Drillers Attendance - ONEOK Field

[DowntownDan]

According to this article, the Pacific Coast League is looking at a Houston suburb for placing a Triple-A team.  Do the Drillers seriously just have zero interest in even trying to make the jump?  If Tulsa is going to continue to grow and prosper, doesn't it make sense to try and fit ourselves at least in this area with bigger cities?  Texas League is fine and I enjoy the history of it, but we are competing against small towns and suburbs.  I'd like to play with teams in Vegas, New Orleans, and Memphis as opposed to Midland and Frisco.  TL just seems much more small time for our city.  Plus the rivalry with OKC is a natural fit. 

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=203&articleid=20120629_203_B1_CUTLIN822968&allcom=1#3046164

[erfalf]

From an economic development perspective, is having a AAA team more beneficial than a AA ball club.

From a talent and skill perspective, it is my opinion that AA is generally where you are going to see the best talent, I'll be it less developed. But double A is where the real future stars make lengthy stops in the minors. Previous posters are correct to generalize AAA as a league dominated by players that at best will play bit roles on the Big Club.

From a city benefit perspective, I don't really see that much of a difference. I doubt tickets are any more expensive just because it is a AAA game. According to statistics given by a previous poster, Tulsa would fall somewhere near the middle of the pack in ticket sales if they were compared to AAA ticket sales. So it isn't holding ticket sales back. So in effect we have comparitive ticket sales and actual butts in the seats as many AAA teams without the AAA titles. So what would be the benefit to Tulsa in getting a AAA team.

I used to think the city was kind of being shortsighted in building a stadium as small as they did, but now I certainly think they made a wiser decision. Smaller, higher amenity stadium was definitely the way to go.

I really don't think this is just me accepting that Tulsa will never be a big league city. But in this instance (baseball) Tulsa is nowhere near the size necessary to support an MLB franchise, therefore I think the Drillers are the best possible alternative.

[dbacks fan]

The Tulsa Oilers/Drillers has be a staple for almost the history of Tulsa. They left Tulsa in 1976 because the ball park was falling apart, so A. Ray Smith moved the team to New Orleans. (My earliest baseball memories were at that park) Tulsa acquired a team from Lafayette, LA which bcame the Drillers. Tulsa was always a great place for a farm team for the majors as noted by the players they have had as either new players, rehab players, and some in the twilight of their careers.

I just think that the ownership is not in a hurry to change with the new ball park, and risking the cost of travel expenses to be in another league. Kind of "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it."

The Oilers Hockey team was steady for a number of years, but expansion of the league in the late 70's and into the 80's proved too much because the league expanded further than the teams expenses for travel could allow. It became no longer a bus trip, they had to charter flights and it sank the CHL. I also have a huge dislike for the Miron family, because in 1979 or 1980 Ray Miron started ordering skates, equipment, and sticks, and billing them to the store my parents owned at the time, telling Bauer, CCM, Sherwood, Northland, JOFA, and others that he had a contract with us to supply the Oilers with all their gear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_Oilers_(baseball)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_Drillers

[sauerkraut]

Looks like a winner to me...

[dbacks fan]

Looks like a winner to me...

Lindsay Lohan is a winner to you.

[Townsend]

Lindsay Lohan is a winner to you.

[Hoss]

What did the five fingers say to the face?

[Laramie]

AAA baseball in Oklahoma City is doing average considering the promotional efforts; you get what you invest into the team.  We have consistently average around 5,000 to 5,500 since opening "The Brick."  NBA basketball has taken center stage and our hockey attendance in AHL (AAA) has been somewhere in the neighorhood of 4,000. 

Our Oklahoma City Thunder have average approximately 18,200 per game since the team relocated here from Seattle.    The NBA is the 'hottest ticket' around here vs. minor league sports like the AFL2 (now defunct), AHL (hockey) and PCL (baseball).

Oklahoma has two of the best minor league baseball staduims in the country:

OneOK Field:  http://www.milb.com/team1/page.jsp?ymd=20100513&content_id=10020610&vkey=team1_t260&fext=.jsp&sid=t260

Bricktown Ballpark:  http://www.google.com/search?q=bricktown+ballpark&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=GJ9GUPuZM6Pg2QXy6YDQBw&sqi=2&ved=0CEkQsAQ&biw=819&bih=471