Tulsa joins growing list of suitors for Penguins

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07032/758485-61.stm

Tulsa joins growing list of suitors for Penguins
Minor league hockey team owner in Oklahoma hopes to lure Penguins with 18,000-seat arena
Thursday, February 01, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



As state and local officials try to complete a deal to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh, another city could be in the hunt for the team if those efforts fail.

Bob Funk, president and chief executive officer of Express Personnel Services Inc., told a Tulsa, Okla., newspaper that he has an interest in bringing the Penguins to that city if a deal falls through in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Funk, owner of the Oklahoma City Blazers hockey team, previously was part of a business group looking to invite the Penguins to Oklahoma City to play in the Ford Center. That invitation never materialized.

In Tulsa, the 18,000-seat BOK Center currently is under construction, with a scheduled opening in 2008.

According to the Tulsa World newspaper, Mr. Funk said he has formulated a plan to try to bring the Penguins to that city. He said he hoped to talk to Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux about a possible relocation.

Mr. Funk could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Tulsa is just one of several cities that could be in the running for the team if local efforts fail. Kansas City, with the $276 million Sprint Center getting ready to open this fall, is the presumed frontrunner should the team leave Pittsburgh. Officials there have offered the team a free arena, no construction costs, and half the building revenues.

Houston also has an interest in the team. While Oklahoma City did not extend an invitation to the Penguins, there may still be interest in bringing the franchise there.

The Penguins declined comment yesterday.

As cities line up to try to lure the team away, the team continues to talk to Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato about reaching an agreement that would keep the franchise in Pittsburgh.

While public officials continue to express confidence about completing a deal, no formal negotiations have been scheduled, although the two sides are exchanging information and proposals.

Mr. Ravenstahl said the parties could talk on a conference call later this week, but he added nothing has been scheduled yet.

"They're having conversations. I have not heard about any blowups so I guess that's a good thing," said state Sen. Wayne Fontana, a board member for the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority, which is involved in the negotiations.

"Everything seems to be positive. There's been no negative conversations or statements by anybody, which I think is a positive sign. Some agreement could be reached any day now."

The state and local politicians are hoping to complete a deal under Plan B, a funding formula that includes $14.5 million a year for 30 years in slots gambling-related revenues, plus an annual contribution from the Penguins. Mr. Rendell has said the team contribution is now a "fraction" of the $2.9 million a year the Pirates pledged toward PNC Park.

In his interview with Tulsa World Sports Columnist Glenn Hibdon, Mr. Funk said three or four other franchises could be interested in relocating to the BOK Center, but that he had his sights set on the Penguins.

"Pittsburgh has Sidney Crosby, the brightest young star in the NHL in many years," he said. "They have great young players and they should be a strong team for many years to come."



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(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

[Trae]

If they do ever move, I don't know how the NHL would pass up the big market for a smaller one like Tulsa or KC.

[Complex01]

No, send them to H town. :D

[65MAX]

IF (big IF) the Penguins become available, Portland is likely to get them.

[shane453]

Pretty sure Mr. Funk didn't even think of this until a newspaper reporter in OKC asked him if he would consider Tulsa if OKC ended up getting the Sonics.


Funk also speculated that an NHL team could land in Tulsa, if an NBA team is in Oklahoma City. Tulsa is building a new downtown arena scheduled to open in 2008.

``I'll talk to Tulsa,'' Funk said. ``That's always a possibility, too. We have very successful (Central Hockey League) operations in Tulsa. Our operations over there are doing very well and they have been for a long time.''


It seemed to me that the Tulsa comment was prompted. But it worked out nicely because he actually did pursue Tulsa. The exposure is good, but Tulsa won't be getting the Penguins.

As for Portland, it seems to be another one of those cities like OKC that keeps popping up whenever a pro franchise threatens relocation.

[Shasta]

NHL games are very EXPENSIVE. Plus, like the NBA, there are too many of them.

Tulsa is WAY TOO SMALL of a market to support the NHL. There's not enough people and there certainly aren't enough high paying jobs to fill the luxury suites and club seats at current NHL prices.

[Tex1899]

Tulsa is WAY TOO SMALL of a market to support the NHL. There's not enough people and there certainly aren't enough high paying jobs to fill the luxury suites and club seats at current NHL prices.

I agree 95%. The remaining 5% falls along the lines of, "How did Columbus wind up with an NHL team?"

Several items drive team locations...
1) the deal a city will give
2) potential (new) ownership
3) television market (driven by the league)
4) past support for professional sports
5) corporate sponsorship

If the Penguins leave, Houston is probably the best location for relocation. We have individuals and groups who can pony up $$$$ to take ownership (I assume some are already lining up to do so), our television market ranks somewhere between 8th and 12th, which would be a draw for the NHL, and we have the corporations to buy tickets. I'd say our only drawback is in many ways we're a fair weather sports city. If the team's winning, games are sold out. If not, then you see a lot of people dressed up as empty seats.

[sammyk]

"How did Columbus wind up with an NHL team?"

Columbus is actually a pretty decent market. They have sold out or close to sold out all their games. There seems to be ample corporate support there as well. Television is typically a local agreement for most games while the league signs a national agreement for a bunch of games. Columbus had one of the highest television ratings last season or the season prior. Now with Hitchcock coaching they'll likely improve on the ice as well. They have a lot of good young talent.

[NBTX11]

Houston is one of the biggest markets in the country and the 4th largest city in the country. No offense to Tulsa, but there is no way the Pens go to Tulsa over Houston. KC maybe, because they are at least a medium sized market. Tulsa is tiny, less than 1 million people in the metro area, and the 56th largest metro in the country. No slam on Tulsa, but that's a fact. Better chance at going to OKC in my opinion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_metropolitan_areas
1 New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island NY–NJ–PA 18,747,320
2 Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana CA 12,923,547
3 Chicago–Naperville–Joliet IL–IN–WI 9,443,356
4 Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington PA–NJ–DE–MD 5,823,233
5 Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington TX 5,819,475
6 Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Miami Beach FL 5,422,200
7 Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown TX 5,280,077
8 Washington–Arlington–Alexandria DC–VA–MD–WV 5,214,666
9 Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta GA 4,917,717
10 Detroit–Warren–Livonia MI 4,488,335
11 Boston–Cambridge–Quincy MA–NH 4,411,835
12 San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont CA 4,152,688
13 Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario CA 3,909,954
14 Phoenix–Mesa–Scottsdale AZ 3,865,077
15 Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue WA 3,203,314
16 Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN–WI 3,142,779
17 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos CA 2,933,462
18 St. Louis MO–IL 2,778,518
19 Baltimore–Towson MD 2,655,675
20 Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater FL 2,647,658
21 San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo PR 2,509,007
22 Pittsburgh PA 2,386,074
23 Denver–Aurora CO 2,359,994
24 Cleveland–Elyria–Mentor OH 2,126,318
25 Portland–Vancouver–Beaverton OR–WA 2,095,861
26 Cincinnati–Middletown OH–KY–IN 2,070,441
27 Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville CA 2,042,283
28 Kansas City MO–KS 1,947,694
29 Orlando-Kissimmee FL 1,933,255
30 San Antonio TX 1,889,797
31 San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara CA 1,754,988
32 Las Vegas–Paradise-Henderson NV 1,710,551
33 Columbus OH 1,708,625
34 Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News VA–NC 1,647,346
35 Indianapolis–Carmel IN 1,640,591
36 Providence–New Bedford–Fall River RI–MA 1,622,520
37 Charlotte–Gastonia–Concord NC–SC 1,521,278
38 Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis WI 1,512,855
39 Austin–Round Rock TX 1,452,529
40 Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro TN 1,422,544
41 New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner LA 1,319,367
42 Memphis TN–MS–AR 1,260,950
43 Jacksonville FL 1,248,371
44 Louisville–Jefferson County KY–IN 1,208,452
45 Hartford–West Hartford–East Hartford CT 1,188,241
46 Richmond VA 1,175,654
47 Oklahoma City OK 1,156,812
48 Buffalo–Niagara Falls NY 1,147,711
49 Birmingham–Hoover AL 1,090,126
50 Rochester NY 1,039,028
51 Salt Lake City UT 1,034,484
52 Raleigh–Cary NC 949,681
53 Tucson AZ 924,786
54 Honolulu HI 905,266
55 Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk CT 902,775
56 Tulsa OK 887,715

[Trae]

I thought Tulsa had at least a million. Didn't expect it to be that low.

[bombermwc]

Yeah no way for Tulsa, sorry. OKC wasn't really even an option either. Oklahoma doesn't support Hockey like they do other sports. We grow up playing bastketball/football/baseball....we don't have frozen ponds like up north, so no hockey. Crap, most schools don't have hockey teams...and I think OU is the only college with one and it's just barely a team. We're happy with the Blazers and Tulsa is happy with the Oilers and it's not gonna change.

[shane453]

I'd much rather have OKC stay in a league (CHL) where we are consistently the best team in terms of support and attendance and sometimes even talent.

I think that Tulsa is now over 900,000, so they should be closing in on a million by the census... But still, they don't even have as good attendance for their CHL team as OKC.

[bombermwc]

Well look at the attendence numbers for the Oilers. They have that little dinky arena that holds what 6,000 people and its never even full. Granted OKC didnt typically sell out the Cox center with 13K seats for the Ford Center with 20K, but you can bet your sweet nilley that we always had more than 6K at a game.

So Tulsa gets the BOK center and now has 18K seats. Those 4K people that go to Oilers games are going to look awfully small in that place.

[SnyderBock]

Current population estimates have the Tulsa metro area over 1 million people now. Oklahoma City is at 1.2 million and there are several medium and small size cities just outside of both the Tulsa and OKC metro areas.

-Stillwater, OK (~100,000) is in between OKC & Tulsa - an hour and a half from Tulsa.

-Okmulgee, OK (~15,000) and Muskogee (~40,000) are south and southwest of Tulsa - less then an hour drive.

-Bartlesville, OK (~50,000) is north of Tulsa - 45 minute drive.

-Wichita, KS (~500,000 metro area) is 2 and a half hour drive from Tulsa and has Ponca City (~40,000) in between the two.

-Fort Smith, AR (~100,000 metro area) is less the 3 hours from Tulsa

-Fayetteville, AR (~70,000 metro area) is 2 and a half hours from Tulsa

-Little Rock, AR (~250,000+ metro area) is 4 and a half hours from Tulsa

-Oklahoma City, OK (~1.2 million metro area) is less then 3 hours from Tulsa

-Joplin, MO (~75,000 metro area) is 2 hours from Tulsa

-Springfield MO (~250,000 metro area) is 3 hours from Tulsa

-Kansas City, MO (~450,000 +~500,000 more in metro area) is 4 and a half hours from Tulsa

So while Tulsa, OK only has about 1 million people in it's metro area, is is centered around a huge population area in this region. It has been projected that the Tulsa TV and sports market and draw for a professional sports franchise could come from a radius with 3.8 million people in it. And as far as filling high dollar box seats, Oklahoma is filled with rich Indians, oil men and bankers. Tulsa, OK is home to dozens of famous country singers (such as Garth Brooks), rock bands (like Caroline's Spine). Tulsa is also home to one of the most prestigious country clubs (Southern Hills) and called home by ~10 PGA Golfers. Tulsa is also home to world famous museums (Gilcrease an the Philmont).

As the guy announced in the artical, The Tulsa Oilers CHL hockey team has been a great success for a long time now and Tulsa is an excellent hockey town. I think Tulsa is probably an under-looked runner for a NHL team, because you must look into all of these factors as well. :tup:

[Trae]

That's not a big population area. Especially with a city like Okmulgee. I am not sure people in Kansas City or Wichita, even though they have no NHL team, would travel to Tulsa either.

[houston19514]

Current population estimates have the Tulsa metro area over 1 million people now.



There is no credible population estimate showing the Tulsa metro over 1,000,000. None. And it is not likely to be by the 2010 census either.

[Roboz45]

Tulsa is not going to get an NHL team. The whole idea is ridiculous. And all
those population figures being thrown out are meaningless, especially the ones from out of state.

[BG918]

I'm from Tulsa and we are not getting an NHL team. The city can only draw around 4-5,000 per game for the CHL Oilers, maybe more if they are playing the Blazers or they are really good. They definitely will not fill up the BOk Center. They won't go to OKC either, that city wants NBA and will probably get it but after that no other city in Oklahoma would be able to support a pro team. OKC can definitely support NBA, and I've always said that even before the Hornets came here, because all the local corporations would get behind it. But no other pro teams, especially not football as college football is king here (like it is in central Texas). It would be cool though to see a future OKC NBA team play a few games each season in the BOk Center...

[SnyderBock]

There is no credible population estimate showing the Tulsa metro over 1,000,000. None. And it is not likely to be by the 2010 census either.

I believe you have to count all the illegal emigrants and homeless people to get the Tulsa MSA over 1,000,000 people. As far as Wichita, there is a lot of traffic to and from Tulsa and Wichita. There is talk of building a straight expressway between the two cities. At the speed limit, it's less then a 3 hour drive. It might be pushing it, but most of my friends and family here drive to Dallas a couple times a year for Cowboys games and Mavericks games. Dallas is 5 and a half hours away. There is also talk of connecting OKC and Tulsa with AmTrac service - which would make it easy for people to commute to and from each city for games. Perhaps ya'll are right. Tulsa Oilers CHL games only draw 5-6 thousand people per game. But it might be like using bus riderships to project rail riderships on a future line?

[NBTX11]

It's hard to judge how a city would do based on minor league attendance. Major leagues brings in so many more fans, that I don't think you can compare.

Are the Sonics still talking about going to OKC after they year. I heard that was a possible move. I think they should play a few games in Tulsa to make it a regional team, if OKC ever gets a full time team.

[Hot Rod]

^ its in the works.

[oilcan]

Tulsa Penguins?

Sorry.. won't happen....

Houston, K.C. etc... yeah... Tulsa... sorry won't happen..

Tell you what sounds good to me... The Portland Penguins

[Hot Rod]

I meant, Oklahoma City Sonics

[oilcan]

^ I was talking about the title to this thread.

[Hot Rod]

Oh, ok. No problem oilcan.

I also was just clarifying what I had said. OKC Sonics are in the works (not the penguins) :)

[SSLL]

Is Houston that interested in hockey? I mean, just because it has a big population doesn't mean it will be suitable. Look at the Expos, the Marlins, etc.

[BSofA04]

^^Yeah, they made a big push several years ago for a team. Les Alexander, the owner of the Rockets, has said he'd like to bring an NHL franchise to the Toyota Center. With the Aeros of the AHL, Houston does a pretty good job getting people out their, even when they're last in there division. Hockey has been successful in the Bayou City.

[Jay in Cowtown]

Houston should be the next city to get an NHL team.... there's lots of northerners and Canadians already living there, would be an instant rivalry with Dallas and they already have a new arena... not to mention I plan on living there one day and would require an NHL team to watch live!