The SemGroup Brief

[Grey Goose]

Has anyone seen an email going around called The SemGroup Brief or something like that?  If so could you please post it.  It supposedly draws a connection to last weeks events with SemGroup to both the financing of Driller's stadium and to the Great Plains Airlines settlement.  I would be interested in reading it.  I heard from a friend that it was going around.  Thanks!  

[RecycleMichael]

What a conspiracy theory.

I heard it has something to do with the OKC basketball team and Sonic discontinuing 99 cent milkshakes.

[FOTD]

Goosie.....don't go postin' what yu don't know.

"I see you've got your list out
Say your piece and get out
Yes I get the gist of it
but it's all right


Sorry that you feel that way
The only thing there is to say
Every silver lining's got a
Touch of grey"
Garcia/Hunter

[Bat Bat]

The SemGroup Brief

SemGroup Downfall May Be At The Center Of Mayor's Recent Actions

What did the Mayor know about SemGroup's collapse and when and what actions did she take as a result?  Why did the Mayor in a veil of secrecy agree to have the City added to a four plus year old lawsuit so the City could pay the Bank of Oklahoma the full value of a loan gone bad for which the City was under no obligation to pay?  Why settle for the full value of $7.1 million?  Why now?  Why did the Mayor push to have the City Council approve the new downtown ball park on July 10, 2008?  Why could the decision not have been deferred a week until July 17, 2008 as a number of City Councilors suggested?  Why was the contribution amount of each donor for the new downtown ball park not made public prior to the City Council vote on July 10, 2008?  Why was the exclusive period with the Drillers extended the day before the public became aware of the SemGroup demise?

The answer may be that Mayor knew that SemGroup was coming unraveled, that she knew SemGroup had committed a little over $7 million to the construction of the downtown ball park, that knew that SemGroup would not be able to live up to such commitment and that such fact would be made public by the middle of this past week (prior to the July 17, 2008 City Council meeting), that she knew that she needed to get the financing mechanism for the ball park approved by the City Council before SemGroup's demise became public, and that she knew that she needed to find someone to step-in and pick-up SemGroup's commitment.  While the last leg of this answer has yet to be fulfilled, it could easily be foreseen that the Bank of Oklahoma may step-up and assume SemGroup's approximate $7 million ball park commitment albeit with $7.1 million in taxpayer's money.

Far fetched?  Hardly, considering how obsessive the Mayor is with downtown revitalization and her own political legacy, how much time and effort the Mayor and other officers and directors of the Bank of Oklahoma have invested in building a ball park downtown, that the Bank of Oklahoma carried a substantial portion of SemGroup's debt and was in a position to know of SemGroup's liquidity problems far in advance of the public, that SemGroup's CEO served on the Board of Directors of Bank of Oklahoma (until this past Wednesday when he resigned, but such fact was not made available to the public until late Friday afternoon), that such public company Board resignations do not happen over a period of a day or two but are often well thought out and planned (usually months in advance) by the company and the remainder of the Board, that SemGroup's CEO serves on the Mayor's advisory committee, and that the Mayor was a former Board member of the Bank of Oklahoma.

[Bat Bat]

Regardless of whether or not this theory is true, there are definitely questions that need to be answered.  Who is stepping into SemGroup's shoes for its donation to Driller's stadium?  The Bank of Oklahoma?  The taxpayers?  The property owners within the IDL?  How does the final agreement between the city and the Drillers provide for contingencies such as a donor failing to make their contribution?  The bottom line is that we don't want this to become another Great Plains Airlines where the taxpayers are left holding the bag.

[RecycleMichael]

Before the vote was taken, the list of donors was released.

Sem Group was not listed.

[Bat Bat]

As reported in the Tulsa World on the 19th:

SemGroup is also a major donor for a proposed downtown ballpark project that includes a multipurpose stadium to house the Tulsa Drillers, the city's Double-A baseball team.

Kivisto and SemGroup had discussed but not committed to a $7.5 million contribution and naming rights for the stadium, said Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor.

[RecycleMichael]

The World story also says that there are over 20 donors who have committed the 30 million.

I think it is like the arena. The naming rights are still up for sale, but the construction costs are covered.

[FOTD]

Battie.....fly away.

[RecycleMichael]

Who wanted the baseball stadium to be called SemGroup Ballpark?

SemGroup sounds more like a Vegas act than a place to play sports.

[Conan71]

Is "Bat Bat" for moonbat or guano?

Actually RM, I had pretty much figured SEM would be the shoo-in for naming rights.  I don't think they will now.

The rest of that "brief" is pretty speculative.  Did the TW article mention any specific financial commitment SEM had made to the stadium?  

[RecycleMichael]

I wish we could avoid selling the naming rights for once. I would like "Tulsa Park" or the "BallPark on Greenwood" or something simpler "Drillers Park".

I guess if you are going to sell rights, why stop there?

First base brought to you by First Baptist...right field sponsored by the Young Republicans...that fly ball comes courtesy of American Airlines...

This umpire wears a bumper sticker promoting a re-election of a judge, that pitcher sponsored by Brita, even home plate is sponsored by a local realtor.

[Friendly Bear]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

I wish we could avoid selling the naming rights for once. I would like "Tulsa Park" or the "BallPark on Greenwood" or something simpler "Drillers Park".

I guess if you are going to sell rights, why stop there?

First base brought to you by First Baptist...right field sponsored by the Young Republicans...that fly ball comes courtesy of American Airlines...

This umpire wears a bumper sticker promoting a re-election of a judge, that pitcher sponsored by Brita, even home plate is sponsored by a local realtor.

But Selling the Naming Rights is for such a good cause.....

It's For the Children.

[]

[RecycleMichael]

The cleanup hitter is sponsored by Merry-Maids, the seventh inning stretch sponsored by a local chiropractor, and every triple is brought to you by AAA.

Oh look, the outfield grass and the foul lines are sponsored by Oz and the pitching mound by Southern Hills.

The bat boy wears a uniform with an ad for Batman's convenience store and the bull mascot wears patches that say Inteller and DoubleA.

[Friendly Bear]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

The cleanup hitter is sponsored by Merry-Maids, the seventh inning stretch sponsored by a local chiropractor, and every triple is brought to you by AAA.

Oh look, the outfield grass and the foul lines are sponsored by Oz and the pitching mound by Southern Hills.

The bat boy wears a uniform with an ad for Batman's convenience store and the bull mascot wears patches that say Inteller and DoubleA.

The poster boy of BAD Corporate sponsorship is the otherwise very fine Hardesty Regional Library.

Nice library.  Beautiful architecture.  Very generous gift of Hardesty.

However, with all the naming rights to everything but the bathroom urinals sold to Sponsors, I feel I'm walking around in a Commercial Advertisement.