USA BMX to move headquarters to Tulsa

[SXSW]

What is the long term plan for the stadium site at the fairgrounds?  What makes the most sense for this location?

If BMX pulls out I always liked the idea of an OSU research campus at the Fintube site

[DowntownDan]

What is the long term plan for the stadium site at the fairgrounds?  What makes the most sense for this location?

I think I read parking lot for now while they try to find a buyer. My best guess is it'll ultimately be a big box strip mall with plenty of chain "fast-casual" food offerings. Ugh.

[SXSW]

I think I read parking lot for now while they try to find a buyer. My best guess is it'll ultimately be a big box strip mall with plenty of chain "fast-casual" food offerings. Ugh.

I doubt the county would sell it to a private developer but you're right parking lot is probably the short-term (and possibly long-term) use.  Looking at an aerial of the fairgrounds the county should allow the city to annex the land east of New Haven (where Bell's used to be).  Then the city can sell those blocks to a private developer for residential infill similar to what they've done at the old Barnard Elementary. 

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

I doubt the county would sell it to a private developer but you're right parking lot is probably the short-term (and possibly long-term) use.  Looking at an aerial of the fairgrounds the county should allow the city to annex the land east of New Haven (where Bell's used to be).  Then the city can sell those blocks to a private developer for residential infill similar to what they've done at the old Barnard Elementary. 

The Barnard development had great potential, but looks like they shot too high with prices. It has taken a long time to sell any lots and 1-2 of the 3 houses built have been on market for 2 years. But props to the developers for putting garages in back and making nicely styled homes that fit the area. I do hope they sell soon and get built to make that a completed neighborhood.

That would be a far better use of all those empty lots in the fairgrounds! I hope the economics of it push it to that eventually.

[DTowner]

The Barnard development had great potential, but looks like they shot too high with prices. It has taken a long time to sell any lots and 1-2 of the 3 houses built have been on market for 2 years. But props to the developers for putting garages in back and making nicely styled homes that fit the area. I do hope they sell soon and get built to make that a completed neighborhood.

I’m sure the new suburban QuikTrip down the street will cause the remaining lots to sell like hotcakes!

[SXSW]

I’m sure the new suburban QuikTrip down the street will cause the remaining lots to sell like hotcakes!

Some might see that as an advantage.  But yeah ugh, hopefully this is the last intrusion of QT into midtown neighborhoods.

It looks like they've sold 8 of 18 7500 SF lots at Barnard Trace.  Honestly they don't seem too overpriced for midtown lots at $26/sf but maybe not in Yorktown.  

Anything over in Sunrise Terrace would have to be a lower price point, with smaller lots/homes.  Perfect spot for more affordable homes on the edge of midtown.  Better than a sea of parking lots (next to another sea of parking lots).

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Some might see that as an advantage.  But yeah ugh, hopefully this is the last intrusion of QT into midtown neighborhoods.

It looks like they've sold 8 of 18 7500 SF lots at Barnard Trace.  Honestly they don't seem too overpriced for midtown lots at $26/sf but maybe not in Yorktown.  

Anything over in Sunrise Terrace would have to be a lower price point, with smaller lots/homes.  Perfect spot for more affordable homes on the edge of midtown.  Better than a sea of parking lots (next to another sea of parking lots).

I noticed all the remaining Barnard Trace lots and 2 homes that were for sale are now all listed as "Pending". Not sure if that means they're all selling to a different real estate company (seems likely) or if they just happened to find a slew of buyers all at once.

The price for the lots isn't exorbitant, but they've been on sale for years and doesn't seem like much more is being built. I've seen lots in surrounding neighborhoods going for around $80k-$120k so the list price of around $200k seemed pretty ambitious. And I'm sure they'd only sell with obligatory contracts to build from the pre-selected design options using their contractors.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Ground-breaking news!!!

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/government-and-politics/after-delays-city-to-break-ground-on-bmx-facilities-friday/article_da277d83-98a2-512d-8f64-8a22dd174792.html

So instead of 2018 (approximate original date), it has been pushed back to 2021. The details of the lease are shown:

Highlights of city/BMX contract
Years: 30

Rent: Approximately $66,000 a year

School funding: Approximately $13,300 of BMX’s annual rent will go to Tulsa Public Schools; that amount is slightly more than the district would receive in property taxes were the property, which is city-owned, on the tax rolls.

Both the rent and payment to TPS will increase 1 % annually over the previous year's payments.

USA BMX Committed Events In Tulsa
Under its lease agreement with the city of Tulsa for use of the new BMX facility, USA BMX is committed to host the following events:

• Three annual national/regional races per year. Examples could include: Sooner Nationals, USA Cycling Nationals, Olympic Trials, Gold Cup Qualifier, Gold Cup Final, state championship final, North American BMX SX.

• At least one periodic major international-level event every four years. Examples could include: Olympic Trials, World Cup, World Championships, UCI World Cup, UCI SX Championship, North American BMX SX. The term “periodic” means a time period of no greater than two years between events.

• Annual local races/programs to include: youth clinics (anticipated 100 clinic days); local race days (anticipated 150 individual race days); coaching clinics (anticipated 6 clinics); elite athlete training (anticipated 4 training camps).

• Potential annual non-race events could include: BMX Hall of Fame Ceremony (300 attendees historically); USA BMX Facility Operator Summit (bi-annual event with 300 attendees historically); BMX Hall of Fame visitors (10,000 visitors per year anticipated); community meetings (up to 100 per year).

Source: City of Tulsa

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

The city is using four funding sources to bridge the $8 million gap between the $15 million approved by voters and the actual $23 million price tag: $3.6 million in Vision Tulsa funding reallocated from University Center at Tulsa/OSU-Tulsa; $900,000 from the Economic Development Infrastructure Fund; $2 million from the Tulsa Parking Authority; and a $1.5 million gift to USA BMX from the Hardesty Family Foundation.

How is the "Tulsa Parking Authority" funding this!?! Are they going to have fee collection jurisdiction to pay that money back?

How is this being paid for from money voters elected to go to the University Center at Tulsa/OSU-Tulsa!?!

The $66k/year rent (actually will be ~$40k minus up-front payment) is a drop in a bucket for a $22 million price tag. With such a massive and expensive place for such low price, it seems they could leave it empty most the time and just host those events there and it will be cheaper than renting space for those events otherwise.

I get there's many auxillary benefits (they claim 100k visitors per year... who knows if that will be close to reality), and that this might just sit vacant for years otherwise, but how would all of that fare vs just allowing the place to be redeveloped normally or turned into an area to build dense housing? Has the city done an ROI study to see if it is really worth paying $23 million to get a pretty small HQ with some small to mid sized events? Basically letting them stay virtually rent-free and if they ever break the contract, Tulsa will be left with the customized for-BMX buildings and nothing financially to show for it. BMX can get up and walk away at any time and all they lose is the initial $1.5 million investment (which for a facility like this is like a couple years rent or so). There's no teeth or substantial deposit on BMX's end vs the taxpayers' guaranteed $22 million being paid.

The BMX arena, headquarters and hall of fame will be constructed on the north end of the 22-acre property. It is expected to include a 2,000-seat outdoor arena, with a roof; an adjacent USA BMX headquarters and hall of fame; and an approximately 300-space parking lot.

This just seems like another version of corporate welfare like with NFL/NBA stadiums where taxpayers pay for a billionaire's new stadium. Despite claims, there's typically not much "trickle down" effect and it usually just acts as an economic centralizer for entertainment dollars. In this case, maybe the visitors coming to Tulsa will be a big enough boost in that entertainment dollar pool to make up for it, but that is still to be seen and will only pay off if they stick around for some unknown amount of time (Is that 10 years? 20 years? All 30 years of the lease?).

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

The Fintube building, on the north end of the site, will be demolished to make room for the parking lot. The Evans building, also known as the Oklahoma Iron Works Building, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It will remain on the property and be incorporated into the city’s request for proposals for a mixed-use development on the site.

This is the part we can all get excited about. Since CofTulsa is all-in on this dubious "investment" (far beyond what the voters approved), which corporate real-estate oligarchs will hop onto this land giveaway and get a tax-free tax haven to build these ashes into gold? We don't yet know, and the RFPs won't be out for years, but I bet GT Bynum already know whose greasy palms he needs to pay back for getting him in office.

It's conveniently in an "Opportunity Zone" (also nominated/selected by the CoT) where the rich can defer taxes and profit tax-free on the backs of depleted areas which the city has helped deteriorate by policing, policy or sector-plans long ago:
https://maps.cityoftulsa.org/opportunityzones/

[Conan71]

How is the "Tulsa Parking Authority" funding this!?! Are they going to have fee collection jurisdiction to pay that money back?

How is this being paid for from money voters elected to go to the University Center at Tulsa/OSU-Tulsa!?!

The $66k/year rent (actually will be ~$40k minus up-front payment) is a drop in a bucket for a $22 million price tag. With such a massive and expensive place for such low price, it seems they could leave it empty most the time and just host those events there and it will be cheaper than renting space for those events otherwise.

I get there's many auxillary benefits (they claim 100k visitors per year... who knows if that will be close to reality), and that this might just sit vacant for years otherwise, but how would all of that fare vs just allowing the place to be redeveloped normally or turned into an area to build dense housing? Has the city done an ROI study to see if it is really worth paying $23 million to get a pretty small HQ with some small to mid sized events? Basically letting them stay virtually rent-free and if they ever break the contract, Tulsa will be left with the customized for-BMX buildings and nothing financially to show for it. BMX can get up and walk away at any time and all they lose is the initial $1.5 million investment (which for a facility like this is like a couple years rent or so). There's no teeth or substantial deposit on BMX's end vs the taxpayers' guaranteed $22 million being paid.

This just seems like another version of corporate welfare like with NFL/NBA stadiums where taxpayers pay for a billionaire's new stadium. Despite claims, there's typically not much "trickle down" effect and it usually just acts as an economic centralizer for entertainment dollars. In this case, maybe the visitors coming to Tulsa will be a big enough boost in that entertainment dollar pool to make up for it, but that is still to be seen and will only pay off if they stick around for some unknown amount of time (Is that 10 years? 20 years? All 30 years of the lease?).

I don't see the same ROI that a more mainstream facility like BOK Center brings to the area economy.  I also think the ask on this was originally around $10 or $12 mil on the V-2025 extension wasn't it?  

Let's not forget the casualty cost of losing a perfectly good destroyed ball park in addition to the $23mm this has now swelled to.  This was probably my least favorite project on the slate for the renewal even though I'm a cyclist.  My favorite was the Gilcrease renovation and connector to the Riverside trail system, by far.

I had a vested interest in the Turkey Mountain land purchase since I was the one who presented the ask to the Council on behalf of TUWC and outdoor enthusiasts.  At least we had real data to work with showing that Turkey Mountain was a daily draw from all over the area and was one asset we had which was attracting people in from the suburbs and other outlining areas who might not otherwise have had a reason to visit and spend money in the near area.

Granted, not every asset needs a turnstile or needs to be conventional in terms of ROI.  Sometimes it's the cool factor or livability factor which might lure new employers to the area like a pro ball team or bring people up the pike from OKC.  In my thinking though, BMX doesn't seem to have that draw for employers to relocate here.  I just can't see Citibank or Amazon moving a unit here in part because we have USA BMX.  I don't recall how many cyclists they thought would be training in Tulsa at any given time, does anyone else?  That's would be some of the payback in terms of new money in the economy.  

From what I remember of the cars in the parking area at Expo Square during the Grand Nationals, their big events do draw people in from far and wide.  Just curious what it does for Tulsa the rest of the time.

The Chili Bowl and Shootout are huge tourism events, but the city or county has never had to give the owners of those events a penny to keep the events in Tulsa or for some sort of corporate HQ facility.

[Vision 2025]

Earlier this year The County committed to providing all new aluminum bleachers which are presently in fabrication.  A minimum of the first phase of the new bleachers will be in place to support this seasons events and in return the Chili Bowl agreed to a significantly extended contract.