I want the Clippers new arena to 150% be the arena model the city uses.
As long as we’re talking percentages we should talk about the fact that Intuit Dome was built for 222% of the base budget of the new OKC arena.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/02/Clippers_Arena.jpg
Broke ground - September 17, 2021 - Construction cost $2 billion
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Intuit_Dome_under_construction_October_2023_from_t he_southwest.jpg/800px-Intuit_Dome_under_construction_October_2023_from_t he_southwest.jpg



https://youtu.be/jIzk1VuV5Cs

Not a fan of this design for an arena in OKC (looks like a pill bug); however, I'm sure it is a perfect fit for California. This arena as Urbanized points out is 222% ($2 billion) compared to our arena budget of $900 million. Look for the new OKC downtown arena to be just as competitive as the Intuit Dome.

Welcome to Thunderdome . . .

As long as we’re talking percentages we should talk about the fact that Intuit Dome was built for 222% of the base budget of the new OKC arena.

Don’t worry, I’ll go through my pockets to find the difference.

I wouldn't care what it looked like, if I wasn't paying. If the Clippers owner wants that gaudy thing, it's his money.

Anybody know how much of the Clippers new arena cost is for land acquisition? That has to be a significant portion of the cost, right? OKC is essentially saving money by utilizing land they already own.

Anybody know how much of the Clippers new arena cost is for land acquisition? That has to be a significant portion of the cost, right? OKC is essentially saving money by utilizing land they already own.

The land cost was 'only' about $66 million.

One of the biggest costs is making the entire facility 100% carbon neutral.

OKC may be free but there is a structure on the site that needs to be removed. Probably not overall cost in OKC's favor by comparison; unless they can knock the myriad down by a few $10 million.

The land cost was 'only' about $66 million.

One of the biggest costs is making the entire facility 100% carbon neutral.

He also had to buy The Forum for $400MM to end the lawsuit with MSG/ James Dolan. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/clippers-owner-steve-ballmer-completes-purchase-of-the-forum-in-inglewood-from-madison-square-garden/

Ours and LA's aren't really comparable for a multitude of reasons.

The land cost was 'only' about $66 million.

One of the biggest costs is making the entire facility 100% carbon neutral.

There's also tons of stories floating around about Ballmer visiting the site 2-3X a week, and making changes he wants to the original plan. That obviously incurs large and consistent change orders. The guy is worth $125 BILLION. $2.2 or $2.3 or $2.4 for his new arena is a rounding error. It's a fun hobby to him.

Here's some more on Clips. It's pretty fascinating what Ballmer is doing. OKC just isn't in a position to do it. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/02/19/facilities

The city will own and maintain the new arena, which is expected to be at least 750,000 square feet. The agreement also includes a new parking garage onsite with at least 650 spaces.


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oWtAjUBlco8/sddefault.jpg

Will the city be able to salvage the 950 parking spaces underneath the current PSM (Old Myriad) site. Hope they can reinforce the underground parking and build the arena over the 4 square block site. That would put 1,600 parking spaces on site which also serves the OKC Convention Center and Omni Hotel; they also use the 1,106 new convention center parking garage. Total 2,706 spaces in walking distance not counting the nearby parking for several hotels like the Sheraton.

i would LOVE it if the city could salvage some or all of the underground parking and build a garage or two above with towers on top of that. ...

that decision has already been made

Nothing definite . . . Listen to this video below ('There no reason to make that decision today . . . '):



https://youtu.be/-2c2s_S3ROM?list=RDNS-2c2s_S3ROM

The flexibility in scheduling you could have using two arenas, example: The OKC Blue could use the Paycom Center when the new arena isn't available. You will have an extra arena available if an event at the CC needed a large arena without interrupting the NBA. Also, PBR events too large for the new State Fair Coliseum could be staged there.

Same with concerts held during NBA games; those could be staged at Paycom Center. OKC could lure all kinds of
events like the FFA 10,000 attendees who wanted a longer lease with the Paycom Center. Currently using BOK Center in Tulsa--FFA wanted a central location to benefit its members. IMO you could build dates for both arenas over time.

No it hasn't . . . Listen to this video in the link below ('There no reason to make that decision today . . . '):



https://youtu.be/-2c2s_S3ROM?list=RDNS-2c2s_S3ROM




It will be knocked down. It’s been decided.

The comment in the video is a public position.

I got a kick out of one of the comments on KFOR's website. "The new arena will be so much more central to everything". It's right across the freaking street from the old one.

I got a kick out of one of the comments on KFOR's website. "The new arena will be so much more central to everything". It's right across the freaking street from the old one.

Well, they’re not totally wrong because there’s one huge barrier isolating Paycom from the rest of downtown: the Cox Convention Center. Tearing that down is going to make a huge difference in how it connects to Bricktown and the CBD.

Would love to see the new arena up and ready to welcome the team in August of 2028. There's lots of room for the new 650 space parking garage and more.

The Zoo Aquarian could also be apart of the new arena development--adding a tourist attraction DT would be awesome.

Well, they’re not totally wrong because there’s one huge barrier isolating Paycom from the rest of downtown: the Cox Convention Center. Tearing that down is going to make a huge difference in how it connects to Bricktown and the CBD.
They both connect to Bricktown via going under the railway bridge on Reno. No difference at all. Zero.
Downtown yeah. But I don't see a lot of people leaving games at 10 or 11 at night heading for downtown.

They both connect to Bricktown via going under the railway bridge on Reno. No difference at all. Zero.
Downtown yeah. But I don't see a lot of people leaving games at 10 or 11 at night heading for downtown.

I disagree for the reasons I already stated. Currently, the arena has a giant deadzone north of it. That won’t be the case with the new one. It’ll be a big difference in connectivity.

A part of me is already expecting a developer to try to build a parking garage on the current Paycom Center site...

A part of me is already expecting a developer to try to build a parking garage on the current Paycom Center site...

Not a garage, just a surface lot........

Not a garage, just a surface lot........

And our illustrious city council allowing it fully.

Keep the Paycom Center Arena alive as long as possible, a surface lot is the last thing you want to see replace this arena.

Keep the Paycom Center Arena alive as long as possible, a surface lot is the last thing you want to see replace this arena.

There will be an RFP redevelop it. That lot won’t sit long.

There will be an RFP redevelop it. That lot won’t sit long.

We did say the same thing about the lots available for development around Scissortail Park, and we have a lot of empty, undeveloped land around it.

Hope you are right, though.

We did say the same thing about the lots available for development around Scissortail Park, and we have a lot of empty, undeveloped land around it.

Hope you are right, though.

Completely different situation and location. This is the lot between all of downtown, the new billion dollar arena and the Omni, the convention center and the park. Not a bunch of lots in a mostly empty part of town next to the park. It will also not be privately own like the RHECO lots before anyone tries to use those as an example.

Completely different situation and location. This is the lot between all of downtown, the new billion dollar arena and the Omni, the convention center and the park. Not a bunch of lots in a mostly empty part of town next to the park. It will also not be privately own like the RHECO lots before anyone tries to use those as an example.

The city will likely have OCURA put it up for bid, which is where I fear the cronyism will come in. On a key lot like this, it truly could be devastating if a Mazaheri gets to "develop" it. Same with his Goodwill lot, amirite.

The city will likely have OCURA put it up for bid, which is where I fear the cronyism will come in. On a key lot like this, it truly could be devastating if a Mazaheri gets to "develop" it. Same with his Goodwill lot, amirite.
God I hope not…

Not a garage, just a surface lot........

Hopefully it isn't sold to Fred Mazaheri...

There's always a risk but its not everyday where the city sells back property. 99.9% of those empty lots/parking lots have always been private property. Its not going up for 'auction'.

If Matteson is a real entity that could build actually Boardwalk, why not offer that land to him and cut Hogan out of the picture?? A development of that type seems to make more sense on the west side of the BNSF viaduct. BUT - an absolute metric ton a due diligence would be necessary to verify the funding is really in place.

If Matteson is a real entity that could build actually Boardwalk, why not offer that land to him and cut Hogan out of the picture?? A development of that type seems to make more sense on the west side of the BNSF viaduct. BUT - an absolute metric ton a due diligence would be necessary to verify the funding is really in place.

We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Luckily we will know if Matteson is full of it or not before the city makes a decision on the former arena site.

We all remember the "Make Dallas and Kansas City jealous development' by an Oklahoman writer. It turned out to be a massive housing village IIRC.

Something like the Legends Tower would shock the skyline--it would be a tourist attraction (I-40/I-35 traffic corridor) with an observation deck that would rival many space towers and needles. Tourists would stop in OKC just to tour the tallest tower in the U.S.

Agree, until we see the 'money' there isn't anything to get excited about.

If Matteson is a real entity that could build actually Boardwalk, why not offer that land to him and cut Hogan out of the picture?? A development of that type seems to make more sense on the west side of the BNSF viaduct. BUT - an absolute metric ton a due diligence would be necessary to verify the funding is really in place.

Personally, Hogan is what bring some sort of reality to the Boardwalk development, not Matteson. As Pete has noted in past posts, there are lot of things he said he did and really he had little or no involvement or he had involvement, then he didn't and the development was completed. Just my two cents.

Back to the subject at hand, if what was said is true and 60,000 sf of the site would be use for mass transit on the east side of the property and a 650 car garage, it will be interesting to see what the layout is like. I feel like the arena should front the Myriad Gardens and then the mass transit to the east, but that would put a 650 space parking garage fronting Reno.

We all remember the "Make Dallas and Kansas City jealous development' by an Oklahoman writer. It turned out to be a massive housing village IIRC.

Something like the Legends Tower would shock the skyline--it would be a tourist attraction (I-40/I-35 traffic corridor) with an observation deck that would rival many space towers and needles. Tourists would stop in OKC just to tour the tallest tower in the U.S.

Agree, until we see the 'money' there isn't anything to get excited about.

I wish there was /s on the post. At least in terms of the whole tourist thing. As someone who has been in many cities where the tallest building in the country / region was located. The whole observation deck thing is a bit over rated and people usually do not go there specifically for it. Actually the development surrounding legends tower would probably be a bigger draw of spending money / things to do than people going to the top of the tower.

You may go to the top and look outside and that’s it…. People may even prefer going to Vast in Devon Tower to grab some overpriced food and enjoying a much better view of the skyline. I have no idea if this tower will get built or not. If it does it’ll be nice but it will not be some massive draw that people think it is. Maybe someone driving through might gamble a little, spend a few hours at the first Americans museum and then snap a pick of Legends Tower and go on their way. I agree with you and everyone else about the money part. I’m gonna go town and NOT go to the top of Guangzhou Tower since I’m about to get off work.

Hopefully EKG gets a makeover from this. The amount of people walking to/from the arena along EKG is already high with current arena location. It is one of the most unwalkable stretches of road in all of downtown.

Hopefully EKG gets a makeover from this. The amount of people walking to/from the arena along EKG is already high with current arena location. It is one of the most unwalkable stretches of road in all of downtown.

There was already a makeover of EKG back in 2017 for the streetcar and to add sidewalks on the CCC side and widen the sidewalks next to the train station. It used to be six lanes and is now four with a middle turn lane. Maybe they will do more of a mid block crossing kind of thing?

If there's a transit hub on one side of the street and Sante Fe station on the other a mid-block crossing would be a sensible enhancement.

If there's a transit hub on one side of the street and Sante Fe station on the other a mid-block crossing would be a sensible enhancement.

A mid-block crossing already exists here immediately north of the entrance to the parking garage under the Cox/Prairie Surf building.

A mid-block crossing already exists here immediately north of the entrance to the parking garage under the Cox/Prairie Surf building.

Geeze, no kidding, And looking on Google Maps it's been there since 2018.

Needs some signaling added, though.

Two pieces of information that are definitely new here and (in my mind) could/should have been included with the original vote:

1. Land allocated to compliment the transit hub. I understand how including this would have been difficult when the site wasn't fully determined, but they could at least have included "A section of the property no less than 10% of the available area and no more than 15% of the available area will be allocated to OKC to develop for programmed public use".

2. PBC having the ability to develop unused land. I'm not sure exactly how this works - if this is right of first refusal or sole rights. That's a huge deal either way, but if it's sole rights, I'd think that throws out the window any opportunity for the city to subsidize a hotel on the site with the Omni (should the Omni want to participate). This site desperately needs a hotel, you could add in additional amenities like player housing, Thunder offices to scale up the size of the building. However you slice it, this site could really use 200+ rooms, especially if PBC/OKC ever wants to vie for an All-Star game.




Are you implying that the use of this land allocated to the transit hub is going to be the Parking Garage or were you just adding that to the list of things?

Meant to reply to this a while ago but Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman wrote a story about all-star game requirements and how far OKC is from hosting. Even with a new hotel near the arena, there is still a long ways to go. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2024/02/21/oklahoma-city-nba-all-star-game-future-mayor-david-holt-okc-thunder/72673926007/

Not that impressed with the NBA All Star Weekend; it would be nice to host such an event because of the economic impact it would have on downtown hotels and promoting OKC. The criteria for hosting an NBA All Star weekend event is enormous.

Build a new arena with nothing less than 18,500 permanent seats that can attract events like NCAA indoor regionals and attract some quality events our city.

Sure our goal is the keep the Thunder in OKC, our city needs to dictate the minimum permanent seating capacity to allow us to bid on a variety of events.

Meant to reply to this a while ago but Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman wrote a story about all-star game requirements and how far OKC is from hosting. Even with a new hotel near the arena, there is still a long ways to go. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2024/02/21/oklahoma-city-nba-all-star-game-future-mayor-david-holt-okc-thunder/72673926007/

I didn’t read Teo’s comment about the pursuit of an ASG being something imminent. Seems they’re just making a case for how PBC might develop the unused land and what might incentivize that.

Meant to reply to this a while ago but Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman wrote a story about all-star game requirements and how far OKC is from hosting. Even with a new hotel near the arena, there is still a long ways to go. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2024/02/21/oklahoma-city-nba-all-star-game-future-mayor-david-holt-okc-thunder/72673926007/

But league sources claimed Thursday that, while the Oklahoman report is true, other more equitable parameters not mentioned in the report can help small-market cities earn bids for the game. According to the sources, those include:

Centralized multi-use entertainment properties to create an NBA campus that can host music, fashion shows, the NBA Crossover fan fest and NBAcon.
An undisclosed number of seats and suites in the primary and secondary arena venues.
A volume of rideshare capabilities so the league can create a modern transportation infrastructure.

Meant to reply to this a while ago but Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman wrote a story about all-star game requirements and how far OKC is from hosting. Even with a new hotel near the arena, there is still a long ways to go. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2024/02/21/oklahoma-city-nba-all-star-game-future-mayor-david-holt-okc-thunder/72673926007/

Absolutely a long way to go, but there are only so many sites that can make an impact on the room count the NBA would consider in determining if the site meets their minimum threshold.

Actually, the more important reason for a hotel on this site is for the Conventiom Center and that it's the only potential hotel he city could subsidize for the time being. Not sure if we could transfer those rights to the current Paycom site once that's dozed (and it would make more sense for Omni).

Geeze, no kidding, And looking on Google Maps it's been there since 2018.

Needs some signaling added, though.

They would be probably redo the crossing with signaling if the tunnel under the railroad is built.

Geeze, no kidding, And looking on Google Maps it's been there since 2018.

Needs some signaling added, though.

Or make it one of the raised cross walks.

There's ramps and payment markings, that's about it. Doesn't even have pedestrian crossing signs. A whole plaza will get built when the new arena is built. Similar to what is in front of Paycom now.

18866

Received this survey email today regarding the new arena. Haven't taken it yet, but thought it interesting enough to mention here.

From the questions they are asking, I have no doubt this will be a special arena that will check all the boxes

^

Interesting -- thanks.

Note the City has hired CAA Icon (who also consulted on the Intuit Dome and a bunch of other arenas and sports facilities) as their consultants on this project. Not sure where they stand on hiring an architect, but there would have to be an RFP and that has yet to be issued.

https://www.caaicon.com/

I took the survey today. It very heavily leaned on examples from FiServ Forum and clearly pulled from ideas implemented in that arena. Other arenas’ amenities were sprinkled in too, but I definitely noticed the FiServ influence.

18866

Received this survey email today regarding the new arena. Haven't taken it yet, but thought it interesting enough to mention here.

They ask (twice) about how much more we expect to pay for tickets at the new arena. I said "As this arena is being built with 95% public funds I would not expect ticket prices to increase at all." :Smiley122

Per City Council Docket.
Amendment to Lease and Facility Occupancy Agreement with ASM Global North America and Prairie Surf Media to terminate the Agreement, effective December 31, 2024. Ward 7.

They ask (twice) about how much more we expect to pay for tickets at the new arena. I said "As this arena is being built with 95% public funds I would not expect ticket prices to increase at all." :Smiley122

I took the survey as well .... I think you can expect a 10% + ticket price increase across the board ..

Per City Council Docket.
Amendment to Lease and Facility Occupancy Agreement with ASM Global North America and Prairie Surf Media to terminate the Agreement, effective December 31, 2024. Ward 7.

Thanks for this.

I'm surprised because an architect is yet to be hired.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/prairiesurf060424a.jpg

Thanks for this.

I'm surprised because an architect is yet to be hired.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/prairiesurf060424a.jpg

exciting news ...


I will say that the demo and utility relocations don't really require a building architect ..

n/m

exciting news ...


I will say that the demo and utility relocations don't really require a building architect ..

Except you usually don't start demolition until you have the overall plan.

I suppose they will just wipe the site clean and go from there.

The City will loose 994 parking spaces but as of the last report, there were only 240 monthly parkers. The bigger issue will be spaces needed for Thunder games and other Paycom events.

Except you usually don't start demolition until you have the overall plan.

I suppose they will just wipe the site clean and go from there.

The City will loose 994 parking spaces but as of the last report, there were only 240 monthly parkers. The bigger issue will be spaces needed for Thunder games and other Paycom events.

I think the utility relocation is the more pressing issue ... and they may be able to do a bunch of that without disrupting the parking for next season ...