New Downtown Arena

[BoulderSooner]

No...? lol. They have 1 billionaire, like Laramie said, who probably couldn't care less if a new arena is built in okc. If this doesn't pass, the team goes too.

as I said they almost for sure have more then one billionaire .. ( my guess is that they have closer to 4 then 1 )

[king183]

as I said they almost for sure have more then one billionaire .. ( my guess is that they have closer to 4 then 1 )

Name them.

[Thunderbolt]

as I said they almost for sure have more then one billionaire .. ( my guess is that they have closer to 4 then 1 )

Here's the ownership group. Which ones outside of Kaiser have Billion+????

https://www.nba.com/thunder/ownership

[Jersey Boss]

No...? lol. They have 1 billionaire, like Laramie said, who probably couldn't care less if a new arena is built in okc. If this doesn't pass, the team goes too.

" Your millions or the team".

[Pete]

A reminder the State of the City address is Thursday 7/20 at 11:30 AM.

All indications are that Holt will announce the general plans for the new arena:

• On the Cox/Prairie Surf site
• Approx $1 billion
• Public vote in January

I would expect him to leave things relatively vague, then there will be details released in the early fall as they drive toward the January vote.

[PoliSciGuy]

What is the guess on the City's share of the costs? Based on the way Holt has been acting around town, I'm betting they will ask the City for 80% or more.

Anything north of, say, 33% should encourage the city to walk away from the deal

[chssooner]

Anything north of, say, 33% should encourage the city to walk away from the deal

Not a chance, unfortunately. I think we are looking at 75% or higher being city-funded. Which I don't care about, considering an arena is one of the biggest, and highest revenue-generating assets a city has. If this arena is built to top-notch standards, bigger concerts will come in, and the city gets the revenue, not some greedy billionaires. That's how I justify a new arena.

Not saying I am perfect in my rationale, but I can make an argument for it.

[soonergolfer]

Jeff Records is worth a lot of money, probably 2nd most in group. Midfirst Bank is privately owned, so hard to know for sure.

[PhiAlpha]

Anything north of, say, 33% should encourage the city to walk away from the deal

LOL no.

[Dob Hooligan]

I think they are all worth at least $500 million. Low profile, big money types.

Here's my question---The city owns the arena and AEG (or somesuch) manages it. How are the team owners getting rich and cheating the citizenry?

[chssooner]

I think they are all worth at least $500 million. Low profile, big money types.

Here's my question---The city owns the arena and AEG (or somesuch) manages it. How are the team owners getting rich and cheating the citizenry?

By the team's value going up. The team and owners having to spend less means their value is higher.

And I'm sure they get a portion of the revenues on Thunder nights.

[Laramie]

Here are the 10 richest in Oklahoma (Posted on March 25, 2023, MONEY INC https://moneyinc.com/richest-people-oklahoma/

Clayton I. Bennett who is among the Thunder ownership group isn't listed--although reports say his net worth is $400 million. Tom Ward - $273 million was listed as #10.

Wouldn't expect this ownership group to contribute much if any toward a new NBA spec arena. OKC will be pressing for a long-term commitment if a $500 million or more arena (comparable to Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum arena $524 million) is built on the PSM site.

Clayton I. Bennett, Chairman, Oklahoma City Thunder Chairman, Dorchester Capital - $400 million net worth.
George B. Kaiser, President, GBK CorporationChairman, BOK Financial - $13.2 Billion net worth
G. Jeffrey Records, Jr., Chairman and CEO,MidFirst Bank $7.2 million house in Los Angeles. Net worth N/A
William M. Cameron, Chairman and CEO,American Fidelity Assurance Company. Net worth $9 million
Robert E. Howard II, Chairman, Howard Investments. Net worth $6 million
Jay Scaramucci, President, Balon Corporation. Net worth N/A
Everett R. Dobson, Managing Partner,Dobson Partnerships. Net worth $5 million

Taken from various sources--you know as well as anyone why this information isn't reported with any amount of frequency.

[BoulderSooner]

Here are the 10 richest in Oklahoma (Posted on March 25, 2023, MONEY INC https://moneyinc.com/richest-people-oklahoma/

Clayton I. Bennett who is among the Thunder ownership group isn't listed--although reports say his net worth is $400 million. Tom Ward - $273 million was listed as #10.

Wouldn't expect this ownership group to contribute much if any toward a new NBA spec arena. OKC will be pressing for a long-term commitment if a $500 million or more arena (comparable to Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum arena $524 million) is built on the PSM site.

Clayton I. Bennett, Chairman, Oklahoma City Thunder Chairman, Dorchester Capital - $400 million net worth.
George B. Kaiser, President, GBK CorporationChairman, BOK Financial - $13.2 Billion net worth
G. Jeffrey Records, Jr., Chairman and CEO,MidFirst Bank $7.2 million house in Los Angeles. Net worth N/A
William M. Cameron, Chairman and CEO,American Fidelity Assurance Company. Net worth $9 million
Robert E. Howard II, Chairman, Howard Investments. Net worth $6 million
Jay Scaramucci, President, Balon Corporation. Net worth N/A
Everett R. Dobson, Managing Partner,Dobson Partnerships. Net worth $5 million

Taken from various sources--you know as well as anyone why this information isn't reported with any amount of frequency.

lol all of the above equity in the thunder is worth over 100 million ... .. so your list is trash to start with ..

Cameron, Records and Howard are all much closer to 1 Billion then 10 million .
Howard's real estate holdings alone are well over 100 million

[Jersey Boss]

lol all of the above equity in the thunder is worth over 100 million ... .. so your list is trash to start with ..

Cameron, Records and Howard are all much closer to 1 Billion then 10 million .
Howard's real estate holdings alone are well over 100 million

This @ 100%. I wonder what the line of credit is for the Thunder, Inc.

[AnguisHerba]

I think the city's share of the arena costs will be around 90%, but there will be an associated investment in public infrastructure (likely transit) that will be used to package the deal together and make it more attractive.

[scottk]

I think the city's share of the arena costs will be around 90%, but there will be an associated investment in public infrastructure (likely transit) that will be used to package the deal together and make it more attractive.

OKC Citizens funded 100% of Ford Center/Paycom Center when it was built and the city owns 100% of the facility. Correct?

In the case of a percentage share on a new arena between ownership and citizens of the City, who owns the arena?

The City of Arlington, Texas helped finance about a third of the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, but they are listed as the primary owner.

[king183]

lol all of the above equity in the thunder is worth over 100 million ... .. so your list is trash to start with ..

Cameron, Records and Howard are all much closer to 1 Billion then 10 million .
Howard's real estate holdings alone are well over 100 million

You said there are multiple billionaires [“closer to 4 then (sic) 1”]. Please name them and cite your source. I’m genuinely interested in this, and everything I see when I search is much closer to Laramie’s estimation than yours. Can you name the specific billionaires and tell us where you got the information to back it up? Or are you just making it up based on your gut?

[BDP]

all of the above equity in the thunder is worth over 100 million

Yeah, I'm not sure if personal net worth of individual owners is even relevant to how much capital the group could finance to participate in the construction of a new arena.

At this point, the team is valued at around 5 times what they paid for it. And I'm pretty sure we don't know what the splits are anyway, so each individual's personal net worth doesn't in any way equate to what the Thunder can contribute to financing a new arena as a group.

I guess it's possible, but I highly doubt any financing the group uses to participate in the construction of a new arena would be secured with anything other than Thunder basketball operations. Whether they're billionaires or millionaires, they didn't get to where they are now by doing that,

[PoliSciGuy]

Not a chance, unfortunately. I think we are looking at 75% or higher being city-funded. Which I don't care about, considering an arena is one of the biggest, and highest revenue-generating assets a city has. If this arena is built to top-notch standards, bigger concerts will come in, and the city gets the revenue, not some greedy billionaires. That's how I justify a new arena.

Not saying I am perfect in my rationale, but I can make an argument for it.

Where can I see the data that says this is one of the highest revenue generating assets the city has?

[PhiAlpha]

Where can I see the data that says this is one of the highest revenue generating assets the city has?

In the land without fair weather sports fans.

[chssooner]

Where can I see the data that says this is one of the highest revenue generating assets the city has?

Fine, burn it to the ground. Arenas are overrated. You got me.

[Dob Hooligan]

Yeah, I'm not sure if personal net worth of individual owners is even relevant to how much capital the group could finance to participate in the construction of a new arena.

At this point, the team is valued at around 5 times what they paid for it. And I'm pretty sure we don't know what the splits are anyway, so each individual's personal net worth doesn't in any way equate to what the Thunder can contribute to financing a new arena as a group.

I guess it's possible, but I highly doubt any financing the group uses to participate in the construction of a new arena would be secured with anything other than Thunder basketball operations. Whether they're billionaires or millionaires, they didn't get to where they are now by doing that,

I think the team is worth 10 times what they paid. The sale of most of Michael Jordan’s stake in the Charlotte Hornets place the overall team value at $3 billion. The Hornets have not done well financially, or on court, even with Charlotte as a larger market. Sure looks to me like the Thunder have an equal, if not larger, value.

[AnguisHerba]

OKC Citizens funded 100% of Ford Center/Paycom Center when it was built and the city owns 100% of the facility. Correct?

In the case of a percentage share on a new arena between ownership and citizens of the City, who owns the arena?

The City of Arlington, Texas helped finance about a third of the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, but they are listed as the primary owner.

It's a good question and I bet the arrangements are different across the country. One way the ownership could structure such a deal is to finance 10% of the cost, say $100 million, and then sign a 25 year lease at an annual rate that reflects a discount based on that upfront investment. Or they could backload the lease so that they upfront investment is just reflective of the lease revenues the city would have received in the first 10 years of the lease. Lots of different ways to structure it to where they city is the majority or even 100% owner of the facility. I don't really expect the city to be anything but a 100% owner of the arena.

[EtanEiko]

I think the team is worth 10 times what they paid. The sale of most of Michael Jordan’s stake in the Charlotte Hornets place the overall team value at $3 billion. The Hornets have not done well financially, or on court, even with Charlotte as a larger market. Sure looks to me like the Thunder have an equal, if not larger, value.

Honest question: Have you never been to a non Thunder event at Paycom? We are talking about an Arena here not just a basketball gym, and how fortunate is OKC to have a full time tenant for the future arena.

[PoliSciGuy]

Fine, burn it to the ground. Arenas are overrated. You got me.

It was an honest question, just asking where you got your information from. No need to go all extreme in your response just because you can’t back up your claim.