Changes to Oklahoma City from the Thunder Sports Team

Ever since the Thunder has been established in Oklahoma City, the state has gone through many different changes that has bettered the well being. When one thinks about the impacts of major sports teams, the first thing to come to mind is the amount of money that the franchise raises. Overall, the impact of the Thunder has been a positive one; through supporting families and individuals in need by spreading faith, bringing more media exposure to Oklahoma, making the city more known and by bringing in more money for jobs and for the economy.

In 2008, the Seattle Super Sonics relocated to Oklahoma City and now are known as the Thunder. While in Seattle, the team was not very successful and the owner had some disputes with the city and contracts which lead the sports council in Oklahoma City to inquire about hosting the team. The Thunder had a rough start when they first came into Oklahoma but after the first two year, they have progressed and became a dominant team. Over the years, the Thunder has built up a huge fan base in Oklahoma, who supports them through each battle because the Thunder has shown much appreciation through their actions.

“When you combine the Thunder with the arts and parks and other stuff we have, then it’s a complete package, if you want to be relevant to the pop culture of America, a city has to have a major league franchise” (Mecoy). When one asks, “What is there to do in Oklahoma?” the majority of people will answer, “Go to a Thunder game!”. In this quote said by an economist, Mark Snead, mentions this impact the Thunder has had, “We do not have mountains. We don’t have a coastline. We don’t have a ski resort. It’s one of those components that now make Oklahoma City completely in a different category” (Mec...

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...h the money raised for the games(Thunder Economic Impact). The Thunder may bring in a high amount of money but the total cost it is to host the game is not always calculated when finding the income. The benefits of having a major sports franchise may be exaggerated but it is obvious on how big the Thunder impacts Oklahoma.

After experiencing the many changes that downtown Oklahoma City has gone through, it is easy to say that the Oklahoma City Thunder establishment has played a huge role in making it all happen. If one compares the condition that Oklahoma is in now to the condition it was in 8 years ago, major differences will be shown, because of the involvement of the Thunder. Oklahoma is now on the map with much recognition from the Thunder and also the state is a better community, spreading joy and friendliness because of the involvement the Thunder has put in.