MAPS 4 Stadium

[jn1780]

Here is Lackmeyer's story with quotes from Funk and Holt. Appears Funk/Energy are buying the land and donating it to the city for the stadium.

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news...g/71991914007/

Well its great to see Funk invest in the Energys future. 2027 is a long time for a team to sit idle.

[ChrisHayes]

When are they going to start construction?

[Pete]

New stadium to be located south of Bricktown

At the end of December, the City Council was briefed on the intention to place the new MAPS 4 multi-purpose stadium on the former site of the Producer’s Coop just south of Bricktown.

Notes obtained by OKCTalk show the intention to add $30 million to the original stadium budget of $41 million. $20 million would come from tax increment financing (TIF) and $10 million would be derived from funds generated by the Omni Hotel deal with the City.

The $71 million total budget would allow for several improvements from the base $41 million, such as increasing capacity from 8,000 to 10,000 and adding shade structures.

FC Energy, Oklahoma City’s professional soccer team, has suspended operations due to a lack of an adequate stadium. The Energy would be the primary tenant once the facility is completed.

The facility would also be suitable for professional and college soccer, high school football and soccer, concerts, and other events. Oklahoma City is believed to be the only top 50 city without access to a multi-purpose stadium suitable for such events.

The design of the stadium would allow for future expansion.

The location discussed in the meeting is the site of the old Producer’s Coop cotton seed mill, which was demolished several years ago. The larger plan for the 34-acre parcel would include surrounding housing, retail, and restaurants.

The new stadium is currently scheduled for a 2027 completion.

The project would be in addition to the new $1 billion arena which will likely be on the site of the old Cox Center. Located between the arena and the proposed stadium, the massive Boardwalk at Bricktown hopes to start work later this year.

bump

[bombermwc]

Very exciting. Just hope that they can get the site cleaned up. Granted, putting a stadium on top sort of "covers" the mess without having to deal with it in the same way as you would if you were, say, put in a development that had to scoop out for a basement or something.

I'm crossing my fingers that they make it usable for things like football to host state games and marching contests!

[cornhusker740]

That would be a great development for downtown and soccer fans in the area, but no talk of making it work for baseball too?

Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark turns 26 years old this year, which is older than Paycom, and it's the third oldest facility in the PCL.

Kind of surprised not much has been said about maybe a more modern stadium for the OKC Baseball Club/Dodgers.

[David]

I liked the OKANA idea but it'll be really nice to see the Coop site get used for something, and so much the better if this jump starts the development on the rest of the site.

Gonna be a shame if the lingering remediation issues prevent any housing anywhere nearby.

[BoulderSooner]

That would be a great development for downtown and soccer fans in the area, but no talk of making it work for baseball too?

Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark turns 26 years old this year, which is older than Paycom, and it's the third oldest facility in the PCL.

Kind of surprised not much has been said about maybe a more modern stadium for the OKC Baseball Club/Dodgers.

baseball and soccer don't co exist in stadiums ..

and bricktown ballpark is still one of the very very best in all of minor league baseball .. there is 0 reason to replace it ... ever ..(okc continues to renovate it over time and that is great)

[cinnamonjock]

That would be a great development for downtown and soccer fans in the area, but no talk of making it work for baseball too?

Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark turns 26 years old this year, which is older than Paycom, and it's the third oldest facility in the PCL.

Kind of surprised not much has been said about maybe a more modern stadium for the OKC Baseball Club/Dodgers.

Multipurpose stadiums are pretty terrible for watching or playing any sport. I don't think one has been built outside the high school level in years.

Age really isn't a factor in baseball facilities. Think Fenway and Wrigley. Even Dodger Stadium was built in the 1960's. There is an argument that old stadiums add to the fun and charm of the game.

[Oski]

Said it before and will say it again: pitch this to The Cordish Companies and let them develop this:
https://www.cordish.com/businesses/s...ored-districts

[warreng88]

Said it before and will say it again: pitch this to The Cordish Companies and let them develop this:
https://www.cordish.com/businesses/s...ored-districts

I was just looking at them last week and would love for them to do something like partner with MR/REHCO in the redevelopment of the site between the Myriad Gardens and scissortail. Or where the old arena sits now when the new Thunder Dome is built...

[chssooner]

Said it before and will say it again: pitch this to The Cordish Companies and let them develop this:
https://www.cordish.com/businesses/s...ored-districts

I don't know how they would feel about tens or hundreds of millions in site remediation. OKC would have to pay for that, or reimburse them.

[aDark]

Said it before and will say it again: pitch this to The Cordish Companies and let them develop this:
https://www.cordish.com/businesses/s...ored-districts

I've also mentioned the benefit of an "OKC Live". I've been wondering if that's the future plan for the current Paycom space, assuming the new indoor Arena is on the Prairie Surf spot.

[cornhusker740]

baseball and soccer don't co exist in stadiums ..

and bricktown ballpark is still one of the very very best in all of minor league baseball .. there is 0 reason to replace it ... ever ..(okc continues to renovate it over time and that is great)

Werner Park in Omaha hosts the Storm Chasers (AAA baseball) and a USL soccer team so it's not totally unheard of.

[king183]

The details aren't adding up here, and that simply may because they haven't been made public. If that site does, in fact, require millions of dollars in environmental remediation, where is that money coming from and what's the plan to remediate it? The stadium proposal is for only 9 of the 34+ acres. Assuming a soccer stadium land-use doesn't require remediation, they should be fine for those 9 acres. But then what for the other 25, especially if the plan is to use it as "a catalyst" for housing?

[chssooner]

The details aren't adding up here, and that simply may because they haven't been made public. If that site does, in fact, require millions of dollars in environmental remediation, where is that money coming from and what's the plan to remediate it? The stadium proposal is for only 9 of the 34+ acres. Assuming a soccer stadium land-use doesn't require remediation, they should be fine for those 9 acres. But then what for the other 25, especially if the plan is to use it as "a catalyst" for housing?

The other 25 will be subject to remediation requirements based on use. So residential will require substantially more than office or multipurpose, like this stadium.

[jn1780]

I bet the city will chip in to help clean up those other 25 acres at some point in time.

[Laramie]

I know renderings are useless at this point. And I know my opinion doesn't mean anything. But every rendering I've seen shows a U-shaped stadium with one endzone open. IMHO this is an idea from the 90's-early 2000's that has already gone away. The MLS 2.0 stadiums (FC Dallas, Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake, Chicago Fire) were all built around the same time, and all had this same configuration, more or less. The idea was to have a "soccer specific" stadium that could also be used for concerts. Columbus has already built a new, fully-enclosed stadium. Chicago moved back to Soldier Field. Having been to many of the MLS stadia, IMHO Colorado and FC Dallas have the least atmosphere of any I've been to. There are other factors in play, as well, but a LOT of that I attribute to the empty endzone at both. It looks like a stadium where soccer is played, but NOT a soccer stadium.
Since then, except for SJ Earthquakes outdoor bar that they built, EVERY new MLS stadium is a fully-enclosed structure that actually looks like a proper stadium. Anyway, that's just my opinion. Which, I admit, doesn't mean much.

^ ^ ^

Definitely need to go ahead and enclose the stadium.

Our city could use 'naming rights' to provide funds to enlarge the stadium from 8,000 seats to 10,000 seats. Delay an anchor
tenant until a group is serious about moving OKC to the MLS level.

[SouthOKC]

The details aren't adding up here, and that simply may because they haven't been made public. If that site does, in fact, require millions of dollars in environmental remediation, where is that money coming from and what's the plan to remediate it? The stadium proposal is for only 9 of the 34+ acres. Assuming a soccer stadium land-use doesn't require remediation, they should be fine for those 9 acres. But then what for the other 25, especially if the plan is to use it as "a catalyst" for housing?

Isn’t the same guy directing the stadium development the one that owns the team? The same guy that would directly benefit from his team playing in a higher level league and possibly even the MLS. Isn’t it the same guy that’s attempting to acquire and develop the adjoining land?

Who doesn’t budget for land acquisition on this size of development? Who in their right mind would think you don’t need funds to acquire the best possible location? If I were a businessman and owned the OKC Energy I would be very pleased with how this is proceeding.

[jn1780]

I agree with wanting a fully enclosed stadium but they cite Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville as an inspiration and that's the definition of a U-shaped stadium. Guess it'll just depend on cost in the end.

I wouldn't call the current plan a true U either. It is what it is, a budget friendly stadium that just got a little boost in its budget. The great thing about U or partial U's is that they can easily be turned into O's in the future. Just look at Gaylord stadium. The USA softball Hall of Stadium is another facility that has been slowly been upgraded over the years.

[Jake]

I wouldn't call the current plan a true U either. It is what it is, a budget friendly stadium that just got a little boost in its budget. The great thing about U or partial U's is that they can easily be turned into O's in the future. Just look at Gaylord stadium. The USA softball Hall of Stadium is another faciality that has been slowly been upgraded over the years.

I'm just glad it'll have shade structures to be honest. Doesn't matter to me if it's "U-shaped" with a bar/patio thing going on.

[Pete]

I'm just glad it'll have shade structures to be honest. Doesn't matter to me if it's "U-shaped" with a bar/patio thing going on.

I'm not 100% sure it will have shade structures, but that was shown in 'Option 2' and coincides with the increased budget.

They could easily get value-engineered out before the stadium is built. Long way to go with financing approvals (TIF and Omni funds), then final design, competitive bidding, etc.

[Jake]

I'm not 100% sure it will have shade structures, but that was shown in 'Option 2' and coincides with the increased budget.

They could easily get value-engineered out before the stadium is built. Long way to go with financing approvals (TIF and Omni funds), then final design, competitive bidding, etc.

Dang, I got my hopes up. Hope it happens. Like the location regardless.

[Anonymous.]

^ ^ ^

Definitely need to go ahead and enclose the stadium.

Our city could use 'naming rights' to provide funds to enlarge the stadium from 8,000 seats to 10,000 seats. Delay an anchor
tenant until a group is serious about moving OKC to the MLS level.

I was just in St Louis and their new soccer stadium is not fully enclosed. I think it cost over $400MM.

I really love that they built their field into the ground. It makes the stadium less daunting at street level.

[fiercebboy]

baseball and soccer don't co exist in stadiums ..

and bricktown ballpark is still one of the very very best in all of minor league baseball .. there is 0 reason to replace it ... ever ..(okc continues to renovate it over time and that is great)

if only they could turn the orientation of the field 180 degrees to have the OKC skyline over the outfield...

[PhiAlpha]

I know renderings are useless at this point. And I know my opinion doesn't mean anything. But every rendering I've seen shows a U-shaped stadium with one endzone open. IMHO this is an idea from the 90's-early 2000's that has already gone away. The MLS 2.0 stadiums (FC Dallas, Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake, Chicago Fire) were all built around the same time, and all had this same configuration, more or less. The idea was to have a "soccer specific" stadium that could also be used for concerts. Columbus has already built a new, fully-enclosed stadium. Chicago moved back to Soldier Field. Having been to many of the MLS stadia, IMHO Colorado and FC Dallas have the least atmosphere of any I've been to. There are other factors in play, as well, but a LOT of that I attribute to the empty endzone at both. It looks like a stadium where soccer is played, but NOT a soccer stadium.
Since then, except for SJ Earthquakes outdoor bar that they built, EVERY new MLS stadium is a fully-enclosed structure that actually looks like a proper stadium. Anyway, that's just my opinion. Which, I admit, doesn't mean much.

They've always billed this as a stadium that could be expanded to host the MLS so I don't really think current MLS stadiums are a great comparison. It can always be enclosed if we got an MLS franchise. I don't think it's really worth allocating funds to part of the stadium that would almost always be empty absent an MLS franchise when they could be put to better use.