Which city most deserves a pro sports team? (Warriors, Clippers, Sonics)

[desert sun]

I dont see why Oklahoma City would be a better choice for an NBA team over any other metro its size,put a NBA team in any city without a pro team and it will sell out in its first year,and OK City may have a larger metro but the city limits are almost the same,Albuquerque reached over 500,000 residents this year and Ok City has a little more than that but three times the land size and Albq is growing faster as were going to be the next hollywood with the 2 new movie studios were getting.OK City also has cheap land as does the rest of the midwest so they are able to get things built a little better.They do have a nice arena though.I think Birmingham would be a good choice along with Virginia Beach,Albuquerque, and even Omaha givin their location.Boise is too small ,way to small,to even consider,they dont even have a triple a baseball team, but who knows basketball arenas are small and NCAA arenas fill up so why wont they,personally Id rather go to a college basketball game than the NBA .

[happytown]

Originally Posted by desert sun

I dont see why Oklahoma City would be a better choice for an NBA team over any other metro its size,put a NBA team in any city without a pro team and it will sell out in its first year,and OK City may have a larger metro but the city limits are almost the same,Albuquerque reached over 500,000 residents this year and Ok City has a little more than that but three times the land size and Albq is growing faster as were going to be the next hollywood with the 2 new movie studios were getting.OK City also has cheap land as does the rest of the midwest so they are able to get things built a little better.They do have a nice arena though.I think Birmingham would be a good choice along with Virginia Beach,Albuquerque, and even Omaha givin their location.Boise is too small ,way to small,to even consider,they dont even have a triple a baseball team, but who knows basketball arenas are small and NCAA arenas fill up so why wont they,personally Id rather go to a college basketball game than the NBA .

I think Albuquerque could eventually get a major league team but right now it would be a big no. The pop is growing but the infrastructure seems to be lacking compared to OKC. I recently drove by the downtown area and was able to get a great view of the general area. No building rises above 23 stories and there are not many.
OKC certainly doesnt have the beauty of many downtowns but it is much greater than Albuquerque with taller old skyscrapers which is a big sell for image http://www.chevronretirees.org/encor...s/oklahoma.gif (google first national building in OKC) Oklahoma City, OK : OKC Skyline photo. Overall OKC has 4 times the amount of highrises and has many buildings that dwarf the structures in Albuquerque Google Image Result for http://pics3.city-data.com/cpicv/vfiles16897.jpg ....OKC has always been considered a sleeping giant. Albuquerques downtown is almost the size of Wichitas and is practically brand new.
The growth of OKC has surpassed many metros because of local taxes creating big projects. Also the lure of two arenas next to each other with lots of convention space has a lot to do with it. OKC has large growing entertainment districts close by each other that all center around a more impressive downtown district. Many local investors are involved with all parts of the city. OKC hosting the NBA in great fashion and OKC is also in a rotation with Dallas and KC for the Big 12 Tournament. OKC has been in the running for a major league team for 15 years...It takes time and recognition to support the idea of a major league team. OKC is just a greater sports venue.

You also have to remember that two major metros touch each other in Oklahoma. Tulsa which has a metro of 900,000 is only 1 1/2 hours away and would support a team in Oklahoma especially with it being so close. If they didnt like the team then they would still make the short trip to see the NBA. This is way over looked. The combined metros would be around 2.2 million!
I would also say that OKC is a greater town for sports enthusiasts...OU in norman is part of the metro and is practically OKC. Tons of golf ranges...
Both towns have a lot going for them and Albuquerque is growing fast w/higher median income with lots of great draws for business its just not for the major leagues right now. I would put Tulsa ahead of Albuquerque because they just built a major arena that could bring a NHL team. Again OKC people would do a short drive to enjoy the NHL. The towns are just so close by each other it really creates one large market.

[JJG]

Oklahoma City will get the Sonics. Seattle will not have an NBA franchise and Oklahoma City, right now, is the best place to move too. They have the arena, and they proved that the city can hold down a team when they let the Hornets play there for a year and a half.
Either OKC or maybe St. Louis is in the running for the Sonics, but bottom line is, Seattle will NOT have NBA basketball in the near future.

[desert sun]

Albuquerque may not have the skyscrapers but that is the way that most like it,Albq dosent want to become like every other city,they would rather embrace the natural beauty all around and most dont want skyscrapers blocking their mountain views,most of the cities in the southwest dont have much for skylines.And even if Albq had an arena for NHL I dont think too many people would go,maybe just all the east coast transplants here.Now I do think that OK City would be great for the NBA I just think that any city that hosted an NBA team for a year would sell out its arena.Albq every year usually hosts a preseason game with usually the kings since the Maloof brothers are from Albq and they only attract around 12,000 people,I went to one 2 years back and it was kinda boring but maybe people arnt really interested in a preseason game.

[happytown]

Originally Posted by desert sun

Albuquerque may not have the skyscrapers but that is the way that most like it,Albq dosent want to become like every other city,they would rather embrace the natural beauty all around and most dont want skyscrapers blocking their mountain views,most of the cities in the southwest dont have much for skylines.And even if Albq had an arena for NHL I dont think too many people would go,maybe just all the east coast transplants here.Now I do think that OK City would be great for the NBA I just think that any city that hosted an NBA team for a year would sell out its arena.Albq every year usually hosts a preseason game with usually the kings since the Maloof brothers are from Albq and they only attract around 12,000 people,I went to one 2 years back and it was kinda boring but maybe people arnt really interested in a preseason game.

Its not just skyscrapers...Its the entire infrastructure. Compared to OKC it is miniscule! Look at skyscrapers forums and OKC has 3 x the amount of construction/buildings. OKC doesnt have this fantastic skyline but it at least it gives it an identity. Sorry...but the natural beauty arguement is lame. Many great towns with mountains have beautiful skylines and which makes everyone happy. Nothing wrong with just having mountains and low lying buildings...It just would not attract a major league team. No way No how. It has too much of a suburban look to it.
Diagrams - SkyscraperPage.com Albq
Diagrams - SkyscraperPage.com OKC
OKC has proven itself worthy of the major leagues for a long time now and hosting the Hornets just pushed it over the edge. So it wasnt just a temporary phenom how OKC embraced a NBA team. Just out of curiosity does Albq have a decent arena or two? Something that seats at least 20,000 because I really dont understand how Albq even fits into the equation for being the next major league city. New Mexico has 2 million for the whole state...Oklahoma has almost 4. I just dont see how it deserves any kind of Major league team at all.

[JeffGil173]

Both your arguments are weak. A sports team wouldn't move to a region because of how tall the buildings are or how much nature is around the city. It is all about how many people live in the area and how much money they have. End of Story.

[happytown]

Originally Posted by JeffGil173

Both your arguments are weak. A sports team wouldn't move to a region because of how tall the buildings are or how much nature is around the city. It is all about how many people live in the area and how much money they have. End of Story.

Opinions are opinions. Your opinion is basically the same as mine "pop and money" but there are ingredients other than lettuce and dressing to make a decent salad. I just threw in some other details to why Albq should not be considered.

I would love to know a major league (not just a sports team) city w/o a skyline...Please tell because I would love to know. I am not trying to beat up on Albq. but sorry...Infrastucture gives an identity to a city. Period. The tall buildings. Well w/o them the image of the town looks like **** and NOBODY from any MAJOR LEAGUE franchise would even begin to think about moving to a city w/o a typical skyline. ALBQ is missing these obvious ingredients. Bigger skyline equals more construction equals more infrastructure equals more buildings equals major interstates/bigger airport la de da da....Uhh this -WOULD- be important for a city to lure in a Major league team.

This is what I call infrastructure. Core 2 Shore in OKC.... http://okc.gov/planning/coretoshore/...%20Meeting.pdf
City of Oklahoma City | Core to Shore Meetings & Events

[Synopsis]

Albuquerque is a great town; I love the desert scenery and the weather but it's just not large enough to host a professional franchise.

Ok, I'm biased in that I'm from Oklahoma but honestly the city has shown that it can host an NBA team and with the combined metro areas of OkC and Tulsa (in close vicinity) the NBA will do very well in OkC.

There is so much going on in OkC right now that it is unbelievable.

[happytown]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

Albuquerque is a great town; I love the desert scenery and the weather but it's just not large enough to host a professional franchise.

Ok, I'm biased in that I'm from Oklahoma but honestly the city has shown that it can host an NBA team and with the combined metro areas of OkC and Tulsa (in close vicinity) the NBA will do very well in OkC.

There is so much going on in OkC right now that it is unbelievable.

Synopsis- Ditto and bingo! Tulsa/OKC are so underrated. Both cities should be way ahead of the majority of towns listed as the up and coming major league cities except for Louisville. T-Town/OKC are basically twin cities considering the proximity (both are very different). Oklahoma has some great small towns....But people dont understand that the majority of the population in Oklahoma are either in the T metro or the O metro. Watch for a surprise from Tulsa....Hello, BOK Center and the NHL. Just like Okie City. Soon Oklahoma might have 2 Major teams. If you were to take the infrastructure of OKC and combine it with Tulsas' it would make a monster city capable of probably handling 3 teams.

Oklahoma City Buildings, Real Estate, Architecture, Skyscrapers and Construction Database
Tulsa Buildings, Real Estate, Architecture, Skyscrapers and Construction Database

Louisville
Las Vegas
Tulsa
Providence
Harford

These are the cities that deserve a ML team. 3 of the towns have already proven they can support a team. I am sure there are a couple more, but some of the cities listed like El Paso? Do what?....

[Red Flame]

Does Arena Football count since it is getting alot of exposure now? Because alot of the cities mentioned have Arena teams.