Paycom Center (formerly Chesapeake Arena)

[warreng88]

The Paycom area is a little over 13 acres. Directly to the west is the REHCO lot which I would guess is 25 acres (Hudson to Robinson and Reno to north of the bike path ROW) and then to the west of that another 12 acres or so. Do you think all three (old paycom, REHCO, lot to the west of REHCO) would be done at the same time?

[Rover]

Like I said before, believe me now or believe me later. Paycom will be torn down and the site redeveloped. I rarely make firm pronouncements/predictions of this type on this board, and pretty sure my record when doing so speaks for itself.

It's kind of humerous that people come on this board ostensibly to find out what is going on in the city, and then completely ignore or try to argue with the actual people who know and try to tell them.

I appreciate your candor and information you share. My advice is that you say it once and then let people believe what they want to believe... they will anyway.

[bombermwc]

The maintenance question came up a few times since my last comment. Folks, they can almost ignore the place for the next 15 years and not have to worry about it. We basically ignored the Myriad when it was the primary arena. lol. But in all seriousness, the maintenance costs on the place will drastically reduce when the demand for it falls out.

Hell if they dozed it the day after the other arena opened, ok. But my point is, i don't see the city selling the land or putting something in on that land that they aren't willing to toss later. Maybe we create a new Thunder Alley or some other sort of "thing" to have outdoor events. That's easily removed when the next arena comes along.

More than keeping the arena itself, i think it's more about keeping the land. And if the city sells it off, they're not making a good decision there. Because they paid early 1990's crappy downtown market rates for what's now prime real estate. The next time they want to build an arena, it's going to cost a LOT more to get the same amount of land. That's when people start asking if downtown is the right place to build next time and all the downtown death that comes after that starts. Yeah that's a bit of a big statement, but i'm just trying to pain part of the argument for why I wouldn't suggest doing that.

[warreng88]

By the way, props to the Paycom for the most recent bookings of Disturbed/Falling in Reverse, Turnpike Troubadours/Jason Isbell, Tool and NF. I know two people from Dallas coming up for Disturbed and Tool (a week apart) and I think I am going as well. It has been a while since I have been to a concert at the Paycom.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^
I have a friend coming down from Wichita for Tool, and I believe he will also be joining me for a Thunder game either the night before or the night after. He'll be staying two nights, probably at The National. Eating meals here, possibly shopping some. Paying room tax and sales tax...OUR taxes. Paid for by someone from another city. There is a microcosm of the type of economic impact an arena brings to our city.

[warreng88]

^^^^^^
I have a friend coming down from Wichita for Tool, and I believe he will also be joining me for a Thunder game either the night before or the night after. He'll be staying two nights, probably at The National. Eating meals here, possibly shopping some. Paying room tax and sales tax...OUR taxes. Paid for by someone from another city. There is a microcosm of the type of economic impact an arena brings to our city.

My friend from Dallas works remotely and she was just thinking about getting an airbnb for the week and making it a little trip. She went to OU and would spend time down there as well. But (and this is a big argument that a lot of people aren't going to like) if those concerts weren't coming to OKC, she wouldn't just be going out to other concerts and spending that money elsewhere. She would have just stayed home.

[PhiAlpha]

My friend from Dallas works remotely and she was just thinking about getting an airbnb for the week and making it a little trip. She went to OU and would spend time down there as well. But (and this is a big argument that a lot of people aren't going to like) if those concerts weren't coming to OKC, she wouldn't just be going out to other concerts and spending that money elsewhere. She would have just stayed home.

But how can that be? We've been assured repeatedly by other posters and one of our city councilmen that 10.000 to 18,000 people would absolutely travel to hangout downtown on any given night regardless of whether there were events at the arena to draw them there?!?

[citywokchinesefood]

But how can that be? We've been assured repeatedly by other posters and one of our city councilmen that 10.000 to 18,000 people would absolutely travel to hangout downtown on any given night regardless of whether there were events at the arena to draw them there?!?

Their brains are leaking out their ears. I solved the problem for you. Some people have a one tract mind that is incapable of nuance.

[OkieBerto]

But how can that be? We've been assured repeatedly by other posters and one of our city councilmen that 10.000 to 18,000 people would absolutely travel to hangout downtown on any given night regardless of whether there were events at the arena to draw them there?!?

It has been a while and a lot has been added downtown, but when I worked at a hotel downtown and the Thunder were in the Playoffs the city was packed and booming. After the season was over it was crickets. That being said the convention center still brought in a ton of out-of-towners. Anytime we build something that brings people in more often, it will be good for the city.

[chssooner]

Apparently Empire Slice House is opening at the arena.

[Teo9969]

The Paycom area is a little over 13 acres. Directly to the west is the REHCO lot which I would guess is 25 acres (Hudson to Robinson and Reno to north of the bike path ROW) and then to the west of that another 12 acres or so. Do you think all three (old paycom, REHCO, lot to the west of REHCO) would be done at the same time?

Assuming the new arena is put on the Cox site, I would assume that the old Paycom site and REHCO sites lag at least 3 years behind the new arena. 2029 is right around the corner for large project developments. Think about Dream hotels, which OKCTalk first started talking about in 2021, so they were working on that in 2020 if not earlier. Permits haven't even been filed and the earliest it would likely open is 2026, so 7 years?

An RFP hasn't even been thought about for the Paycom site yet and likely wouldn't be until at least we've selected a new site for the arena and started construction, so 7 years from 2026 would be 2033. REHCO could happen any day, but they seem content to hold for awhile. I'd assume they'd want a hotel on that property but would want a subsidy for it and that's off the table until the 2030s.

[HOT ROD]

those other projects could move faster given the momentum that the arena will create, along with Dream and the other projects slated to start soon, not to mention the big elephant in the room - LA 2028 with OKC potentially co-hosting. Assuming all of that - there could be huge momentum/incentive to build on the REHCO lands, the Paycom site, and possibly the COOP lands (and more).

It could be the largest building boom in OKC history, in just 5 years, all due to momentum of events and attractions upcoming and development starting now/soon in downtown.

[dankrutka]

Apparently Empire Slice House is opening at the arena.

Nice! More of this! The food at the arena is terrible. This will be a big upgrade.

[okatty]

Attended the Spurs game last night and sat in Section 109 down in the “end riser” area. Did the rise between the rows change significantly this season in those areas? The row in front of us was not much higher than our row. I can’t claim to have sat in that area a lot, but I have in past years and never noticed this as an issue. Just curious if others have experienced this.

[midtownokcer]

Attended the Spurs game last night and sat in Section 109 down in the “end riser” area. Did the rise between the rows change significantly this season in those areas? The row in front of us was not much higher than our row. I can’t claim to have sat in that area a lot, but I have in past years and never noticed this as an issue. Just curious if others have experienced this.

It's definitely changed after they replaced and reconfigured about half the seats in the lower bowl/100s. The seating changes were supposed to create better sightlines. Sounds like that wasn't the case in your experience?

https://youtu.be/29ude1iyxaI?si=-68ktidxoNpSx6XR

[okatty]

^No ours was not good. That new walk thru area in the middle maybe impacts it….not sure. I was very unimpressed with those seats. Thanks for the News9 clip.

[CitySooner]

Attended the Spurs game last night and sat in Section 109 down in the “end riser” area. Did the rise between the rows change significantly this season in those areas? The row in front of us was not much higher than our row. I can’t claim to have sat in that area a lot, but I have in past years and never noticed this as an issue. Just curious if others have experienced this.

Somebody in our office had this happen to them on their season tickets. What once was an alright view, is now blocked by the person in front of them because of the issue you described. The Thunder are actually moving their seats for no additional cost because of this.

[okatty]

^I am certain this changed with the new seating this year. We had tickets for many years in Section 108 and 112 and never experienced this. I would use caution if buying a ticket that says “end riser.”

[Bowser214]

Country Music Association nominated Paycom Center as top concert venue nationwide!
Glad this came out after the vote! Lol
https://koco.com/article/oklahoma-cm...venue/46128775

[Jersey Boss]

No loading dock demerits either.

[chssooner]

Country Music Association nominated Paycom Center as top concert venue nationwide!
Glad this came out after the vote! Lol
https://koco.com/article/oklahoma-cm...venue/46128775

Why? Country shows don't have super fancy stages. Just a simple stage and a guy or girl singing on stage.

[Ginkasa]

That's cool, but to be clear I think it reflects more on how many country acts we just naturally attract being who we are and (more positively) how positive the artists, etc. find the experience playing in the arena. Its more a behind the scenes thing than a commentary on how good the arena is overall, if that makes sense.

[jn1780]

It almost seems like a partipation prize. As long as your venue isn't terrible and your in a market favorable to country music you will probably get on the list eventually.

[Mississippi Blues]

I don’t care how you swing it, that’s kinda funny.

[DoctorTaco]

AHMM posted these photos of an NBA Locker room for an "undisclosed team" in an "undisclosed city," but I think we all know where this is. Amazing work as always from that shop:
https://www.ahmm.co.uk/projects/amer...rmance-center/

P.S. as I posted this I assumed it was at Paycom but is it actually at the practice facility? idk