New Downtown Arena

[Plutonic Panda]

Its cool and inspiring now. Just wait until they’re using it for actual advertising.

With the way, Vegas is going it wouldn’t surprise me. But if anyone wants an excuse to go to Vegas and has it been for a while this should be a reason why. This thing is fu€king amazing in person.

[Bunty]

That is not an arena. It is the worlds most expensive billboard/concert hall/movie theater.

Then make it an arena.

[Bunty]

Easy for someone in Stillwater to say that OKC‘s citizens should funds about $2 billion.

No, I'm thinking of billionaires and millionaires hopefully willing to finance it. Where do you think Heartland is getting financing for its $2 billion park? Maybe a smaller version of the Sphere could be in Heartland.

[Bill Robertson]

Mayor Holt is going to talk about the arena tomorrow morning on the KATT. Not that he'll say anything we don't already know.

[Pete]

Mayor Holt is going to talk about the arena tomorrow morning on the KATT. Not that he'll say anything we don't already know.

It's all just vague PR in advance of the detailed plans being revealed in the next month or two.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City IMO could build something comparable to Little Caesar's Arena (Detroit) with 1,500 less seats (around 18,500) and more space for an outside exterior balcony and amenities on the PSM site in the $750 million-$800 million range.

Seats can be red, orange, blue or teal--any of these seat colors or combinations will do.

Do feasibility study on reviving the All College Tournament (NCAA basketball) Holiday Tournament which would benefit downtown hotels and Bricktown Entertainment District--get OU and/or OSU to commit to the event.

Get a major tourists attraction downtown like a multi-million dollar Zoo Aquarium.

Utilizing a new arena and Paycom Center could bring back the FFA 10,000 member attendees convention to OKC until a decision is made on the Paycom Arena.

^ ^ ^ This could lead to construction of more 'quality' downtown hotels with more potential to attract level II, III type conventions.

[AlvarezK]

More fan engagement love the idea.

[Laramie]

We passed the first MAPS initiative in 1993; we took the process underground and allowed those involved to get their ideas together before being presented to the public. Mayor Ron Norick is who we all credit with getting the first MAPS passed and getting our city to place more emphasis on 'quality of life' aspects of our city floated the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) that saved aging infrastructure (City owned buildings, school buildings, a river and improvements of overall quality of life).

Let's get the 'whole' city council involved with periodic reports without jeopardizing the integrity of the project. Important that all members agree to keep this process behind the scenes and allow our mayor (spokesperson) to speak out about the process.

I know there are many things our city needs to address (all ideas need to be evaluated); however, you can only focus on a few at a time.

On the arena development, we don't need a true hard core figure until determine what will be needed for a new arena addressing NBA, major concerts and events. We know the range will be somewhere in the $600 million - $1 billion range for a city of our size.

Small NBA markets under 2 million MSA population:]

40. Milwaukee 1,559,792 - Fiserv Forum, $524 million (arena portion) - 714,000 sq ft
42. Oklahoma City 1,459,380 - Paycom Center, $89. 2 million - 586,000 sq ft (opened 2002)
44. Memphis 1,332,305 - Fedex Forum, $250 million - 805,850 ft (opened 2004)
46. Salt Lake City 1,266,191 - Delta Center, $93 million - 743,000 sq ft (opened 1991)
47. New Orleans 1,246,176 - Smoothie King Center, $114 million - 571,000 sq ft (opened 1999)

The Thunder ownership will make a significant contribution; we won't know that until we determine specification and outcomes.

[Laramie]

Just want to mention what IMO is a sense of civic pride in our Thunder ownership.

If this was about 'money' they could have easily put the franchise up for sale and distributed more than $1.875 billion - $2 billion (Forbes 2023 NBA team evaluations - OKC #24) among themselves based on their investments.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/nba-valuations/list/#tabverall

.

[OUGrad05]

We passed the first MAPS initiative in 1993; we took the process underground and allowed those involved to get their ideas together before being presented to the public. Mayor Ron Norick is who we all credit with getting the first MAPS passed and getting our city to place more emphasis on 'quality of life' aspects of our city floated the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) that saved aging infrastructure (City owned buildings, school buildings, a river and improvements of overall quality of life).

Let's get the 'whole' city council involved with periodic reports without jeopardizing the integrity of the project. Important that all members agree to keep this process behind the scenes and allow our mayor (spokesperson) to speak out about the process.

I know there are many things our city needs to address (all ideas need to be evaluated); however, you can only focus on a few at a time.

On the arena development, we don't need a true hard core figure until determine what will be needed for a new arena addressing NBA, major concerts and events. We know the range will be somewhere in the $600 million - $1 billion range for a city of our size.

Small NBA markets under 2 million MSA population:]

40. Milwaukee 1,559,792 - Fiserv Forum, $524 million (arena portion) - 714,000 sq ft
42. Oklahoma City 1,459,380 - Paycom Center, $89. 2 million - 586,000 sq ft (opened 2002)
44. Memphis 1,332,305 - Fedex Forum, $250 million - 805,850 ft (opened 2004)
46. Salt Lake City 1,266,191 - Delta Center, $93 million - 743,000 sq ft (opened 1991)
47. New Orleans 1,246,176 - Smoothie King Center, $114 million - 571,000 sq ft (opened 1999)

The Thunder ownership will make a significant contribution; we won't know that until we determine specification and outcomes.

Why do you think ownership will pay a dime of the new arena?

I think as a city we just have to decide do we want to keep a professional sports team knowing that every 20 years it'll require the equiv of half a billion dollars of investment. Is that a worthy investment for the city or should we spend those funds somewhere else?

[chssooner]

Why do you think ownership will pay a dime of the new arena?

I think as a city we just have to decide do we want to keep a professional sports team knowing that every 20 years it'll require the equiv of half a billion dollars of investment. Is that a worthy investment for the city or should we spend those funds somewhere else?

Because the mayor said as much when he gave the State of the City address. He specifically said that ownership is going to contribute significantly financially to the new arena.

[April in the Plaza]

Just want to mention what IMO is a sense of civic pride in our Thunder ownership.

If this was about 'money' they could have easily put the franchise up for sale and distributed more than $1.875 billion - $2 billion (Forbes 2023 NBA team evaluations - OKC #24) among themselves based on their investments.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/nba-valuations/list/#tabverall

I think you are giving them too much credit. These guys aren't normal folks that need to sell a house to buy another one. And they certainly don't need to sell down their equity position in anything to fund their lifestyle or pay for a night out at Ruth's Chris. If you're that wealthy, you just borrow against your equity position in the team. No sense in paying capital gains taxes (and i'm assuming a 1031 exchange is not available for sports ball team divestitures), especially if you're sitting on an asset which should continue to appreciate substantially in the next decade.

And, all of them own businesses that employ folks in the OKC area. Having the Thunder in OKC helps those businesses recruit talent and, arguably, helps those businesses make more money than they would otherwise. At a minimum, those businesses get some sort of benefit if the Thunder are located in OKC.

[PoliSciGuy]

Just want to mention what IMO is a sense of civic pride in our Thunder ownership.

If this was about 'money' they could have easily put the franchise up for sale and distributed more than $1.875 billion - $2 billion (Forbes 2023 NBA team evaluations - OKC #24) among themselves based on their investments.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/nba-valuations/list/#tabverall

.

No, you don’t really need to give billionaires credit or praise them for being selfless citizens for continuing to hold on to an asset that will continue to increase in value, especially when they’re about to strongarm the city into outlaying a massive amount of money for a new arena.

[chssooner]

No, you don’t really need to give billionaires credit or praise them for being selfless citizens for continuing to hold on to an asset that will continue to increase in value, especially when they’re about to strongarm the city into outlaying a massive amount of money for a new arena.

You use harsh words so unnecessarily.

[PhiAlpha]

Why do you think ownership will pay a dime of the new arena?

I think as a city we just have to decide do we want to keep a professional sports team knowing that every 20 years it'll require the equiv of half a billion dollars of investment. Is that a worthy investment for the city or should we spend those funds somewhere else?

Because the mayor literally said the owners were planning to contribute significantly?

And 20 years? This one will be purpose built with a tenant and likely will last a good deal longer than that.

[Pete]

The rumored number is $70 million vs. approximately a $1 billion total cost.

'Significant' is a highly subjective term.

[chssooner]

The rumored number is $70 million vs. approximately a $1 billion total cost.

'Significant' is a highly subjective term.

This makes no sense. Holt is so, so meticulous and crafty with his phrasing. So for him to say significant and it be 7% doesn't seem prudent for him (which is so out of character).

Maybe I'm wrong about Holt entirely, though.

[caaokc]

I was thinking 20% minimum to be considered significant

[Pete]

This makes no sense. Holt is so, so meticulous and crafty with his phrasing. So for him to say significant and it be 7% doesn't seem prudent for him (which is so out of character).

Maybe I'm wrong about Holt entirely, though.

I don't know the number for sure, but $70 million has been tossed around for about a year.

I think Holt is a good mayor, but he is 1000% behind this deal and I wouldn't expect him to be anything near objective when it comes to his phrasing. He's been in full campaign mode for this for well over a year.

[chssooner]

I don't know the number for sure, but $70 million has been tossed around for about a year.

I think Holt is a good mayor, but he is 1000% behind this deal and I wouldn't expect him to be anything near objective when it comes to his phrasing. He's been in full campaign mode for this for well over a year.

Is the $70 coming from the Maps allocation for the arena? I may be getting the mixed with another amount.

Not bashing at all, just curious, since Holt is such a good mayor who is always careful with his wording.

[April in the Plaza]

I was thinking 20% minimum to be considered significant

I'd be fine with 20% from ownership so long as they also commit to a full re-brand.

the Dorito/shield logo has to be one of the worst in pro sports.

[Pete]

Is the $70 coming from the Maps allocation for the arena? I may be getting the mixed with another amount.

Not bashing at all, just curious, since Holt is such a good mayor who is always careful with his wording.

We are talking about the financial contribution of the Thunder ownership, which Holt has described as 'significant'.

Keep in mind there will almost certainly be a non-arena aspect to this development (restaurants and other types of entertainment) and their money may be put towards that while also participating in associated profits. That was the plan with the proposed Thunder Alley south of Paycom and I expect they will take that concept and just enlarge it.

[caaokc]

I'd be fine with 20% from ownership so long as they also commit to a full re-brand.

the Dorito/shield logo has to be one of the worst in pro sports.

They really should make the 18-19 Native American Jerseys the official logo/brand

[PoliSciGuy]

The rumored number is $70 million vs. approximately a $1 billion total cost.

'Significant' is a highly subjective term.

Oh man that’s awful, and completely obliterates the idea of these owners being good loyal citizens who are doing all this out of the goodness of their hearts

[chssooner]

Oh man that’s awful, and completely obliterates the idea of these owners being good loyal citizens who are doing all this out of the goodness of their hearts

Bookmarking for when the final details come out.