Investors Make Official Request To Bring WNBA Franchise To Tulsa

Tulsa Pro Hoops LLC Thursday "made an official request" to the WNBA in an attempt to bring a franchise to the city, according to sources cited by Lynn Jacobsen of the TULSA WORLD. The investor group, led by Oklahoma City businessman Bill Cameron, "elected to exercise its option to purchase membership in the WNBA." The league is "expected to vote on the request by the end of the month." But the vote "appears to be more of a formality," as WNBA President Donna Orender in recent months "has made several trips to Tulsa in an effort to help the investment group secure additional sponsors through suites and ticket sales" (TULSA WORLD, 10/16). Cameron said that the goal is to "have a team in Tulsa for the 2010 season." He added his group "didn't want to make the application 'until we felt we were at the point where we could make a credible presentation.'" Cameron: "We've still got plenty of stuff to do but there is a sense of accomplishment. We feel good about where we are." The team plans to play at BOK Center in downtown Tulsa (AP, 10/15). Former college basketball coach Nolan Richardson is slated to serve as the franchise's GM & coach, and Greater Tulsa Reporter newspapers Publisher Forrest Cameron said that Richardson is "involved with a group that is trying to bring the Shock or another team" to the city. It has yet to be determined whether Tulsa would receive an expansion or relocated WNBA franchise. Shock and Palace Sports & Entertainment officials did not comment on the situation (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 10/16).

SHOOTING STARS: SI's Kelli Anderson writes this season's WNBA Finals was "what every sport's championship series aims to be." Orender sees the presence of Colts QB Peyton Manning and NFL Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald at Finals games, a "third consecutive season of higher leaguewide attendance and a second straight year of increased TV ratings as evidence that the WNBA is on a roll." Orender: "We have a chance to ride this wave of enthusiasm, so we have to go out and proselytize" (SI, 10/19 issue).

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