New State Fair Coliseum

[David]

Surplus money. What's your remedy...

Very simple remedy, spend it on one or more of the MAPS 3 projects that put in one of the requests for additional funds.

[Laramie]

Very simple remedy, spend it on one or more of the MAPS 3 projects that put in one of the requests for additional funds.

I understand what you are saying. What I believe is really behind the surplus from MAPS 3 to MAP 4 (not that I agree) is this:

These so called surplus funds will give the MAPS 4 an early jump on construction. Which of the 16 projects will receive priority construction... The horse-shows here are committed to stay if a new facility is built. New coliseum will get additional funding from outside entities, like the existing hotel-motel tax. Could IFR return to OKC from Guthrie (Lazy E now owned by Gary McKinney, Texas group).

We approved the momentum with MAPS 2-3-4... At what point does MAPS projects pay off by attracting more out-of-state revenue that will allow us to beef up city's general fund. Before MAPS, we were stuck in this cycle of paying bills with nothing to generate or attract new revenue while the city's infrastructure aged...

[Miracle121]

Let's get real horse shows are moving to Fort Worth!!! 14,000 seats compare to 5,000 permanent seats. 450 million dollars compare to 89 million dollars. Were would you have your show at???

[mugofbeer]

Let's get real horse shows are moving to Fort Worth!!! 14,000 seats compare to 5,000 permanent seats. 450 million dollars compare to 89 million dollars. Were would you have your show at???

There would be no way the city is going to build a Taj Mahal facility on par with Ft. Worths. The huge negative to the Ft. worth facility is space around it for stables, trailors, parking, access, etc.

[BoulderSooner]

Let's get real horse shows are moving to Fort Worth!!! 14,000 seats compare to 5,000 permanent seats. 450 million dollars compare to 89 million dollars. Were would you have your show at???

most are not moving to that building the usage fee would be too much ..... that was built to get concerts to ft worth

[bombermwc]

Very simple remedy, spend it on one or more of the MAPS 3 projects that put in one of the requests for additional funds.

Agreed. It's MAPs3 money so it should be spent on MAPs3 items. There is no shortage of possibilities for how to use it. I wrote a letter to my councilman yesterday and lined how it could go to each of the previous project. Although i suggested that the Fair Grounds NOT be considered since the Bennett was a failed project anyway. I'm still jaded that they built it the way they did (with columns) on purpose so they didn't have an unobstructed space so they could claim they still needed the arena project. Shady!!!

[Dob Hooligan]

I'm guessing the vast majority of horse events held at State Fair Park are well served by a 5,000 seat arena. Wife and I have attended a couple during the last 10 years, or so, and crowds are usually 1,000 or so. Mainly participants, family and friends. Even just retired Formula 1 racing legend Michael Schumacher didn't draw any more that 1,500-2,000 when we saw him with his horse group in 2013.

[Pete]

The coliseum as proposed will have an attached "warm-up" arena with a livestock tunnel which in turn would be directly attached to the barn complex.

Pretty sure this is very different than the Ft. Worth arena which seems to be designed more like a traditional venue, similar to the Peake.

[shawnw]

Is that in the spot of the current arena?

[Pete]

Is that in the spot of the current arena?

The plan is to build the coliseum to the immediate southeast of the current arena.

Then, the arena will be demolished and the warm-up barn will take its place.

[shawnw]

Ah okay

[Pete]

[5alive]

I don't particularly care this area is being transformed into a horse centered venue, but I am offended the Fair Board thinks they are pulling a fast one on the people. Just say what you are doing. The fair is over and the Board is creating something different entirely. Just be honest about it!

[BoulderSooner]

I don't particularly care this area is being transformed into a horse centered venue, but I am offended the Fair Board thinks they are pulling a fast one on the people. Just say what you are doing. The fair is over and the Board is creating something different entirely. Just be honest about it!

what are you taling about ???

this arena will be used for all kinds of things ..

including the OKC Blue

[Miracle121]

New state fair arena sounds like a horse barn to me. Let's just move the stock yards to the fair grounds. If they only get 1000-1500 for horse shows why do they need a new arena???

[bombermwc]

what are you taling about ???

this arena will be used for all kinds of things ..

including the OKC Blue

At first i laughed because i thought you were being sarcastic knowing that the Fair is full of crap, but then i think you're being serious......

[Laramie]

Thanks for the info & pics Pete. It allows you to see how the new coliseum and facilities will interact.

OKC doesn't need a Taj Mahal facility on par with Ft. Worth's as mugofbeer mentioned. The coliseum will have flexible seating where 1,500 won't feel out out-of-place in a 4,700 fixed seat venue & 2,600 lower/upper level retractable seats; instead of a 10,300 seat mammoth facility. As mentioned, the horse show events are committed to the new arena's parking & accommodations. It will be a boom to the Meridian hotel corridor.

Bennett Event Center will have modest accommodations for the exhibits OKC will attract.

The new coliseum will be home to high school basketball playoffs; possibly a home for the Oklahoma City Blue and have the flexibility to be used for amateur & AA ice hockey since the city has built its own dasher boards; also ice plants were installed in SFA, The Peake, Cox Convention Center (aka Myriad). The flexible coliseum won't have any trouble being booked for events once the doors open.

[Laramie]

Maximum seating capacity for the State Fair Coliseum (basketball) will be 7,300. IMO, this arena is not built for high school basketball playoffs; possibly some lower classes could be played there. Will this replacement facility accommodate the 11,000 that packed into the State Fair Arena.


Will the OSSAA eventually move the high school payoffs to the 13,846 seat Cox Convention Center Arena. Where there will be an abundance of paid parking, restaurants, hotels and amenities to eventually lure the 5A and 6A playoffs from the 11,300 seat Mabee Center in Tulsa on a rotation basis. Tulsa doesn't have the flexibility downtown that OKC has with the Cox Convention Center. The Cox Convention Center Arena in Tulsa (former Tulsa Assembly Center) only seats 7,100 for basketball.

Now if you want to get into a bigger bidding war for high school basketball payoffs; Tulsa does have the 17,839 seat BOK Center vs. Oklahoma City's 18,203 seat Chesapeake Energy Arena.

[bombermwc]

I thought that for basketball, they could push it up to 11 with expando-bleachers?

Also, i dont think people would be happy with the constant parking nightmare these games being downtown would bring. The games overlap so you, in effect, have 2 games worth of cars parked at the same time as the crowds swap. And converting from free to paid parking would be a big downer for that. Not to mention that the Peak or the Myriad cannot come close to the low price the fair grounds arena costs. Now, will the fair jack the price up when the new one is built? We'll see.

[5alive]

Even the new arena has a horse logo displayed prominently on the front. I have no problem with all the equine activities, they bring a lot of people and dollars to our city. Please however stop calling all of this "State Fair. The "fair" is gone.

[Swake]

Maximum seating capacity for the State Fair Coliseum (basketball) will be 7,300. IMO, this arena is not built for high school basketball playoffs; possibly some lower classes could be played there. Will this replacement facility accommodate the 11,000 that packed into the State Fair Arena.


Will the OSSAA eventually move the high school payoffs to the 13,846 seat Cox Convention Center Arena. Where there will be an abundance of paid parking, restaurants, hotels and amenities to eventually lure the 5A and 6A playoffs from the 11,300 seat Mabee Center in Tulsa on a rotation basis. Tulsa doesn't have the flexibility downtown that OKC has with the Cox Convention Center. The Cox Convention Center Arena in Tulsa (former Tulsa Assembly Center) only seats 7,100 for basketball.

Now if you want to get into a bigger bidding war for high school basketball payoffs; Tulsa does have the 17,839 seat BOK Center vs. Oklahoma City's 18,203 seat Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Cox Convention Center Arena in Tulsa doesn't exist anymore. It's been converted to additional convention space along with a new convention center entrance. The space opens next month.

[Dob Hooligan]

Even the new arena has a horse logo displayed prominently on the front. I have no problem with all the equine activities, they bring a lot of people and dollars to our city. Please however stop calling all of this "State Fair. The "fair" is gone.

That horse logo is a part of the official State Fair Park logo, IIRC. All the signage I see around the property features a full horse in that art style just above the State Fair Park lettering.

[Laramie]

That's correct Dob, they did demolish the arena portion to create more ballroom and convention space; that will force more events needing arena seating to the BOK Center.

Back to our State Fair Coliseum, unless they go back to their original plans to where they had an upper deck platform to add risers to all sides; there is no way they are going to get anywhere close to 8,000 in there for events.


Original 2016 design for State Fair Arena replacement seating 10,000.

The coliseum is being designed to make those smaller attended events look full with 4,700 fixed seats not look so spacious with 1,500 people in attendance. This is the advantage OKC will have over a Ft. Worth style 14,000 seat arena in addition to the multiple barns & parking on the old All Sports Stadium site to accommodate the sea of trailers parked for various horse show events.

[Miracle121]

Horse barn is correct. No basketball, no hockey, just a horse barn. We no longer have a fair grounds, just horse barns.

[David]

I'm suddenly wondering when the horse was added to the state fair logo. Has it always been there?