Benham picked for Ford Center renovations
Benham picked for Ford Center renovation
The Journal Record
March 14, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY – The City Council will be asked to approve the selection of an architectural design firm to handle $100 million in renovations to the downtown Ford Center arena on Tuesday, city officials said.
Plans submitted by the Benham Cos., the same Oklahoma City firm that designed the center, were chosen by a three-member committee after a lengthy review process, City Manager Jim Couch said. The committee was composed of Couch, Public Works Director Dennis Clowers and local businessman Clay Bennett.
Couch said the committee was set by city ordinance, which requires that he and someone from Clowers’ department participate, as well as a third party representing facility users.
In the case of a library issue, for example, a member of the library board would be involved. Bennett was asked to participate because he heads Professional Basketball Club LLC, the group that bought the SuperSonics NBA team last year.
Earlier this month city residents passed a temporary 1-percent sales tax worth about $120 million to make the arena NBA-worthy. About $20 million of the expected tax revenue will go toward the construction of a separate practice facility for the sole use of a National Basketball League team, if the NBA’s board of governors allows the owners’ request to move the Sonics out of the team’s current home in Seattle. The board’s decision is expected in early April.
Among the improvements expected in the arena are the addition of sit-down restaurants and clubs so fans can eat and drink while watching the game, a larger team retail store area, new bathrooms and bigger locker rooms. If the NBA decides against letting the Sonics move to Oklahoma City, the practice facility will not be built but about $100 million in other upgrades will be completed for other arena uses.
Benham, which will partner with Denver-based Sink Combs Dethlefs, beat out two other strong contenders in the final round of committee review, Special Projects Manager Tom Anderson confirmed: St. Louis-based HOK Inc., partnered with the Oklahoma City firm of Glover Smith Bode, and Minneapolis-based Ellerbe Becket, partnered with Oklahoma City firm Glover Smith Bode.
Couch said the selection committee received additional input from other industry professionals and arena users. Arena General Manager Gary Desjardins, for example, was given the opportunity to represent Philadelphia-based arena management company SMG and other tenants. Desjardins said he was unable to attend the final reviews because of the birth of his son.
The Ford Center regularly hosts the Blazers minor league hockey team and Yard Dawgz arena football team, as well as other large events such as Professional Bull Riders competitions. Couch said considerations for NBA-specific uses of the arena were weighed against general uses. But for the most part, any improvements to the Ford Center for professional basketball games will likely benefit other visitors as well. Desjardins agreed.“We had three of the best architecture firms in the country,” Couch said. “It was all taken into consideration. … These guys really, really know their stuff.”
A separate contract will be awarded for the design of a new practice facility. The identity of that firm was not immediately available Thursday, but officials confirmed Benham was not a finalist. The city will continue to own the properties and lease them to the NBA team, officials said.
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