they sold
you was a guaranteed piece of ****.
That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if
you want me to take a dump in a box
and mark it "guaranteed", i will.
I got spare time.

But for now, for your customers' sake,
for your daughter's sake
you might wanna think about
buying a quality product from me.


Okay, i'll buy from you.

From Tommy Boy

Yeah, so without the improvements does that mean we have to go back to the van down by the river?

It's going to pass easily

Well lets test the "honorable men" mention.
VOTE NO!

Are people really ready to roll the dice and assume we get a team either way. I'm not. The NBA does not need OKC. As bad as that sounds it is a fact.

That door swings both ways. We don't need the NBA, either. That is also a fact.

I mean if we dont build on and improve the ford center using our own hard earned money for the nba team the city would do something else stupid with our money, like build a building for bass pro, oh wait that already happened.. I guess things are still bad that we have to keep throwing money a businesses and give large gifts to get businesses to come to this city,, what gives..

That is how things work. You have to entise ppl, companies, etc to come to your city, state and town. Its like marketing. Honestly, I'm more excited about this vote than the presidential election. Someone should have asked obama or slick willy what their votes would have been. haha. sorry just alittle comedy to break up the monotony

We don't need the NBA, either. That is also a fact.


Fact or opinion .. my opinion is that we do need the NBA if we ever want to become more than a forgotten state in the middle of the prairie.

That door swings both ways. We don't need the NBA, either. That is also a fact.

The NBA brings more to Oklahoma City than Oklahoma City brings to the NBA.

Even without the NBA the Ford needs to be upgraded if we want to attract more performances/fans.

Will you really miss or even notice the 1 penny sales tax?

Has it caused you hardship the last few years with Maps?

Please Vote YES!

On March 4 Oklahoma City residents will go to the polls to vote on a 15-month, one-cent sales tax dedicated to making major improvements to the Ford Center.

Among the proposed upgrades to be enjoyed by all Ford Center patrons are:

New grand entrance and multistory atrium
First class restaurants and clubs on every level Upgraded concession areas
Newly tiled floors and walls in the main concourse
Rooftop gardens with skyline views on the second and third levels
12,000-square-foot family activity center
Further details are available online at www.okc.gov/fordcenter (http://smr.mm.ticketmaster.com/track?type=click&mailingid=13571637&messageid=13548327&databaseid=DATABASEID&serial=120413797229813&emailid=karriedennis1@hotmail.com&userid=456068467&extra=&&&http://www.okc.gov/fordcenter/)

A little off topic, but did the city have a clause in their contract with Ford that if something like this, the NBA, came along, that Ford would have to pony up some extra cash to retain naming rights?

Sorry if this has been asked before...

It's not actually Ford, it's a coalition of Oklahoma Ford dealers. But I don't know the answer to the question.

Here is your answer:
Oklahoma Ford Dealers submits proposal for arena naming rights | Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City) | Find Articles at BNET.com (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_20020408/ai_n10151771)


The city would retain the right to renegotiate terms of the naming- rights agreement, if the city were to acquire a National Basketball Association team, National Hockey League team, or other major-league team.

there's no guarantee the Sonics will come if we do pass the tax.

This is true. The only guarantee we have by not passing the tax is that the Ford Center will remain a shell of an arena and its competitive position will erode rapidly in the near future.

Here is your answer:
Oklahoma Ford Dealers submits proposal for arena naming rights | Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City) | Find Articles at BNET.com (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_20020408/ai_n10151771)

Not exactly the answer since it's from 2002, however yes, the city does have a clause (and I can almost guarantee you they will exercise if this passes) to re-negotiate naming rights.

I guess things are still bad that we have to keep throwing money a businesses and give large gifts to get businesses to come to this city,, what gives..

While I'm not really sure that's an entirely accurate summation of what's going on here, the short answer is that many communities that are already in a better position to compete for business also offer similar incentives.

The free market argument is a valid one in a discussion of economic principles, but the reality is that the free market model has losers. In fact, it's efficiency is based on the very fact that there are losers. I have no problem with anyone arguing against public incentives for private business (again, not necessarily what's going on here), but you also have to be prepared to accept the fact that Oklahoma will often be the loser in a purely free market race.

In an economy based largely on human resources, you have to have a community in which people want to live in order to compete for business. This means quality of life, not just cost of living, which means entertainment and services. We all know that Oklahoma is cheap to live in, but we can also see that this fact has not really netted us a huge boom in influx of quality businesses with quality, high paying jobs, especially relative to the nation at large.

However, that has begun to change. Oklahoma City had begun to be able to market itself not only on its cost, but also on its quality. This in large part the result of many public projects that have helped to improve the entertainment, lifestyle, and service options in Oklahoma City. We woke up and realized that resting on free market laurels also puts us at the mercy of the free market, a model that, in a service/human resource based economy just doesn't favor flat, land locked communities with relatively fewer recreation options. When we decided that we could be collectively improving our community through self taxation in order to make it a more attractive place to live and visit, things began to change, slowly.

Now that we've dabbled in competing with larger markets on a budget, we've seen that what we once thought impossible may be possible. The reality is, though, that communities with deeper pockets, more services, and higher educated work forces located in tangibly and superficially more competitive locations don't give up their competitive position easily or rest on their successes. Add in the fact that many cities in our exact same position are spending as much or more than we have on their public assets, and you begin to see the short comings of the argument that says we shouldn't continue to improve our assets in an attempt to elevate our competitive position in the quality of life comparison.

Of course, the NBA or a top tier arena doesn't instantly launch the City to the next level, but it is the natural next step in our attempts to do so. But really, not improving the arena to make it at least on par with the many that have come online in recent years or are coming on line in the near future could prove to actually be a greater step backwards than going through with the improvements proves to be as a step forward. The Ford Center actually loses competitive position the longer we don't improve it.

Again, we can have an academic discussion on the free market and, as others pointed out, Bennett's political history seems to favor the rigid "free market" argument. However, everyone knows that a true free market is currently a fantasy and that strict adherence to its principles will likely mean continued mediocrity or worse for Oklahoma City's economic position relative to other municipalities nationwide.

I think that free market principles are a great guide, and we should always be weary of any subsidies or creative tax structures that net an exclusive and especially unfair hand out to private businesses, but this will be a public arena. It is OUR arena and I think we should make it the best arena we can, which means upgrading its amenities to at least compete with other arenas regionally, which it can not do in its current form. And then when it comes to managing that arena and negotiating leases or allocating revenue generated by the operation of that area, I will stand right next to those demanding it be operated with the public's best interest in mind and in a way that doesn't result in a gross hand out to a single individual or company.

In the end, I would actually prefer an improved arena and no NBA team, than an NBA team and an arena that falls short when competing with others in the area, especially when you consider that we can do this for a net cost much less than what most communities have spent on the initial construction of their facilities.