http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fairgrounds030324c.jpg

By the looks of the new State Fair Coliseum, they could host the NFR calf or steer roping events moved from Oklahoma's Lazy-E to Sioux Falls Arena, S.D.,.

The Sious Falls Arena seat 4,700, comparable seating capacity to OKC's new SFC. Anyone familiar with these events please chime in.

Thanks Pete. I find the capacity possibilities here (specifically 7,500) to be pretty interesting for a concert-like set up. Especially in the colder months when a venue bigger than the Criterion, but smaller than Paycom is needed. Enmarket Arena in Savannah, GA comes to mind when thinking of a near-ish comparison, though Enmarket is a bit bigger than the Coliseum will be.

Zoo amp is about that size as well, so winter shows that would could go to the zoo in the summer makes sense to go here.

I would be surprised if they don't completely fill the space between the mega barn and the new coliseum within 15 years. The roof line looks very similar to the barn. Plus, it would look weird having one big flat north wall.

There are actually already plans to fill it in once the old arena is gone. If you go look at the first page of this thread, you can see it at the very top.

I would be surprised if they don't completely fill the space between the mega barn and the new coliseum within 15 years. The roof line looks very similar to the barn. Plus, it would look weird having one big flat north wall.

it will be filled within 5 ..

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fairgrounds030324c.jpg

By the looks of the new State Fair Coliseum, they could host the NFR calf or steer roping events moved from Oklahoma's Lazy-E to Sioux Falls Arena, S.D.,.

The Sious Falls Arena seat 4,700, comparable seating capacity to OKC's new SFC. Anyone familiar with these events please chime in.

Close on which arena Sioux Falls uses, but they use the Denny Sanford Premier Center for rodeo which is also where the Summit League (Oral Roberts conference) basketball tournament is held. Capacity is around 12,000 for Basketball and 10,600 for Indoor Football. The Sioux Falls Arena and Premier Center are part of the larger Sioux Falls Convention Center.

Sorry if this has already been covered - but any talks of this venue being open to booking concerts in the future?

There may be scheduling issues with concerts. The Norick Arena is booked 300 days out of the year consistently.

There may be scheduling issues with concerts. The Norick Arena is booked 300 days out of the year consistently.

Wow, busy place, but I guess its easier when you just keep a bunch of dirt in there all the time.

Wow, busy place, but I guess its easier when you just keep a bunch of dirt in there all the time.

Hard to play basketball, wrestle, etc. with dirt on the floor. Other things happen there now.

Hard to play basketball, wrestle, etc. with dirt on the floor. Other things happen there now.

Browsing the last few months of the state fair arena calendar. My comment wasn't that much of an exaggeration. It spends half of its time configured for something livestock or horse show related.

Browsing the last few months of the state fair arena calendar. My comment wasn't that much of an exaggeration. It spends half of its time configured for something livestock or horse show related.
I *think* that breaking down and setting up a dirt floor isn't a major issue when we have permanent facilities for livestock quarters. The main reason for the long rodeo or circus periods in NBA arenas is the challenge surrounding onsite livestock care. I'm not saying it is as easy as plopping down the hardwood, or wrestling mats. But it probably isn't much more challenging that freezing an ice rink. Since the New Arena isn't supposed to have ice, that issue will be gone.

Browsing the last few months of the state fair arena calendar. My comment wasn't that much of an exaggeration. It spends half of its time configured for something livestock or horse show related.
So, about 150 use days on various other activities. About 3 per week.

That's actually been a complaint for the wrestling state tourney. The floor here stays so cold it can make the kids injury prone.

That's actually been a complaint for the wrestling state tourney. The floor here stays so cold it can make the kids injury prone.

Why would that be? There isn’t ice there any more, is there? Ground and floor should stay proportional to the indoor ambient for the most part. Ground temp below it shouldn’t vary much.

That would be a good use for the refrigeration coils. Warm the ground instead of cooling it. I think they already do this when de-icing.

That would be a good use for the refrigeration coils. Warm the ground instead of cooling it. I think they already do this when de-icing.That could be done. A YouTube search looks like most arenas keep the ice and cover it with rubber mats then lay BB courts, etc. so they may never be in any hurry to melt the ice.

I don't think the Norick arena keeps a frozen floor. I think the only ice events being held there the last several years are Disney on Ice during the State Fair of Oklahoma. And I seem to recall the freezing unit is no longer working.

I also think the new arena will not have ice ability.

I don't think the Norick arena keeps a frozen floor. I think the only ice events being held there the last several years are Disney on Ice during the State Fair of Oklahoma. And I seem to recall the freezing unit is no longer working.

I also think the new arena will not have ice ability.
I believe the only ice in years was for State Fair shows and they brought their own chillers.

Yeah, the Norick ice plant hasn't been used in forever, Disney always bring their portable system. I remember hearing the stories during the Barons days about the rough shape of it at that point, I can only imagine it now after 10 more years.

I haven't seen anything about ice being put in the new arena, as much as I wish that was the case. Would be nice to have an opportunity at some type of minor-league franchise being in town again.

Yeah, the Norick ice plant hasn't been used in forever, Disney always bring their portable system. I remember hearing the stories during the Barons days about the rough shape of it at that point, I can only imagine it now after 10 more years.

I haven't seen anything about ice being put in the new arena, as much as I wish that was the case. Would be nice to have an opportunity at some type of minor-league franchise being in town again.If they had created a chase to the arena floor from an area outside with electrical service pre installed where a chiller could sit the system could easily have been added later. Neither the chase or a 200 amp, 277/480 volt 3 phase service would be a drop in the bucket of an arena sized project.

I don't think the Norick arena keeps a frozen floor. I think the only ice events being held there the last several years are Disney on Ice during the State Fair of Oklahoma. And I seem to recall the freezing unit is no longer working.

I also think the new arena will not have ice ability.

Kind of a bummer. It would make an awesome hockey arena

I remember hearing the stories during the Barons days about the rough shape of it at that point, I can only imagine it now after 10 more years.

I went for the first time in a long time (maybe even ever) this weekend. It's very tired. And that's being nice. I was surprised they hadn't at least spruced up the concourse at some point, but if you told me it hadn't been touched since it opened in the 60s, I'd believe you,

Given how much out of state traffic it draws, it's certainly a good thing it's being replaced.

I went for the first time in a long time (maybe even ever) this weekend. It's very tired. And that's being nice. I was surprised they hadn't at least spruced up the concourse at some point, but if you told me it hadn't been touched since it opened in the 60s, I'd believe you,

Given how much out of state traffic it draws, it's certainly a good thing it's being replaced.

Agreed, finally went yesterday for Douglass/Weatherford (great game btw) and was shocked at the state it was in.

New OKC Fairgrounds arena will be known as the OG&E Coliseum

https://okcfairgrounds.com/blog/post/lead-donor-secured-for-okc-fairgrounds-coliseum?fbclid=IwAR04OCojX67ekAcuw9QZ24aVQdiHZMPr htGrnvpMUcbmI2I6eiNQ8dALkqA_aem_AWViyPHoJYPsKEMPze j09fxsJTczouNFyRFUQlBImMpVyrgGJuga1MIJWPe1eocBRCl8 2HmSsxA4D2jPNmrPPCrj

Wait what? lol That doesn't even sound right, lol.

https://www.velocityokc.com/blog/development/new-og-e-coliseum-topping-out-marks-milestone-for-oklahoma-city/?back=super_blog

New OKC Fairgrounds arena will be known as the OG&E Coliseum

https://okcfairgrounds.com/blog/post/lead-donor-secured-for-okc-fairgrounds-coliseum?fbclid=IwAR04OCojX67ekAcuw9QZ24aVQdiHZMPr htGrnvpMUcbmI2I6eiNQ8dALkqA_aem_AWViyPHoJYPsKEMPze j09fxsJTczouNFyRFUQlBImMpVyrgGJuga1MIJWPe1eocBRCl8 2HmSsxA4D2jPNmrPPCrj

Publicly regulated utility and public fairgrounds won't disclose how much money was involved.
I hope the AG gets involved with this tone deaf utility and the way they spend money.

Publicly regulated utility and public fairgrounds won't disclose how much money was involved.
I hope the AG gets involved with this tone deaf utility and the way they spend money.

You do know their rates are 25% lower than the national average, right?

You do know their rates are 25% lower than the national average, right?

I don't see how that is relevant to this discussion about how they spend money.

I don't see how that is relevant to this discussion about how they spend money.

Keeping it 100%.

I don't see how that is relevant to this discussion about how they spend money.

That’s the point of being a regulated utility. The aspersion made about them being irresponsible as a utility was a mischaracterization and sounded angry. Responsible utilities advertise all the time. This expenditure seemingly is well within normal parameters. If the original poster knows something the public or regulators don’t that shows this to be nefarious I hope he spills the beans and shares why he’s angry.

Publicly regulated utility and public fairgrounds won't disclose how much money was involved.
I hope the AG gets involved with this tone deaf utility and the way they spend money.

A story in The Oklahoman says that OG&E set up "The OG&E Foundation" with some amount of money that were proceeds from their sale of Enable Midstream, and the arena deal came from the foundation.

I'm guessing that means some, or all, of the foundation money would have been tax owed from the Midstream sale, and the foundation allows OG&E to direct it in a way they control. And benefit from, in this case. It also suggests it is not from ratepayers and is possibly somewhat outside of the Corporation Commission oversight.

A story in The Oklahoman says that OG&E set up "The OG&E Foundation" with some amount of money that were proceeds from their sale of Enable Midstream, and the arena deal came from the foundation.

I'm guessing that means some, or all, of the foundation money would have been tax owed from the Midstream sale, and the foundation allows OG&E to direct it in a way they control. And benefit from, in this case. It also suggests it is not from ratepayers and is possibly somewhat outside of the Corporation Commission oversight.

I really doubt they spent a lot in the grand scheme of things. Its not like the downtown arena naming rights.

Yeah, the Norick ice plant hasn't been used in forever, Disney always bring their portable system. I remember hearing the stories during the Barons days about the rough shape of it at that point, I can only imagine it now after 10 more years.

I haven't seen anything about ice being put in the new arena, as much as I wish that was the case. Would be nice to have an opportunity at some type of minor-league franchise being in town again.

ERIC!!! you and i haven't talked hockey in far too long... yes sadly, no ice plant for the new arena. this was something when they first announced it, I kept trying to get more info into why.

and yes, Norick ice plant was in terrible shape. after the storm at the cox center where it flooded from the roof, they actually needed to replace a few parts in the Cox center to try and get the ice ready to finish playoffs that year, and one of the ideas was if they could harvest parts from noricks system, and it was determined that there wasn't anything useable there.

OKC State Fair OG&E Coliseum Construction Update Video

https://youtu.be/YKL_yyPs59A

Publicly regulated utility and public fairgrounds won't disclose how much money was involved.
I hope the AG gets involved with this tone deaf utility and the way they spend money.

Yeah I don't care how innocent and likely irrelevant this is to utility rates...the optics are terrible without considering the fact that they won't disclose the numbers around the deal. The lack of transparency just adds gas to the fire.

Yeah I don't care how innocent and likely irrelevant this is to utility rates...the optics are terrible without considering the fact that they won't disclose the numbers around the deal. The lack of transparency just adds gas to the fire.

I don't understand why anyone is bothered. Utilities advertise. Every day. Utilities pay naming rights to stadiums and arenas all over America. Probably worldwide. It bugs me when Storme Jones on KWTV9 runs a story about this outrage and the next commercial is for ONG! Nobody is demanding KWTV9 disclose how much OG&E is paying for each spot.

Man, we gotta have the FBI investigate NRG Stadium and the Xcel Energy Center. Let's double-waste taxpayer money.

I don't understand why anyone is bothered. Utilities advertise. Every day.

I don't understand why they advertise when their services are essentially the sole option in a community. Live in OKC, you get OG&E. Live in Edmond, you get Edmond Electric. Tulsa has PSO and so on.

OG&E naming rights don't impact my decision, or lack there of, from using them as my electric provider in Oklahoma City. It is what it is.

In reality it should be called "Oklahoma City Tax Payer's State Fair Colosseum....powered by OG&E"

I don't understand why they advertise when their services are essentially the sole option in a community. Live in OKC, you get OG&E. Live in Edmond, you get Edmond Electric. Tulsa has PSO and so on.

OG&E naming rights don't impact my decision, or lack there of, from using them as my electric provider in Oklahoma City. It is what it is.

In reality it should be called "Oklahoma City Tax Payer's State Fair Colosseum....powered by OG&E"

I think the main reasons are selling stock, PR, line safety ads, and promote wind energy options which really just falls under PR.

If they rolled advertising $ into providing the highest quality customer service, not asking for unnecessary rate hikes, and providing higher HVAC relacement subsidies, they wouldn't need to "build a brand." Bank the advertising $ and use it to replace lines or absorb future unexpected cost spikes.

Oklahoma has some of the cheapest electric rates. I am not sure why people hate on OG&E. There are fortune 500 utilities companies. Seems weird to constantly bash OG&E like they are some insanely expensive service provider.

https://www.energybot.com/electricity-rates/#:~:text=Hawaii%20has%20the%20highest%20average,10 .23%20cents%20per%20kilowatt%2Dhour.

I have nothing to argue, just wanted to say I have a soft spot for the more traditional arena names. Kansas City Municipal Auditorium, San Francisco Exposition Auditorium, Stockyards/Oklahoma Coliseum, etc all sound sweet and simple to me.

Oklahoma has some of the cheapest electric rates. I am not sure why people hate on OG&E. There are fortune 500 utilities companies. Seems weird to constantly bash OG&E like they are some insanely expensive service provider.

https://www.energybot.com/electricity-rates/#:~:text=Hawaii%20has%20the%20highest%20average,10 .23%20cents%20per%20kilowatt%2Dhour.

As for me, l'm not hating on them. I just agree their advertisements are a waste of money. It's the same as l despise pharmaceutical companies endlessly advertising prescription drugs then jacking up drug prices.

As for me, l'm not hating on them. I just agree their advertisements are a waste of money. It's the same as l despise pharmaceutical companies endlessly advertising prescription drugs then jacking up drug prices.

If the pharmacy companies stopped advertising, then would 24/7 news channels would fold since they would have no advertisers, and prescription prices could actually lower? Sounds like a win win. :rolleyes:

As for State Fair Arena, due to how the arena is used (plenty of civic and community events) versus Paycom Center, I wish they would have done something to honor the city or its leadership versus going the corporate sponsor route.

Arrowhead Stadium for the KC Chiefs added the "GEHA Field at Arrowhead" a few years back, outside of press releases and forced statements by team ownership, I think all fans still refer to it just as "Arrowhead," I would assume the same would be true for OKC's State Fair Arena.

If the pharmacy companies stopped advertising, then would 24/7 news channels would fold since they would have no advertisers, and prescription prices could actually lower? Sounds like a win win. :rolleyes:

As for State Fair Arena, due to how the arena is used (plenty of civic and community events) versus Paycom Center, I wish they would have done something to honor the city or its leadership versus going the corporate sponsor route.

Arrowhead Stadium for the KC Chiefs added the "GEHA Field at Arrowhead" a few years back, outside of press releases and forced statements by team ownership, I think all fans still refer to it just as "Arrowhead," I would assume the same would be true for OKC's State Fair Arena.

I mean, the original article I saw said that the project was over-budget, and this is helping ease that. Maybe I misread the story, though.

As for me, l'm not hating on them. I just agree their advertisements are a waste of money. It's the same as l despise pharmaceutical companies endlessly advertising prescription drugs then jacking up drug prices.

Makes a whole lot more sense for pharmaceutical companies to advertise. Gets patients to go to their doctors which then prescribe the drug. Win win for doctors and drug companies. We just end up with an overly medicated nation.

The 'naming rights' usually shines a light on the brand of the holder. The concern with non-traditional naming rights, the names can sometimes get quite lengthy (OG&E Field at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium).

Glad to hear 'OG&E Coliseum' will be a simpler coliseum name. As to why they do not want the costs of 'naming rights' disclosed is a real head scratcher IMO.

The new coliseum will address the needs of the current tenants. It will not be large enough IMO to attract ECHL 'AA' hockey to the city with a seating capacity in the 5,000-seat range. OG&E Coliseum will be busy hosting events the SFA once hosted.

Also, don't look for the $900 million new DT arena to include NHL (Over saturated OKC market) or ECHL 'AA' hockey.

If I had to guess, I would bet the City doesn't want the dollar amount to be public so that it is not somehow leveraged in future naming rights deals, such as the $1B arena they're about to build.

If I had to guess, I would bet the City doesn't want the dollar amount to be public so that it is not somehow leveraged in future naming rights deals, such as the $1B arena they're about to build.

Paycom will have those rights as long as the Thunder are the tenant of the new arena... the naming rights agreement is with them, not the city.

Makes a whole lot more sense for pharmaceutical companies to advertise. Gets patients to go to their doctors which then prescribe the drug. Win win for doctors and drug companies. We just end up with an overly medicated nation.

And idiotically high prices.

And idiotically high prices.

That is a gross oversimplification and doesn’t address most of the real issues. The way the system works with pharmaceuticals, PBMs, and pharmacies is a real problem, not to mention the insurance companies. You’d be shocked at the difference in pricing between pharmacies. Download this app and find the lowest prices. It’s like GasBuddies, but for Rx. Www.healthpointfast.com.

Thank you!

Paycom will have those rights as long as the Thunder are the tenant of the new arena... the naming rights agreement is with them, not the city.

Oh, I didn't know that. Thanks!

Apparently the OKC Blue won their title game this week. Here I am having to look up to see where they even play because I haven't heard anything about them, like at all, for years. Turns out they play at the Paycom???!!! For a leave that averages about 2k people per game, that seems like a super oversized venue.

Soooo, any thoughts on if the fairgrounds arena would be a better fit? Their season lines up with the state basketball tournament so there's a LOT of activity in that range of time. But it would feel a LOT less empty in there than it would in the new arena too.

Apparently the OKC Blue won their title game this week. Here I am having to look up to see where they even play because I haven't heard anything about them, like at all, for years. Turns out they play at the Paycom???!!! For a leave that averages about 2k people per game, that seems like a super oversized venue.

Soooo, any thoughts on if the fairgrounds arena would be a better fit? Their season lines up with the state basketball tournament so there's a LOT of activity in that range of time. But it would feel a LOT less empty in there than it would in the new arena too.

The Thunder own the Blue. Having the Blue play at Paycom is an advantage for Thunder players who are on two way contracts and ones sent back and forth. It is less about the seating capacity.

The Blue played at the Cox Center until the deal with Prairie Surf, where the City had to pay to relocate them.