“I do really applaud Mayor Holt’s vision, because I think his vision is not necessarily a vision of the Thunder, it’s a vision for Oklahoma City.”
The biggest offseason storyline surrounding the Oklahoma City Thunder has happened off the court.
After initially bringing up the need for a new arena last summer, OKC Mayor David Holt accelerated the process this offseason when he announced a fully-detailed proposal and a funding plan that will basically be put to city voters on Dec. 12.
In his 2023-24 preseason media conference, Thunder general manager Sam Prestipresti officially talked about the arena proposal for the first time since it was announced.
Being essentially the face of the franchise since the Thunder relocated in 2008, Presti is often linked with the organization through the public eye.
In his comments, Presti applauded the collaborative effort between the Thunder ownership and OKC to get a new arena built to secure the long-term future of the franchise.
“Again, like one thing that I’m — first of all, I’m biased. I can’t hide that. So I don’t even know that my opinion is like that valid in this case.
I would say this: It’s like a political component — it’s a political issue. I’m not a politician. I don’t want to say anything that could be misinterpreted because I’m out of my depth on that kind of stuff, and I’m happy to admit it.
Warren Buffett says we have a circle of competence. This is very far outside my circle of competence.
Other than to say that I think the history of the city and the team working together is a very unique one, and I do really applaud Mayor Holt’s vision, because I think his vision is not necessarily a vision of the Thunder, it’s a vision for Oklahoma City, and I think like the way he’s expressed that in a very proactive way, I think he’s done a good job of articulating that.
But I’m also a huge believer that everyone’s voice matters, and the people will vote on this, and that’s the way it should be, and there should be discourse because I think that’s healthy.
We live in a world where if somebody has a different opinion than you, you tend to just assume that you disagree with them on everything and that they’re wrong. In reality, the discourse is what makes things healthy, but ultimately it will be decided by the community, and I think they’ve done that for years here. It’s how they’ve built the city, and they’ll do it again.
Obviously we’ll see where that lands us.”
The negotiation process between OKC and Thunder ownership on a new arena puts Presti in a tough position because he only deals with the basketball operations, but he gave a great answer for a delicate situation.
If voters approve their part of the funding plan in December, it will mark a significant milestone that secures the new arena scheduled to open by the 2029-30 season.
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