Tuesday, March 4, 2008 | by nathan

OKC and the NBA - Vote Today

Once, in my job as a men’s clothier at the world’s worst job - seriously, I’d rather have been fixing sewer pipes - I had to help Mick Cornett, who had just been elected mayor of Oklahoma City, pick out a suit. He was a gigantic asshole to me, and I was hung over, because it was 2004, and I was always hung over in 2004.

So I always just kinda wrote Mick Cornett off. Then he helped us get the Hornets while New Orleans was unable to host them, and then he lost like 200 pounds and told the city to go on a damn diet, the fatass that it is, and I guess I decided I didn’t hate him.

Still, I’ve been wrestling with myself over this whole "Big League City" thing. For the Nokies in my readership, the deal is that a group of Oklahoma City businessmen bought the Seattle Supersonics two years ago once they saw the enthusiasm the city showed for the Hornets while they were here. The NBA took notice of how well the New Orleans team was doing here and dropped large hints that if, say, these Oklahoma City guys wanted to have the team they owned a little closer to home, say, well, the NBA wouldn’t necessarily stand in their way.

The voters of Seattle decided they didn’t want their tax dollars going to professional sports teams, and now the team has applied to relocate to Oklahoma City in fall of 2008. There are all kinds of thorny legal issues - the Sonics’ lease at Key Arena doesn’t expire until 2010 - so it may be awhile before the team shows up. It may be later this year. But in the wake of Seattle’s vote, Oklahoma City decided to let its voters show the NBA just how welcome they are here.

That vote is today. I’ve wrestled with how to vote on this measure. On one hand, it’s corporate welfare - we’re handing these billionaire owners (these guys have huge stakes in local oil companies) a whole bunch of money so they can make more money. Ideally this should’ve been a loan, not a handout; let the people who are going to benefit pay it back, while still allowing the voters to have a say. But they didn’t ask me, and that’s not what it is.

On the other hand, I do think that things like professional franchises can be important and helpful symbolically by showing the nation and the world that we’re ready and able to compete on a larger scale, that we care about growing our economy. We did that before with MAPS and MAPS for Kids. While I do think this city is going to have to seriously consider things like public transit, light rail, and major environmental initiatives in the next decade - and I hope to God that we don’t get fatigued with all this stuff before MAPS3 comes around - I decided to vote yes.

It’s a question of timing. Now is when we have a chance to get the Sonics here, to make this symbolic gesture to the NBA, and while we probably have more important things to worry about as a city, it can’t hurt to have a franchise here. I just hope that the Crosstown Bridge doesn’t collapse on the roof of the Ford Center before they get it replaced.

Polls are open until 7 p.m. today. Oklahoma City residents, go vote.

UPDATE: The measure passed.