Paycom Center (formerly Chesapeake Arena)

[Pete]

All the talk about the Thunder and the new arena and few realize that on top of everything else, taxpayers heavily subsidize Paycom and you can bet that will even be more the case with the new facility.

Somehow, that information is always left out of the conversation, and "the City owns it" is presented as a plus when it's just another huge expense; around $10 million every year just to ASM (there are other expenses as well). The City does a good job of burying the related costs in its budget; they're never shown as a distinct line item.

[Dob Hooligan]

In reading the story, I take it to say the money is still around, but in different account from what the Auditors have determined it should be. The previous City staff person who was in charge of interaction and oversight with this partner retired in early 2023, and the current person has been in the role for about 18 months. She has spent that time going through all the operations and getting a handle on it. City Manager Craig Freeman said it would work out and didn't seem too stressed about it.

I'm going to suggest it is a difference of interpretations in a business agreement that has solid protections for the City.

[Pete]

^

The money is not just in a separate account. The City paid it to ASM. The article doesn't say how or if that money will be returned. Sounds like a good chunk of it was spent by ASM to market their events.

This is not a nothing. It's nearly $12 million in taxpayer funds that was only caught by an auditor after 6 years of overpayment. Even if it was a series of honest mistakes by ASM (and that remains to be seen), it's a huge fail of oversight from the City.


It's a very weird thing about OKC. Nobody trusts the federal government and most believe the entire thing should be blown up. The state government is a national joke. The county government is universally regarded as deeply corrupt and inept. But at the City level, these are all great people (I talked to X once at a Chamber meeting and he/she was very nice!) and we should just impose billions in extra taxes, allow them to allocate those billions in private meetings, and just trust everyone. It's borderline crazy.

You know the huge, multi-year stink about Swadley's at the state level? That was for a total of $4.7 million in alleged over billing.

[mugofbeer]

It would be nice if the article weren't behind a pay wall so everyone could see the claims and start to learn what's going on. I know it happens but l find it hard to believe millions of dollars are just being disbursed with no on-the-spot oversight and approval.

[Jake]

[Teo9969]

This arena deal will almost surely increase the spotlight on the cost of this amenity to the city as a whole.

At $1B of capital cost, citizens should be advocating for a line item budget of the arena itself.

[fromdust]

It would be nice if the article weren't behind a pay wall so everyone could see the claims and start to learn what's going on. I know it happens but l find it hard to believe millions of dollars are just being disbursed with no on-the-spot oversight and approval.

https://archive.ph/20241117134605/ht...s/76135597007/

[Urbanized]

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/ente...s/77724255007/

From a farewell show for country music icon Alan Jackson to a fall stop on popular comedian Nate Bargatze's world tour, Oklahoma City's Paycom Center is planning an eventful 2025 after a record-breaking year in 2024.

The downtown OKC arena ended 2024 having hosted 41 concert events, breaking the venue's previous record of 37 comedy or music shows in 2022.

“Paycom Center is proud to represent the region as a top destination for touring events,” General Manager Chris Semrau said in a statement. “Our team works tirelessly to bring the best entertainment to the community, and that hard work is reflected in another record-breaking year.”

The best-selling arena in Oklahoma for 2024, Paycom Center moved up to No. 38 in the United States and No. 60 worldwide on Pollstar’s end-of-year list of Top 200 Arenas. Pollstar is a leading trade publication covering the global concert business.

[DoctorTaco]

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/ente...s/77724255007/

But I was told that the Paycom was a total PoS and nobody wanted to perform there.

[gopokes88]

But I was told that the Paycom was a total PoS and nobody wanted to perform there.

Literally no one told you that.

[Urbanized]

LOL pretty sure literally nobody made that case. That said, this bodes extremely well for the future of concert bookings in the new building, which besides the newness and improved attendee comfort will allow more back-to-back and large stage set shows due to greatly improved load-in/load-out circumstances,

[gopokes88]

LOL pretty sure literally nobody made that case. That said, this bodes extremely well for the future of concert bookings in the new building, which besides the newness will allow more back-to-back and large stage set shows due to greatly improved load-in/load-out circumstances,

I believe that's what people said Paycom isn't capable of. A quick conversion from basketball to concert back to basketball, with 42 dates a year already booked plus playoff holds. We do miss some shows because of the physical limitation of the building.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The bigger logistical issue is a cramped loading dock that doesn’t allow simultaneous load-out and load-in. Drastically reduces the window for back-to-back events of any kind, although basketball is not as much of a limiting factor because all of the equipment is already on-site.