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Thread: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

  1. #1

    Default Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Thu March 6, 2008
    OKC wants to go after Women's Final Four

    By Jenni Carlson
    Staff Writer

    Tim Brassfield has revised his wish list.

    The Oklahoma City All Sports Association executive director has long believed he could go after just about any sporting event. The Big 12 basketball tournaments and NCAA basketball regionals are evidence of that.

    But with Tuesday's passage of the Ford Center renovation tax, Brassfield is set to seek even bigger jewels for Oklahoma City.

    "Women's Final Four would be at the top of our list," he said. "I just believe that event would fit our city perfectly."


    Oklahoma City has become a wildly successful host for the Women's College World Series. Last spring, the weeklong softball tournament drew 62,463 fans, shattering the previous record by more than 16,000.

    And as Brassfield is quick to point out, no Oklahoma team made the field.

    Could the Women's Final Four be as successful as the Women's College World Series?

    The next available Women's Final Four would be in 2012. Tampa hosts this year followed by St. Louis in 2010 and Indianapolis in 2011.

    The Women's Final Four isn't the only event that Brassfield believes could come to Oklahoma City because of the Ford Center renovations.

    The NCAA wrestling championships came to the Ford Center in 2006 after a 14-year absence. Brassfield would like to see Oklahoma City become a regular stop with the tournament coming to town every three or four years.

    Likewise for the Big 12 basketball tournaments, which return again next year.

    Another event high on Brassfield's wish list is the Women's Frozen Four. The All Sports Association bid on the NCAA women's ice hockey championship a few years ago but failed to receive the March event.

    "It's tough to get them to come west," Brassfield said, adding that it wouldn't be unprecedented as Denver and Anaheim, Calif., have hosted the Women's Frozen Four. "But sometimes with these events, it's good to get in line. We'll (bid) again when that comes open."

    Brassfield believes Oklahoma City has never been in better position to land such sporting events than after voters passed the Ford Center renovation tax.

    "What it does is it levels the playing field," he said. "We always had the organization and the city buy-in ... to go after anything. But it puts me on a level playing field with other arenas in the region. I will not be fighting with a short stick."

    While Brassfield also has designs on a Women's All-College — a women's basketball version of the All-College Classic the day before the men's event — the top of his wish list remains the Women's Final Four.

    Oklahoma City will have something of an audition, too. Later this month, then again next spring, it will host an NCAA women's basketball regional. This year will be a regional final with the winner advancing to the Women's Final Four. Next year will be first- and second-round games.

    Advance sales for this year's regional passed the 5,000-ticket market Thursday.

    A year ago, Dallas sold 657 tickets before its women's basketball regional began.

    If one of the state schools is placed in the Oklahoma City regional, ticket sales could skyrocket. So might Oklahoma City's hopes for a Women's Final Four.

    "That's why these are so important to us that these do well," Brassfield said of the women's regionals. "If we can continue rotating an event through here, then every March and April we have a huge event for our city."

  2. Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    I think we could definitely get the Women's Final Four. That would be great.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    WOW! If that happens, that's a real coup, and should show even the doubters that the arena upgrade was worth doing.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    I'd like to see us put our hat in the ring for the Men's basketball regional as well. I'd think those things would sell out anywhere and the facility should be able to handle it after the upgrades. I just don't know what other factors we'd need to improve upon first (hotels, transportation... I wonder if our inaccesasibilty by non-stop air would keep us out of consideration). Anyone know what the smallest market to host a regional since the tournament was expanded is? They're in Houston, Phoenix, Detroit and Charlotte this year.

  5. Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    I wouldn't think Charlotte would be a whole lot better than us on non-stop flights.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    I'm still waiting for David Glover to come out and oppose this and tell us how much money we're really losing in electricity bills for the Ford Center over how much profit we'll make in sales taxes.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Quote Originally Posted by jbrown84 View Post
    I wouldn't think Charlotte would be a whole lot better than us on non-stop flights.
    Looks like US Air gives them a lot of options:

    STI: ERsys - Charlotte/Douglas Intl Airport (Non-Stop Flights)

    Here's ours:

    http://www.flyokc.com/releases/Nonst...bruary%201.pdf

  8. Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Quote Originally Posted by jbrown84 View Post
    I wouldn't think Charlotte would be a whole lot better than us on non-stop flights.
    Considering it is US Airways' largest hub, probably.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Quote Originally Posted by metro View Post
    I'm still waiting for David Glover to come out and oppose this and tell us how much money we're really losing in electricity bills for the Ford Center over how much profit we'll make in sales taxes.
    Isn't that over?

    On the topic, I think the transportation problem is probably the number one obstacle.

    JBrown: Look at these statistics:

    Will Rogers World Airport:
    Aircraft operations: avg 327/day31% commercial28% air taxi27% military13% transient general aviation

    Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
    Aircraft operations: avg 1421/day47% commercial45% air taxi7% transient general aviation

    No comparision.

  10. Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Quote Originally Posted by solitude View Post
    Isn't that over?

    On the topic, I think the transportation problem is probably the number one obstacle.

    JBrown: Look at these statistics:

    Will Rogers World Airport:
    Aircraft operations: avg 327/day31% commercial28% air taxi27% military13% transient general aviation

    Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
    Aircraft operations: avg 1421/day47% commercial45% air taxi7% transient general aviation

    No comparision.
    Btw, to add to the above, OKC has a total of around 92 daily departures max, CLT has more than 600 daily. Not to mention daily nonstop international service to Canadian, Caribbean and some Euro cities. Sorry for continuing the off-topic tangent, we can go back on topic though.

    And uh, OKC doesn't have any more military operations, I believe that's outdated.

  11. #11

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Quote Originally Posted by OUman View Post
    Btw, to add to the above, OKC has a total of around 92 daily departures max, CLT has more than 600 daily. Not to mention daily nonstop international service to Canadian, Caribbean and some Euro cities. Sorry for continuing the off-topic tangent, we can go back on topic though.

    And uh, OKC doesn't have any more military operations, I believe that's outdated.
    Yes, it very well might be. I got those from AirNav.com ... Your statistics are even more telling. You would know better than I where to get good accurate stats. I knew there was no comparision though. I'm glad we have you and venture to keep us straight on all this!

    Because of this problem, I see it as a deal-killer for the Women's Final Four and/or any Final Four regional.

  12. Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Do you have any graphs for those statistics?

  13. #13

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    We need to be a hub for someone.

  14. #14

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    yeah, charlotte is a major banking hub, they have many financial people flying in and out daily

  15. #15

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Why is transportation a deal killer? The Masters in Augusta draws more spectators/press over a similar number of days than the Womens' Final Four. The closest "hub" is Atlanta, a two hour drive to Augusta. OKC is about the same distance, time wise as DFW, plus we have Wichita and Tulsa airports. If my thinking is wrong, please explain.

  16. #16

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Quote Originally Posted by PapaJack View Post
    Why is transportation a deal killer? The Masters in Augusta draws more spectators/press over a similar number of days than the Womens' Final Four. The closest "hub" is Atlanta, a two hour drive to Augusta. OKC is about the same distance, time wise as DFW, plus we have Wichita and Tulsa airports. If my thinking is wrong, please explain.
    Apples and oranges, really. There's only one Augusta and just a few "premier" courses in the USA. There are arenas with what's needed for a regional or a Final Four in just about every large city.

  17. Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Quote Originally Posted by solitude View Post
    Yes, it very well might be. I got those from AirNav.com ... Your statistics are even more telling. You would know better than I where to get good accurate stats. I knew there was no comparision though. I'm glad we have you and venture to keep us straight on all this!

    Because of this problem, I see it as a deal-killer for the Women's Final Four and/or any Final Four regional.
    Doh, small correction, OKC still has military ops, I'm guessing though only training flights and such. I was only thinking of the ANG unit that moved out recently.

    But no reason that Oklahoma City couldn't host the Final Four, it has been hosted in non-hub cities before.

  18. #18

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Since 1990 the "Final Four" has been held at the following venues:

    1990 - Denver
    1991 - Indianapolis
    1992 - Minneapolis
    1993 - New Orleans
    1994 - Charlotte
    1995 - Seattle
    1996 - East Rutherford, NJ (NYC Metro)
    1997 - Indianapolis
    1998 - San Antonio
    1999 - St. Petersburg (Tampa)
    2000 - Indianapolis
    2001 - Minneapolis
    2002 - Atlanta
    2003 - New Orleans
    2004 - San Antonio
    2005 - St. Louis
    2006 - Indianapolis
    2007 - Atlanta
    2008 - San Antonio (scheduled)
    2009 - Detroit (scheduled)
    2010 - Indianapolis (scheduled)
    2011 - Houston (scheduled)

    All direct flight cities from most anywhere in the United States.

    Can you imagine the outcry at having to go through Dallas or Denver or St. Louis to get to Oklahoma City? Maybe someday, but all the cities on the list above are out of our league. None of them are trying to become an elite city - they already are. And if anyone wants to compare us to Indianapolis (uh, no...), remember Indianapolis is considered the capital of college basketball.

  19. #19

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Actually, what I notice is that with the exception of Tampa and East Rutherford, all those cities have NBA teams. I've never tried to fly to Indianapolis, but are they a hub? Do they have that many more direct flights than we do? How about San Antonio? I don't consider it the easiet place in the world to get to.

  20. #20

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Quote Originally Posted by betts View Post
    Actually, what I notice is that with the exception of Tampa and East Rutherford, all those cities have NBA teams. I've never tried to fly to Indianapolis, but are they a hub? Do they have that many more direct flights than we do? How about San Antonio? I don't consider it the easiet place in the world to get to.
    Indianapolis is a sports mecca. They handle traffic every year for the U.S. Grand Prix, Allstate 400 and the Indianapolis 500. I just read this about Indianapolis: "The attendance at both the Indianapolis 500 and the Allstate 400 makes them the two largest single day sporting events in the world, with well over 250,000 fans in attendance at each."

    San Antonio - hard to get to? It's the 7th largest city in the United States. It has 360 daily commercial airline departures, compared with Oklahoma City's 91.

    Oh, I just found that Indianapolis has 180 daily commercial airline departures.

  21. #21

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Ah well, if we don't dream big, nothing will ever happen. I say, "Go for it" and the worst thing that can happen is that we're told "No". We're probably shooting for something like 2020 anyway. I bet they're booked that far into the future.

  22. #22

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    I think what Betts meant is that San Antonio is hard to get to from OKC. There in lies the problem.

  23. #23

    Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Quote Originally Posted by Kerry View Post
    I think what Betts meant is that San Antonio is hard to get to from OKC. There in lies the problem.
    You are absolutely right.

  24. Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    Commercial Aviation geeks are in full swing here now apparenlty.

    1990 - Denver ... Hub: United, Continental (now gone)
    1991 - Indianapolis ... Hub: USAir (now gone)
    1992 - Minneapolis ... Hub: Northwest
    1993 - New Orleans ... Hub: None
    1994 - Charlotte ... Hub: USAir
    1995 - Seattle ... Hub: Alaska
    1996 - East Rutherford, NJ (NYC Metro) ... Hub: Eh, doesn't matter
    1997 - Indianapolis ... Hub: USAir's gone, somewhat from ATA
    1998 - San Antonio ... Hub: none
    1999 - St. Petersburg (Tampa) ... Hub: none
    2000 - Indianapolis ... Hub: ATA somewhat, now gone
    2001 - Minneapolis ... Hub: Northwest
    2002 - Atlanta ... Hub: Delta, AirTran
    2003 - New Orleans ... Hub: None
    2004 - San Antonio ... Hub: None
    2005 - St. Louis ... Hub: American (former TWA)
    2006 - Indianapolis ... Hub: None
    2007 - Atlanta ... Hub: Delta, AirTran
    2008 - San Antonio (scheduled) ... Hub: none
    2009 - Detroit (scheduled) ... Hub: Northwest
    2010 - Indianapolis (scheduled) ... Hub: None
    2011 - Houston (scheduled) ... Hub: Continental

    Transportation is definitely easier to all those cities above OKC, however one thing to keep in mind. The earilier rounds are going to have teams from more parts of the country, so idealy that would be the time to have more flights.

    Really air traffic here is just about right for what is needed. About the only thing that we could really use is USAir out to Philly and CLT.

  25. Default Re: Vote already showing benefits: OKC to bid for Women's Final 4

    ^Btw, [nitpick]it's US Airways now, not US Air[/nitpick]. Thought you'd know THAT by now. Just messing with you lol.

    Also, to clarify, IND is not a hub for any airline, BUT (and this makes a big difference) it has a Northwest/Northwest Airlink focus operation (both combined have over 50 daily departures from IND to about 22 cities, with more coming.

    What I would like to see from Oklahoma City though is nonstops to Seattle/Tacoma, and at least one daily international nonstop (though unfeasible for now just because of the market conditions).

    As ar as Philadelphia and Charolotte are concerned, I see Philadelphia a greater possibility than Charlotte because it's US/USX's transatlantic gateway.

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