38 AMERICANWAY
FEBRUARY 15 2009
A R E N A S
formore thanadecadehasbeen theSpurs, a
franchise thathaswon four titlessince1999.
Presti joined theSpurs’ front officeas an in-
tern andwaswith the teamwhen itwon its
last three championships.He’s now respon-
sible for establishing a new tradition and
creatingabrandname inOklahomaCity.
“Wehave to try tobuild thebest teamwe
can,” he says. “It doesn’tmean you follow a
model, like there isPortlandorUtahorSan
Antonio.We have to find our ownway and
developour team.”
The Thunder arrived in Oklahoma City
viaSeattleaftervoters in thatPacificNorth-
west city rejected a proposal to build the
Sonicsanewarena.TheSonics’ 41-yearhis-
tory came to an end when chairman Clay
Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman,
reached a settlement with the city tomove
the team in exchange for$45million.
Itwasabittersweetdivorce forthe league,
which is not ruling out the possibility of
having another team relocate to Seattle —
but only if a new arena is built. There are
also some concerns as to whether Seattle
can support threemajor sports teams.
In Oklahoma City, the Thunder are the
state’sfirstandonlymajorteam,andthecity
looks to be up to the task of hosting them.
NBA jerseys are the new fashion accessory
in town.Outside theColcordHotel and the
SkirvinHilton, you’ll find autograph seek-
ers hoping to bump into the Lakers’ Kobe
Bryant or thePhoenixSuns’ SteveNash.
If you’re looking to kill a few hours be-
fore thegame, checkout theOklahomaCity
MuseumofArt and theNational Cowboy&
Western Heritage Museum. The pregame
crowds gather at Bricktown Brewery and
Chelino’s Mexican Restaurant, which are
just a jump shot from the arena. There is
evenaMickeyMantle’sSteakhouse,nottobe
confusedwith theMantelWineBar&Bistro
across the street nor withMickey Mantle’s
onCentral ParkSouth inManhattan.
Folks in Oklahoma City seem to have a
good sense of where they came from and
where they’re going. If there was ever any
doubt, Stern settled it onceand forallwhen
he addressed the sold-out crowd on open-
ing night: “Welcome to the National Bas-
ketballAssociation.”
Gameon.
AW
FRANk IsolA
is theNBAbeatwriter and columnist for the
New
YorkDailyNews
.
FamilyCrest
$790
Monogram
$590
Numeros
TM
AnniversaryDate
in romannumerals!
December 11, 1998 is
XII XI MCMXCVIII
$650& $4,400
Jewelry forLife
TM
ForYourMilestones
Chain&OneBar $590
Continuous Life
TM
Children's
Names&Birthsones
(up to 5 names) $590& $225
FREECATALOGUE RINGBOX.COM 1.888.646.6466
ViewOurEntire CollectionOnline.
Available in sterling silver, platanium™, gold& platinum
join the j
c club online and receive a
$25 gift card!
3Day
Rush
available
