OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Full of hopes, dreams and potential, Oklahoma City built a 20,000-seat arena without a major-league team to call its own.
It wasn't quite ''Field of Dreams.'' No cornfield was cleared to make way for the Ford Center in June 2002. But there was no sign of the NBA or the NHL, either.
Three years later, the gamble paid off. The city now has its first chance in its 116-year history to host a major sports franchise. The $89 million US arena will host 35 home games for the New Orleans Hornets, who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
For Oklahoma City, the NBA's temporary visit provides a long-desired chance to prove it's ready for the big time.
''This is going to be the biggest thing that's come into town for a long time, I promise,'' Oklahoma City resident Greg Mullin said Thursday after visiting the box office at the Ford Center to inquire about Hornets tickets.
There's no question that Oklahoma supports its college teams. More than 80,000 fans pile into Memorial Stadium to watch the Sooners play football, and Oklahoma State's Gallagher-Iba Arena is so packed when the Cowboys play that the arena shakes from the noise produced by the 13,611 rowdy basketball fans inside.
Oklahoma City has already proven it can handle the minor leagues, too. The Blazers have led the Central Hockey League in attendance each of the last 13 seasons and have been the top drawing minor-league hockey team in North America three of those years. The Oklahoma RedHawks, the triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, set an attendance record this season.
In the first two days of season-ticket availability, the Hornets received commitments for 5,000 season tickets to the 35 games scheduled in Oklahoma city, team officials said Thursday.
And if nothing else, there are plenty of sports fans to go around.
According to this year's Scarborough Adult Study, a higher percentage of adults read the sports section in Oklahoma City (48) than in New Orleans (47), Salt Lake City (45), Sacramento (44), San Antonio (43), Portland (42) or Memphis (41). Oklahoma City also ranks higher than all those NBA markets in the percentage of adults who go online to read about sports, according to the study.
At Wednesday's announcement, NBA lawyer Joel Litvin said Oklahoma City fits a mold that has been successful around the league: a mid-sized city with no other major sports franchises. The league has placed teams in Western cities, including San Antonio, Salt Lake City and Sacramento, and all have thrived.
Even the Hornets' original home suggests Oklahoma City could have success. Charlotte also had a metropolitan population of about one million when the Hornets came to town in 1988 and still led the league in attendance the team's first eight seasons. Through continued growth, the city eventually earned an NFL franchise, the Carolina Panthers.
Oklahoma City businessman Clayton Bennett, who leads a group of investors who have agreed to split a $10 million revenue guarantee if the Hornets fall short of their goals, said citizens realize that this is a golden opportunity for the city and take it seriously.
''To be recognized in the same category as these other great American cities that are also major-league instantly identifies our market and gives credibility to our market,'' said Bennett, chairman of Dorchester Capital.
Image is an important piece of the puzzle for Oklahoma City. A few years back, a research study showed that outsiders view the state as a sparsely populated area where little happens. Before approving the deal with the Hornets, city councillors noted that it will show the world there's more to Oklahoma than ''The Grapes of Wrath'' and the 1995 bombing that killed 168.
Bennett said he believes the NBA will help change Oklahoma City's image and show the world that the city is a vibrant, growing community and an important marketplace.
''It says, even to those not interested in sports, we are on another platform,'' Bennett said. ''We are on a recognized national platform in terms of the notion that to be selected by the league - a very sophisticated and smart business operation - as a market that can support a franchise, it says a lot about who we are.''
Should Oklahoma City show that it truly is a big-league city, it's still unclear how it might be rewarded. Litvin said there aren't any NBA teams that are looking to relocate and the league isn't considering expansion.
The Hornets have an option to play a second season in Oklahoma City if it's not possible or not financially viable to go back to New Orleans. But eventually, the plan calls for a return to New Orleans. Oklahoma City is guaranteed only a 35-game audition.