University Town Center

[Just the facts]

Could they at least drop the Town Center identifier? They already dropped the ball on this development.

[bombermwc]

yes it counts and when they build the arena that area will grow even more

Im pretty sure that died when OU rightfully said no thank you.

[BoulderSooner]

Im pretty sure that died when OU rightfully said no thank you.

OU never said no thank you they were and are very interested and the arena project is very much alive

[bombermwc]

You really think they're going to give up an on-campus Lloyd Noble for something miles away? It's not happening. Especially when they would have to revenue share.

[Just the facts]

An off-campus arena in a strip shopping center miles from students is one of the worst ideas ever. If anything, they should move it closer to the main campus or even to downtown Norman.

[SEMIweather]

I’ll be okay with the I-35/Rock Creek arena if OU can strike a deal to make the Chuck E. Cheese’s next door adults-only on game days.

[ManAboutTown]

You really think they're going to give up an on-campus Lloyd Noble for something miles away? It's not happening. Especially when they would have to revenue share.

The university is going to do whatever their rich alumni want them to do. If Toby Keith ponied up $100MM to put his name on an arena in north Norman right off I-35, it would definitely happen, revenue sharing or not.

[Just the facts]

The university is going to do whatever their rich alumni want them to do. If Toby Keith ponied up $100MM to put his name on an arena in north Norman right off I-35, it would definitely happen, revenue sharing or not.

And this is exactly what is wrong with so much urban planning over the past 40 years. People with money but no skills in proper city building or place-making ability making the decisions.

[BoulderSooner]

You really think they're going to give up an on-campus Lloyd Noble for something miles away? It's not happening. Especially when they would have to revenue share.

lol OU wishes this arena was built yesterday .. the land is owned by the OU foundation and OU will get very good terms as the anchor tenant ..

[jdross1982]

The fact is, OU does not have the donors ready to donate up to 200 million or more to build an arena on campus. While it would be great NE of GFOMS and close in proximity to CC but there just isn't enough money for that. By partnering with a developer on OU land they will do just fine in that partnership. Just look at what UT did.

[BoulderSooner]

And this is exactly what is wrong with so much urban planning over the past 40 years. People with money but no skills in proper city building or place-making ability making the decisions.

the majority of people coming to these games are from the north making it easier for them to get to the games is a good thing

also OU needs a new arena and getting others to pay for it is the only way it will happen anytime soon ..

last OU students all currently drive to the LNC

[ManAboutTown]

the majority of people coming to these games are from the north making it easier for them to get to the games is a good thing

also OU needs a new arena and getting others to pay for it is the only way it will happen anytime soon ..

last OU students all currently drive to the LNC

EXACTLY. This deal is a no-brainer. LNC is technically "on" campus, but the reality of it is that few students walk to games there.

[bombermwc]

EXACTLY. This deal is a no-brainer. LNC is technically "on" campus, but the reality of it is that few students walk to games there.

That's not really true. Especially as housing moves more south as the towers come down. LNC is also a massive parking hub for commuter students. Not to mentinon that it's the practice facilities.

I mean dream all you want, but this makes absolutely zero sense whatsoever to move the arena off site. It would be like moving Memorial Stadium to Moore. WTF would you do that?

[Rover]

That's not really true. Especially as housing moves more south as the towers come down. LNC is also a massive parking hub for commuter students. Not to mentinon that it's the practice facilities.

I mean dream all you want, but this makes absolutely zero sense whatsoever to move the arena off site. It would be like moving Memorial Stadium to Moore. WTF would you do that?

If Memorial was drawing 20% crowds, maybe it should move to Moore. Lol.

[MagzOK]

OU needs to retrofit McCasland to a state of the art field house for basketball. They have the room there to do so even though it would be taking away some parking. My vote would be to keep it on campus. I would've gone to every game had the arena been in the central campus when I went there, as would have a lot of my friends.

[BoulderSooner]

OU needs to retrofit McCasland to a state of the art field house for basketball. They have the room there to do so even though it would be taking away some parking. My vote would be to keep it on campus. I would've gone to every game had the arena been in the central campus when I went there, as would have a lot of my friends.

that is not feasible .. it has been looked at

[chssooner]

It won't matter if OU keeps being meh at basketball.

[HangryHippo]

It won't matter if OU keeps being meh at basketball.

I like the University North Park (or whatever the hell the name is) spot for a new arena as it makes access from OKC much easier. That said, this is the biggest issue. They’re horrid to watch, which just heightens the awareness of how bad the arena is imo.

[bombermwc]

I like the University North Park (or whatever the hell the name is) spot for a new arena as it makes access from OKC much easier. That said, this is the biggest issue. They’re horrid to watch, which just heightens the awareness of how bad the arena is imo.

How is LNC horrid? The sight lines are good, it's a flexible space, the seats are comfortable. Gallagher Iba is one that I would say stinks. It's so small down at the bowl level, it makes it completely unusable for anything other than basketball. Not very efficient to sit empty 250 days of the year when it's not sold out the rest of the time. At least LNC hosts a bang of other events because its a true bowl and not just a basketball court. Graduations/Concerts/Dinner Events/Gymnastics/etc.

I've been in some crap arenas in my day, and LNC does not qualify for one. Is it the fanciest one out there? no. But a lot of the ones people look at today are just big metal crap buildings with bleachers in them (Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse). LNC is faaaaaar superior in terms of it being an actual arena. It doesn't need to be solely set up for basketball. We certainly don't fault the Peake for being flexible, so why should we fault LNC for the same thing.

[Jersey Boss]

While OU is willing to do donate land that was donated to them by the federal government it is not clear who or what would be the owner. As in responsible for paying for the construction, how the construction costs are paid, road improvements, security, maintaince and all other related costs.

Sounds like a hella deal for OU if they are not liable for anything other than donating land that so far has not been developed yet for reasons unknown.

With all the facilities in the metro that are concert friendly I don't see a need or demand there for such a usage. What I do see is a reach in the rationalization. Folks coming from the North will not have time after work to go to an eatery with games starting at 6 on weekdays. Post game I see a reluctance on most to hang around town on a weeknight if they have a 25 mile drive in front of them.

[Just the facts]

OU isn't going to put their basketball arena in an off-campus strip shopping center. They just aren't, so anyone with those dreams needs to come up with another dream.

[BoulderSooner]

OU isn't going to put their basketball arena in an off-campus strip shopping center. They just aren't, so anyone with those dreams needs to come up with another dream.

lol this is an ongoing very much alive project that OU very much supports .. (as they did the previous try before it died) so you don't know what you are talking about

[Plutonic Panda]

lol this is an ongoing very much alive project that OU very much supports .. (as they did the previous try before it died) so you don't know what you are talking about

It’s a stupid project and remains as such even if OU supports it.

[GoGators]

How is LNC horrid? The sight lines are good, it's a flexible space, the seats are comfortable. Gallagher Iba is one that I would say stinks. It's so small down at the bowl level, it makes it completely unusable for anything other than basketball. Not very efficient to sit empty 250 days of the year when it's not sold out the rest of the time. At least LNC hosts a bang of other events because its a true bowl and not just a basketball court. Graduations/Concerts/Dinner Events/Gymnastics/etc.

I've been in some crap arenas in my day, and LNC does not qualify for one. Is it the fanciest one out there? no. But a lot of the ones people look at today are just big metal crap buildings with bleachers in them (Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse). LNC is faaaaaar superior in terms of it being an actual arena. It doesn't need to be solely set up for basketball. We certainly don't fault the Peake for being flexible, so why should we fault LNC for the same thing.

No one cares if a college arena is multipurpose. In fact that’s the main problem with LNC and the reason why everyone wants it torn down. It has no cachet or atmosphere because it was built for concerts and not college basketball. I do hope OU does not make the same mistake twice on the next arena. However, based on the UTC proposal it looks like they are well on their way.

[SEMIweather]

Everyone is wanting the LNC torn down because everyone is searching for a solution to the wrong problem. The state of the LNC is not holding the men's basketball program back nearly as much as the overall lack of investment from decision-makers at OU. The fact that there's a realistic chance that the team is eventually going to be playing games in an arena 5+ miles off campus next to a MetroShoe Warehouse just speaks to the fact that OU leadership and most major OU athletics donors simply do not care what happens with the second highest revenue sport at the school. If OU cared at all about men's basketball, there would have been a funding push after the Final Four season in 2015-16 to renovate or replace the LNC, but instead nothing changed and the program predictably failed to capitalize upon any of the momentum of that season (where, I would add, they averaged nearly 11,000 fans per game during conference play).