OKC, Tulsa are on the same team | NewsOK.com (http://newsok.com/okc-tulsa-are-on-the-same-team/article/3254578/?tm=1212902800)

The article is too long to repost here.

I'd like to see more brotherhood. It would be good for the state, and it would be good if Tulsa would help support an NBA team. I think the 66ers should become the D-League team for the OKC Whatevers, rather than the Hornets. That would help foster a sense of connectedness between the two teams that would help the state see an NBA team in OKC as the entire state's team. If the entire state supports the team, we've got a population to rival many of the other larger market teams.

I believe any televsion contract with the team should include broadcasting to the entire state. Wichita, Joplin and Springfield have Cox as well as Tulsa, I believe, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to include them in the broadcasting region. If you think about it, there are no NBA teams at all between Denver and Minneapolis/Indianapolis in the Midwest. There may be an untapped market out there in the neighboring states' border cities.

Has anyone ever done a cost estimate for a high speed non-stop train connecting downtown Tulsa with downtown OKC? It would be great to have links involving more than sports. I'm sure it would cost a bundle, but maybe worth it.

Well I did some googling.

Portugal and Spain are doing some high speed rail links.

They are doing approximately 584 miles of rail at a cost of 7.2 billion euro (11.34 US dollars).

If you break that down to the distance of OKC to Tulsa at 109 miles that would be approximately 2.05 billion to do a high speed rail for 109 miles.

Of course costs can be different between the states and Europe.

Good article.

It doesn't have to be the highest-speed high-speed rail, but 109 mph - one hour, downtown to downtown - should be the goal for any rail link between here and there. I can think of lots of reasons to go to Tulsa, but it's a fairly boring (on the turnpike) or fairly tedious (on 66) drive, and of course it has to be done twice.

Funny thing about the whole OKC-Tulsa rivalry... It seems to only go one way. Most people in Tulsa are overcome with jealousy and envy of OKC and can't resist an opportunity to bash us. But, OKC folks don't harbor the same feelings. We sort of like Tulsa and often wish them the best.

Where have you been Chicken? There's enough hatred on both sides to build a wall halfway up the turnpike!

There has always been a nag between the cities because of the competition for the "title" city. Tulsa had the title for a long time, but OKC definitely has it now. The problem is Tulsa is having a hard time letting it go. That means anytime we critisize Tulsa, then they cry foul and throw a big stink, even though they used to do it all the time.

ANY work towards getting rid of the competition between cities is good. We really should work as a force. We're some of the closest metros around (that aren't considered part of the same MSA). How many other places have 1M+ cities within an hour of each other? If the two cities would team together, we could get a lot of work done, but the hard feelings have kept that from happening for a long time.

Old school Tulsa doesnt want to accept the fact they aren't the boss. They were too good to work with old school OKC. Now the new school OKC folks are trying to get the new school Tulsa folks to chat. It's up to new school Tulsa to shut the old farts up on their side and move on.

How many other places have 1M+ cities within an hour of each other?

I know that the Oklahoma City metro fits the 1 million plus population status (2006 est. of 1,157,842), but Tulsa's metro hasn't reached the 1 million plateau yet (2006 est. at 905,755) much less passing it. Maybe they're upset about that, too?

Well I did some googling.

Portugal and Spain are doing some high speed rail links.

They are doing approximately 584 miles of rail at a cost of 7.2 billion euro (11.34 US dollars).

If you break that down to the distance of OKC to Tulsa at 109 miles that would be approximately 2.05 billion to do a high speed rail for 109 miles.

Of course costs can be different between the states and Europe.

Rail already exists between OKC and Tulsa. Granted it's not precisely a straight shot but it is there. The trick would be the logistics of offering a non-stop transport while working with existing rail traffic.

A non stop rail shot between the cities might be something Bennet would want to look into to help the success of his franchise...

a GARGANTUAN problem is what to do once you get off the train. I don't think anyone here would expect a train to go directly to both downtowns. More likely than not, I would say there would be a depot somewhere on the NE side here and the SW side there. Much like the turnpike carpool lots.

So with that in mind, our wonderful bus system would have to take people somewhere. Oh wait, I forgot, it sucks and is never on time. So how do we get the people from the train, to where they want to go? All of this without it taking longer than if a person got in their car.

There's GARGANTUAN problem #2. The trip has to take less time/effort than getting in your own car. If I can get from MWC to the BA/Union area of Tulsa in 1:30...ish then I want the whole train trip to do that too. But if the train takes a little under an hour to get me there, that means I still have to catch buses on each end and hope they run on time so I don't wait at the train station a lot.

Unfortunately, I just don't think it's really going to happen. The train would need to be much faster, which wouldn't really be feasible. The cities are just too close to each other for people to really flock to even a bullet train. Not because the train isn't cool and fun, but because handling transportation on each end is a nightmare.

Well, if our train stop ended right at Reno and EK Gaylord, literally a few hundred feet from the Ford Center, right where the Santa Fe depot is, and everything else that is within walking distance... ie motels, restaurants, etc... No buses necessary.

Rail could be a good idea.
Make sure the turnpike authority is not involved.

To my knowledge the turner turnpike has never been finished.
They are always working on half of it.
I used to ask if I could only pay half price since we only use half of it.

Where have you been Chicken? There's enough hatred on both sides to build a wall halfway up the turnpike!

There has always been a nag between the cities because of the competition for the "title" city. Tulsa had the title for a long time, but OKC definitely has it now. The problem is Tulsa is having a hard time letting it go. That means anytime we critisize Tulsa, then they cry foul and throw a big stink, even though they used to do it all the time.

ANY work towards getting rid of the competition between cities is good. We really should work as a force. We're some of the closest metros around (that aren't considered part of the same MSA). How many other places have 1M+ cities within an hour of each other? If the two cities would team together, we could get a lot of work done, but the hard feelings have kept that from happening for a long time.

Old school Tulsa doesnt want to accept the fact they aren't the boss. They were too good to work with old school OKC. Now the new school OKC folks are trying to get the new school Tulsa folks to chat. It's up to new school Tulsa to shut the old farts up on their side and move on.bomber knows just how crazy it's gotten on the OKMET forum with the OKC vs TULSA threads. there is quite a lot of animosity and jealousy as of late due to the SONICS, the DEVON building and all the press okc's been getting here lately.