71%. This is not quite the Thunder's winning percentage this season (68%, 15 victories for 7 defeats) but rather the result of the vote of the inhabitants of Oklahoma City on the construction of the new hall.
However, it was a question of validating the increase in local “dirty taxes”, a sort of VAT, over six years, in order to raise 850 million dollars. Enough to finance 90% of the new room, which will replace the small Paycom Center. For his part, the owner of the franchise, Clay Bennett, will only take $50 million out of his pocket.
“Today it was OKC against the world, and we won”, assured David Holtthe mayor of Oklahoma City. “We have told the nation and the world that Oklahoma City is and will remain a premier city. »
Even though many residents were worried about the effort required of the local population to maintain the franchise, the fear of losing the Thunder was ultimately the strongest. The club plans to integrate its new venue in 2029, promising to play there for 25 years thereafter. Oklahoma City should therefore remain an NBA city until 2054, at least.
“I didn't grow up in a town that had an NBA team, and I would have been devastated to see you kids growing up in a town that lost an NBA team.”continued the councilor to applause. “We were so used to playing teams from Amarillo and Wichita, and now we're on the field with New York and Los Angeles. It just changes the way we see ourselves, and it's still surreal. When I go to a game, I still pinch myself to believe that it's really happening, and I never want to lose that feeling. But I know it's fragile. »
Especially with Clay Bennett, the businessman at the head of the Thunder, who bought and then immediately moved the SuperSonics from Seattle to Oklahoma City, in 2007… because the “Emerald City” had refused to grant him 500 million dollars in public funds for the construction of a new hall.
