MAPS 4 Stadium

[jn1780]

So the state issues a report speculating as to what contaniments are buried at this site. They have not done any testing to get specifics. Yet the state has the audacity to say contaniments can be dumped in a landfill. Also without knowing specifics they claim respirators will not be required safety equipment.
2 words come to mind, "Imagine that"!

That's for disposal of the test samples and they have a good idea of what could be in the samples based on the history of the site. Landfills are designed to handle toxic waste(people don't follow the rules when it comes to throwing their garbage away). Obviously, during a full site remediation, something else may need to be done besides dumping it all in the landfill depending on the results of the test.

37 cubic yards is being removed, that is about the size of one large roll away dumpster you find at construction sites

[Mesta Parker]

That's for disposal of the test samples and they have a good idea of what could be in the samples based on the history of the site. Landfills are designed to handle toxic waste(people don't follow the rules when it comes to throwing their garbage away). Obviously, during a full site remediation, something else may need to be done besides dumping it all in the landfill depending on the results of the test.

37 cubic yards is being removed, that is about the size of one large roll away dumpster you find at construction sites

Municipal landfills are designed to receive household wastes and other non-hazardous waste material, not hazardous waste. That is why OKC operates a hazardous waste collection center on S Portland.

https://www.epa.gov/landfills/basic-...bout-landfills

[SouthOKC]

no the plan was to put it on city owned land

Why wasn’t that announced? Why didn’t that happen?

The guy that owns the team was put in charge of finding the location and picking the layout. It just so happens to be a plot of land he’s attempting and had attempted to acquire. I’m not mad in at all, more so envious of his situation.

If the additional land is acquired by the Funk group that plot (remediation issues included) makes more sense for his private development. A $70M initial public investment by the city is a massive coup for a private developer and the sports entity he hopes to turn into an MLS team. Was anything south of the river even considered? Could’ve been a massive boost to our Hispanic citizens and their local businesses.

Again I’m happy it’s moving forward and we’re working very favorable deals for local businessmen. It’s just starting to feel like we have very large unseen sums of money flowing and new levels of temptation for a city that hasnÂ’t seen anything like this before.

[jn1780]

Municipal landfills are designed to receive household wastes and other non-hazardous waste material, not hazardous waste. That is why OKC operates a hazardous waste collection center on S Portland.

https://www.epa.gov/landfills/basic-...bout-landfills

I shouldn't have said "toxic waste" but what I said is basically in the first paragraph of thar link. We don't live in a perfect world where everyone disposes of everything properly. They engineer landfills with thresholds. If the city didn't run a hazardous waste facility its pretty clear where everything would end up. I know a lot of people font have faith in OK agencies, but I have little doubt that department of environmental quality is following federal guidelines.

[Rover]

Why wasn’t that announced? Why didn’t that happen?

The guy that owns the team was put in charge of finding the location and picking the layout. It just so happens to be a plot of land he’s attempting and had attempted to acquire. I’m not mad in at all, more so envious of his situation.

If the additional land is acquired by the Funk group that plot (remediation issues included) makes more sense for his private development. A $70M initial public investment by the city is a massive coup for a private developer and the sports entity he hopes to turn into an MLS team. Was anything south of the river even considered? Could’ve been a massive boost to our Hispanic citizens and their local businesses.

Again I’m happy it’s moving forward and we’re working very favorable deals for local businessmen. It’s just starting to feel like we have very large unseen sums of money flowing and new levels of temptation for a city that hasnÂ’t seen anything like this before.

So, you’d rather the city pay for the land and not put it on a vacant spot adjacent to an entertainment area in the center of the city?

[SouthOKC]

So, you’d rather the city pay for the land and not put it on a vacant spot adjacent to an entertainment area in the center of the city?

My preference would’ve been to utilize a third party without a direct vested interest. Fortunately, for the city we have large swaths of vacant land due to urban renewal in and around the city center.

The city helped create $3B in additional net worth for the Thunder Ownership group by building Paycom. Now we’re looking at adding to the net worth of another private developer and letting him call the shots.

I need to figure out how to get in line.

[David]

Why wasn’t that announced? Why didn’t that happen?

The guy that owns the team was put in charge of finding the location and picking the layout. It just so happens to be a plot of land he’s attempting and had attempted to acquire. I’m not mad in at all, more so envious of his situation.

If the additional land is acquired by the Funk group that plot (remediation issues included) makes more sense for his private development. A $70M initial public investment by the city is a massive coup for a private developer and the sports entity he hopes to turn into an MLS team. Was anything south of the river even considered? Could’ve been a massive boost to our Hispanic citizens and their local businesses.

Again I’m happy it’s moving forward and we’re working very favorable deals for local businessmen. It’s just starting to feel like we have very large unseen sums of money flowing and new levels of temptation for a city that hasnÂ’t seen anything like this before.

Vague accusations of wrongdoing with no substance. Maybe look through this 34 page thread to find the answers to the questions you asked?

[BoulderSooner]

My preference would’ve been to utilize a third party without a direct vested interest. Fortunately, for the city we have large swaths of vacant land due to urban renewal in and around the city center.

The city helped create $3B in additional net worth for the Thunder Ownership group by building Paycom. Now we’re looking at adding to the net worth of another private developer and letting him call the shots.

I need to figure out how to get in line.

bring something of massive value to the city ..

[yukong]

Remediation will have to occur regardless. The difference is the level of clean up. There are two levels of cleanup. Industrial and residential. A higher contamination level is allowable for industrial sites than residential. In any situation where people are present for a 24 hour period, then residential levels must be attained. Or, if there would be a daycare or school or some such where children are present for large time frames. If the site is to be used for commercial purposes, where people are coming and going and not being present for periods up to 24 hours, then industrial levels (higher minimum) are allowable. If there is the potential for vapor intrusion even after cleanup (usually from groundwater) then both residential and commercial would have to install vapor mitigation features. There is a residential site in the downtown area that has such a system in place. It diverts vapors from the groundwater past the facility. But in the case of an open air stadium, a vapor intrusion system would not likely be necessary unless there are a good deal of non-open air aspects to the stadium. But regardless, the site will have to be remediated regardless of the use. The use will dictate the amount of remediation necessary. But it will be necessary nonetheless.

One thing to note though...if Funk does donate the 9 acres to the city...the City could use Brownfields funds to clean up the 9 acres. A private developer/owner is not able to get "free" brownfields money. Just low interest loans if the city or state has the money available to loan. But if owned by the city...then they could use brownfields money that does not have to be repaid.

With all that said...a residential component to the entire site will require more expense because the amount of remediation necessary will be more.

[yukong]

"Contaminants" can mean a lot of different things. Not like were talking about walking through a nuclear wasteland to see a soccer game.

It should be noted, the site was a former oil field/refinery back in the early parts of the 20th century. That could result in high levels of contamination. it is unknown though as no real site assessments have been conducted. It is without question that there is contamination. How extensive is the question.

[yukong]

Below is a link to a proposal by the state in Sep ‘23 to sample the site to collect data for remediation. The contaminants of concern are volatile organic compounds and total petroleum hydrocarbons which are very broad categories that can include something as innocuous as WD-40 to a carcinogen such as benzene or any hydrocarbon in between. The state must not be too concerned because on page 2 it states that 1) all contaminated soils will be disposed of in the OKC landfill and 2) respirators are not listed as required personal protective equipment. When will the sampling take place, no date is given.

https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/...ion%20plan.pdf

That was not a proposal "by the state." It was by an environmental services company. Additionally, corp com does not have jurisdiction in this case. It will be DEQ. As to impacted soil going to a land fill...it should be noted that landfills all contain liners and other measures to prevent contamination present from impacting the soil and land around the land fill, and from impacting ground water. Further if any of the soil tests out as containing hazardous waste then it will have to be taken to a has-waste land fill. There is only one in Oklahoma. Those costs can be quite high. It does appear though that a phase I and phase II were conducted. How extensive those were is unclear from this proposal. Truthfully, this is not a very in-depth proposal. I would be curious to see the phase I and II reports.

[yukong]

Landfills are designed to handle toxic waste(people don't follow the rules when it comes to throwing their garbage away).

as a rule...land fills are not designed to handle "toxic" waste. Only hazardous waste landfills are so designed. There is only one such landfill in Oklahoma. Clean Harbors, Lone Mountain Site in the Gloss Mountains.

[yukong]

Sorry jn1780. I didn't see your followup post.

[PoliSciGuy]

As long as this gets built anywhere close to what the renderings look like, this is a great win. That spot is in sore need of some sort of development, and anything to help anchor the new Dream Development also helps. Not loving the lack of transparency, but for an investment of this medium size, seems like some good trends. Also love having the Energy back at a more stable level.

[yukong]

Below is a link to a proposal by the state in Sep ‘23 to sample the site to collect data for remediation. The contaminants of concern are volatile organic compounds and total petroleum hydrocarbons which are very broad categories that can include something as innocuous as WD-40 to a carcinogen such as benzene or any hydrocarbon in between. The state must not be too concerned because on page 2 it states that 1) all contaminated soils will be disposed of in the OKC landfill and 2) respirators are not listed as required personal protective equipment. When will the sampling take place, no date is given.

https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/...ion%20plan.pdf

Interestingly...this proposal from the environmental consulting firm specifically excludes ground water sampling and possibly contaminated groundwater disposal are not included in the proposal. Impacted soil is not terribly difficult to remediate. Costly and time consuming, yes, depending on how deep and extensive the soil contamination may be. But groundwater is another animal in and of itself and the proposal excludes groundwater. I find that curious.

[Richard at Remax]

with the Funks track record of owning and managing sports franchises here, I wish they would let someone else have a go at it

[Colbafone]

So, just a thought. Without diving into the cleanup on the site, In the Funk's release on this, they mention wanting to build this and create a top notch sporting area. Is there any chance the new Thunder arena could be built here? Could we be looking at both the MAPS 4 stadium as well as the new Paycom built adjacent here? Throw in a few parking garages and get someone like Gary Brooks to design some mixed use entertainment and living areas, this area could get HUGE.


Of course, and again, I'm not factoring in cleanup here or how long that would take. But going off what Funk mentioned in his press release, I felt maybe there was some underlying chance of getting the Thunder Arena there too. But idk how large the Prairie Surf Media/Cox Convention Center is compared to the available land the Funk's are giving OKC here.

[Canoe]

with the Funks track record of owning and managing sports franchises here, I wish they would let someone else have a go at it

I agree, he is asking for more in incentives than the land he is donating. I don't know Mr. Funk, but he seems like a businessman first and a franchise owner second.

[Rover]

with the Funks track record of owning and managing sports franchises here, I wish they would let someone else have a go at it

Other than the investors in the Thunder, which so many on here criticize, who else in the OKC area has stepped up to make investments in developing teams and sports, let alone venues for them? I understand your frustration, but for someone else to have a go at it they need to show their willingness to. It's a lot easier to criticize those doing things than those who aren't. As they say, the spouting whale gets the harpoon.
'

[Laramie]

with the Funks track record of owning and managing sports franchises here, I wish they would let someone else have a go at it

Funk had an opportunity to select the top of the line 10,000 seat MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium, he selected the less expensive 8,000 seat stadium. Claims he wanted to make sure there were enough funds to back his wife's Palomar project.

Our city leaders should have gone with the 10,000 seat stadium capable of expansion to meet future MLS stadium criteria.

Prodigal doesn't possess the knowledge capacity to manage a USL franchise let alone an MLS level franchise.

[Rover]

Funk had an opportunity to select the top of the line 10,000 seat MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium, he selected the less expensive 8,000 seat stadium. Claims he wanted to make sure there were enough funds to back his wife's Palomar project.

Our city leaders should have gone with the 10,000 seat stadium capable of expansion to meet future MLS stadium criteria.

Prodigal doesn't possess the knowledge capacity to manage a USL franchise let alone an MLS level franchise.

What a misrepresentation.

[Bill Robertson]

The current baseball stadium could be upgraded to be really nice if there was desire to do so. They could start by turning the closed off upper first base deck into some kind of party deck. There is just no desire/money to do so. We are going to building a new basketball arena that will end up being over a a billion dollars so baseball and soccer should be happy with what they have or will be getting.

Bricktown Ballpark can seat 13,000. I'm not sure of the capacity with the upper deck covered up. Average attendance last year was a tad over 5200. That's probably not enough to generate the money or interest to do much more for a stadium than what we have now.

[jn1780]

So, just a thought. Without diving into the cleanup on the site, In the Funk's release on this, they mention wanting to build this and create a top notch sporting area. Is there any chance the new Thunder arena could be built here? Could we be looking at both the MAPS 4 stadium as well as the new Paycom built adjacent here? Throw in a few parking garages and get someone like Gary Brooks to design some mixed use entertainment and living areas, this area could get HUGE.

Site access would be the limiting factor. Also, I imagine digging down immediately makes environmental concerns a bigger problem since now you have to deal with it?

[yukong]

So, just a thought. Without diving into the cleanup on the site, In the Funk's release on this, they mention wanting to build this and create a top notch sporting area. Is there any chance the new Thunder arena could be built here? Could we be looking at both the MAPS 4 stadium as well as the new Paycom built adjacent here? Throw in a few parking garages and get someone like Gary Brooks to design some mixed use entertainment and living areas, this area could get HUGE.


Of course, and again, I'm not factoring in cleanup here or how long that would take. But going off what Funk mentioned in his press release, I felt maybe there was some underlying chance of getting the Thunder Arena there too. But idk how large the Prairie Surf Media/Cox Convention Center is compared to the available land the Funk's are giving OKC here.

It was my impression that the city already claimed there was no money for land acquisition. The Co-op will want a pretty penny for the remainder of the site which I believe would be cost prohibitive for an arena site.

[Dob Hooligan]

I don't know Mr. Funk, and I am not a cheerleader for him or his family. I think Prodigal Sports has lost millions of dollars on OKC sports over the last 15-ish years. The Barons hockey team was a loser from the start, and the NHL was not fair in their treatment of Prodigal and OKC, IMO. As much as some people claim that soccer is big in OKC, we don't see anyone else stepping up with the money to buy out Prodigal's interest in the Energy. Personally, I am thankful Mr. Funk is willing to keep spending and trying to get a USL acceptable stadium build in OKC. I have no inside knowledge, but I'm guessing it costs at least $500,000 a year to keep the Energy on ice.