Public or Private Financing for NBA in Oklahoma City: Who Should Foot the Bill?

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For two seasons, Oklahoma City was the temporary home for the New Orleans Hornets NBA basketball team due to the damage sustained by New Orleans during hurricane Katrina.  During their time in OKC, the city embraced them, and sold-out games were the rule, rather than the exception.  (GO HORNETS!)  Now that the Hornets have returned to New Orleans, OKC looks to be the likely new home for the current Seattle Supersonics, as they have been purchased by investors from the metro area.  If Seattle continues to refuse to build a new state-of-the-art arena for the team, it will apply to relocate to Oklahoma City.

With this opportunity to have our own permanent NBA team, rather than one "on loan" for a while, the city and its citizens are faced with a decision.  We are being asked to finance improvements to our own arena, the Ford Center, to make it more attractive to the NBA.  It is proposed that the improvements be financed through a temporary sales tax of 1%, which would, of course, be paid by all citizens, whether they attend basketball games or not.

Those that oppose the financing arrangement cite the fact that the money could be used for other purposes, such as upgrading of streets and transportation, which would be of greater benefit to the citizenry in general.  They also feel it is unfair for those who do not attend the games or have interest in them to be asked to help finance a private business enterprise for wealthy club owners, and think it places a financial burden on those with limited incomes.  There is also the concern that in another ten years, we too would be facing building of a new arena or losing our team to yet some new venue eager for NBA status.  Those with these concerns favor private financing or possibly charging a sur-tax on tickets so that those who reap the benefits of the improvements are the ones who pay for them.

The mayor and those who support the idea of public financing cite the fact that the NBA presence would have a significant impact on the way others perceive our city, attracting more new businesses and improving the economy for all of us.

Good arguments on both sides!  Do any of you have experience with similar situations in your locales?  What is your opinion?

Oklahoma City Ford Center Website