# Acquiring fans



## Tmac235 (Jun 23, 2008)

Hmmmm I don't think old Supersonics fans will follow up with the new team even tho most of their roster is the same, the question is... how will the new team at oklahoma manage to acquire fans for the team? eace:


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

Tmac235 said:


> Hmmmm I don't think old Supersonics fans will follow up with the new team even tho most of their roster is the same, the question is... how will the new team at oklahoma manage to acquire fans for the team? eace:


Maybe the people in Oklahoma will want to cheer for the Oklahoma City team. :idea:


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## Tmac235 (Jun 23, 2008)

LOL that's true, but I mean, you think they will have full seats starting the season?


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

Yes...


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

Attendance for OKC NBA games shuld be very good, especially if the team plays competitively. They don't need to win allot of games at this point, just show improvement through the course of the season, build excitement among the local fanbase, and demonstrate that the owners really want to invest in long-term success by building a team for the future. The owners should make sure that they have good radio, newspaper and television coverage of the games.


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

Go to another teams forums, and steal em.


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## Mr. Hobbes (Jul 1, 2005)

:laugh:

OKC will have no problem getting fans. The hard part is keeping the fans after they realize the team is terrible.


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## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

Chan said:


> :laugh:
> 
> OKC will have no problem getting fans. The hard part is keeping the fans after they realize the team is terrible.


Exactly. Alot of people will support the team in the beginning, just becuz they're new.......But 3-5 years down the line, if the team still sucks, i can easily see them having one of the lower attendances in the league.


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## oksportsguy (Jul 12, 2008)

No one can predict what will happen in 3-5 years. Just know that they will not have a problem filling the arena this year.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

The bottom line is that when a team moves from a city with metropolitan area population of 4.04 mil to a city with metro area pop of 1.26 mil, they are eventually going to have trouble filling the seats.


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## oksportsguy (Jul 12, 2008)

RollWithEm said:


> The bottom line is that when a team moves from a city with metropolitan area population of 4.04 mil to a city with metro area pop of 1.26 mil, they are eventually going to have trouble filling the seats.


I understand that is the usual trend in a lot of areas, but people here have no trouble driving 2 hours to go somewhere. Because of our rural nature people will come in to OKC on day trips, to shop and go to events. Some people will even drive to Dallas for the day.

When the hornet were playing here people drove in from Kansas to see games on a week night. Now the first think I'm sure your going to say, "can they keep that up", well there are people here that a big NBA fans, so I say "yes". Time will tell.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

oksportsguy said:


> I understand that is the usual trend in a lot of areas, but people here have no trouble driving 2 hours to go somewhere. Because of our rural nature people will come in to OKC on day trips, to shop and go to events. Some people will even drive to Dallas for the day.
> 
> When the hornet were playing here people drove in from Kansas to see games on a week night. Now the first think I'm sure your going to say, "can they keep that up", well there are people here that a big NBA fans, so I say "yes". Time will tell.


They'll have to get creative. They will need to offer shuttle buses from different cities and discount tickets packages (10-game, 15-game plans) for people outside the immediate metropolitan area. It's possible, but it would be a whole lot easier if they can start winning some games soon.


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## oksportsguy (Jul 12, 2008)

RollWithEm said:


> They'll have to get creative. They will need to offer shuttle buses from different cities and discount tickets packages (10-game, 15-game plans) for people outside the immediate metropolitan area. It's possible, but it would be a whole lot easier if they can start winning some games soon.


Said they would come out with game packages. Buses from Wichita, Kansas might work, people within OK will just drive, not much for buses. If gas gets over $4 here, that might start to change. Like said in OK driving is not a problem, every thing is so spread out, we don't mind the drive.


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## Tmac235 (Jun 23, 2008)

> The bottom line is that when a team moves from a city with metropolitan area population of 4.04 mil to a city with metro area pop of 1.26 mil, they are eventually going to have trouble filling the seats.


Couldn't be more agree...


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## Hallway (Jul 13, 2008)

RollWithEm said:


> The bottom line is that when a team moves from a city with metropolitan area population of 4.04 mil to a city with metro area pop of 1.26 mil, they are eventually going to have trouble filling the seats.


Metro, maybe. However, Oklahoma City's fan base is around six million. You must include the entire state of Oklahoma, plus areas a bit north of Wichita, around Springfield, Mo, East of Ft. Smith, into New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, and possibly most of the "panhandle" (it's not really a panhandle, only Oklahoma and Florida have true "panhandles") of Texas.:smoothcriminal:


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## Entity (Feb 21, 2005)

Hallway said:


> Metro, maybe. However, Oklahoma City's fan base is around six million. You must include the entire state of Oklahoma, plus areas a bit north of Wichita, around Springfield, Mo, East of Ft. Smith, into New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, and possibly most of the "panhandle" (it's not really a panhandle, only Oklahoma and Florida have true "panhandles") of Texas.:smoothcriminal:


Southeast Colorado might be a bit of a stretch, since no part of that state is closer to Oklahoma City than they are to Denver by road or air. Having lived in Arizona, I can't imagine New Mexico would fall in with Oklahoma over any other southwest team. That's not to say there won't be some fans in those places, but probably far less than the teams that are closer to their regions.


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## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

And don't forget that basketball fans in those areas are already fans of teams, and generally speaking, more success teams. OKC is going to have to do something pretty spectacular to take over the Suns, Nuggets, Mavs, Spurs, or Rockets.

If they want any shot at competing in regions outside of oklahoma, they are going to need to get local TV contracts and that is no small task


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

what some people here are saying sounds good in theory, but 1 fan in seattle does not = 1 fan in oklahoma (or any other fan based on geographical region). there are many other factors that determine fanship. 

oklahoma doesn't seem to have many (or any) other pro sports teams which means more focus to the thunder. they have college basketball or football, but i can't really think of anything else. it's not really known as an entertainment hub either, which means people there have less alternatives.

when you think about the best fans in the NBA, you would probably think of teams like... the sacramento kings, utah jazz, or maybe the warriors. how many people do you think live in sacramento/salt lake city?

i've driven by oklahoma... and let me tell you, IT'S BORING as hell.


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## Showtime87 (Jun 27, 2005)

I don't think they'll have any problem at all attracting new fans. Just look at the incredible support the Hornets got from the people of OKC, and they were only a "rental" franchise. I'm sure the people living there will be even more excited now that they finally have their own team, even if it does have a terrible nickname.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

16,000 people already requested season tickets!

link


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