The "this has nothing to do with Tulsa" mega-post

[Conan71]

How does Chesapeake already need another $100mil in it? That would pay for a ton of sidewalks. Like you can upgrade one arena, or provide 7,500 nicer bus stops?

I know that this is fairly typical, but the taxpayers have been pumping $100mil every 10 years into it.

How exactly is it worth it to tax payers when there is this constant cash dump or abatements to keep pro sports teams in a metro?  I get the arguments about tourism, but when you wash it out into sales and lodger's tax, what's the real pay-back other than a cool factor?

[Laramie]

MAPS 4 Initiative for Chesapeake Energy Arena ($115 million)
of a $978 million proposal for 16 projects:

Arena opened in 2002 at a cost of $90 million--bare bones construction minimum without all the bells & whistles.  NHL rejected OKC's bid for an NHL franchise in 1997 because at the time, arenas being constructed cost in the $150-$200 million range.  NHL felt OKC could not build a viable arena on a $90 million budget--Columbus, OH (Bluejackets) were awarded one of the four final expansion franchises.

When the NBA voted for relocation of the NBA Seattle Supersonics in 2007-08; that relocation vote came with stipulations the OKC's downtown arena would be upgraded to meet NBA arena specifications.  OKC voters approved MAPS-for HOOPS $100 million initiative in arena upgrades & improvements.  The ownership group Professional Basketball Club LLC, of the Supersonics led by CEO Clay Bennett voted to relocate the franchise to OKC approved by the NBA Board of Governors 28-2 in favor of the move, with Dallas and Portland against it.

         
                        How arena will look with new southwest entrance upgrades thru MAPS 4



                      70,000 square feet expansion by widening the concourses

                       Makeover for the locker rooms

                       New scoreboard

                       Larger, better quality video screens

                       New seats and elevators would be replaced


         

Having an NBA franchise in OKC has greatly assisted the business community in 'Quality of Life' benefits Oklahoma City offers to businesses seeking information on expansion and/or relocation. We are currently witnessing a boom in downtown housing, business expansion, new entertainment & restaurants in districts like Midtown, Asia, Deep Deuce, Plaza, Stockyard City & Bricktown in our city.

Chesapeake Energy Arena much like the beautiful BOK Center in Tulsa is used for multi-purpose events besides basketball; it is city-owned and operated.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City's downtown Scissortail Park at night.



Taken by OKC Talk forum poster, Goldfire

[Laramie]

Wheeler District Developments...



. . .Fitzsimmons Architects




Beginning construction of The Big Friendly Brewery & Taproom can be seen between the former Downtown Airpark terminal and the growing Wheeler neighborhood. A three-story office and retail building is planned across the street from the terminal and brewery. [DAVE MORRIS/THE OKLAHOMAN]

A three-story office building with ground floor retail is planned to be the next addition to Wheeler, the master-planned, mixed use development emerging along the south shore of the Oklahoma River.

Since construction started almost a year ago, 40 homes have been built on the site of the former Downtown Airpark at 1701 S Western Ave. The master-planned community started with a series of charrettes, or open planning sessions, aimed at drawing public input into the overall design.

                                                                                                                                                                           
A three-story office and retail building, shown in this rendering, is set to be constructed at Wheeler in early 2020. [ALLFORD HALL MONAGHAN MORRIS RENDERING]

Above pick, Oklahoman, November 5 2019

Meanwhile, renovations are wrapping up on the 1947 Art Deco air terminal that is set to open as an all-day cafe. Construction has begun next door on the Big Friendly Brewery & Taproom. The offices and retail will be built across the street from the cafe and brewery.

Full story link, Oklahoman:  http://digital.newsok.com/Olive/ODN/Oklahoman/default.aspx

[Laramie]

OKC's growing pains..

Just a sampling of projects throughout the Oklahoma City core (Midtown, Downtown, Bricktown:


Really difficult to navigate thru traffic, a construction nightmare--hopefully we'll awaken and all this will pass.



Pictured above is the new 605 room Omni Hotel that will anchor the adjoining OKC convention center with a 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall, 30,000-square-foot ballroom and 45,000 square feet of additional meeting space for a new phase convention era that will extend beyond the 70s opening of the Myriad Convention Center.



The fulfillment center is a nearly 640,000-square-foot facility on a nearly 69-acre lot near the Will Rogers World Airport's Lariat Landing. A combination of employees and robotic machines work in tandem to pack and ship products within the warehouse.


Hotel rooms and suites will be on the first through eighth floors. Apartments will be on floors nine to 30.


The headliners & accolades:

The $287 million project will include a hotel, restaurant, apartments, parking garage and shops. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, an internationally top-rated chain, will be located on the first floor of the building. Marriott Autograph property will include 149 rooms; also the tower will feature 210 apartments inside the renovated First National Center.

Oklahoma City's $288M Convention Center nears Completion; anticipates open in the 1st quarter of 2020.

New $241 million Omni Oklahoma City will open in early 2021.

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden may get $71M in renovations and new exhibits over the next nine years.

2-year, $89M terminal expansion project starting at Will Rogers World Airport

Amazon begins hiring for 1,500 in Oklahoma City

[Laramie]

OKCTalk's Oklahoma City timeline pics

 


Downtown core housing boom

                             New 640,000 sq.ft., Amazon Fulfillment Center at Lariat Landing - Will Rogers World Airport

Devon Tower

[heironymouspasparagus]

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – As state leaders get ready for the REAL ID Act to go into effect next year, they are releasing what the state's compliant driver's licenses will look like in the future.

                           

According to the latest timeline given to the Department of Public Safety by the vendor, the project maintains its progression toward the estimated target date of April 2020 for initial rollout. Additionally, full statewide implementation will be completed by September 2020," the state's latest extension request read.

It's what we do in Okrahoma!   Make each successive version uglier than the previous.   Like with car tags....

Hey!   I got an idea - hire an artist!!   Or at least someone with some sense of aesthetics.

[Laramie]

No matter what the state unveils on license plates & identification; people are going to provide their personal critique.  Just hope we can meet with the real ID compliant
regulations.  My understanding is that the state has the information they need to move forward.

[DowntownDan]

I've never given a second thought to what my DL looks like. The plates were objectively hideous and are seen by everyone. I can't see how they were ever thought of much less approved.

[swake]

I've never given a second thought to what my DL looks like. The plates were objectively hideous and are seen by everyone. I can't see how they were ever thought of much less approved.

Mary Fallin

[Laramie]

Progress continues on Oklahoma City  Convention Center complex, Omni Hotel & Convention Center Garage.

These pics were released by OKCTalk, November 17, 2019

[Laramie]

605 room Omni Oklahoma City will usher in a new beginning.

Oklahoma City's core hotel boom.

When Oklahoma City opened the Myriad Convention Center in 1973; there were no major hotels left in the downtown core.  OKC's downtown was on life support.  Our city had demolished many of the historic building in its core.  The 600 room Hotel Oklahoma (AKA Biltmore) met implosion in 1977 as seen in this pic below.

 

The 393 room Sheraton Century Center opened in 1975 providing some relief. The Oklahoma City Blazers AA CHL ice hockey team folded prior to its opening.  Tulsa Oilers CEO Ray Miron brought the Ice Oilers to Oklahoma City's Myriad convention center to play a series of designated home games to keep interest alive in OKC.

OKC's Downtown Arena was the springboard for Oklahoma's first major league sport to emerge in our state.

Here's a video of the competitiveness between Oklahoma's two most populated cities as a Ford Center memory (Now known as The Peake) of this heated rivalry with 15,000 in attendance:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEHNsKp36RY  The video is a bit flawed, so you'll have to excuse the early minute delay.  Note: Once the NBA entered the Oklahoma City market, the Ford Center was configured to be a less friendly venue for ice hockey for which the arena was originally designed.

Oklahoma City's hotel boom:  OKC currently boasts 4,506 rooms in the downtown-midtown-bricktown core of which 1,069 are under construction and 356 in the planning stages.  Under construction are the 605 room OKC Omni; remodeled First National Center which will have a 149 room first class Marriott Autograph; the center will include 190 apartments.  A 185 room Bricktown Renaissance and recently completed 133 room Fairfield Inn & Suites on the convention center complex that will provide 738 rooms on the convention center site available for convention attendees.

The city provided funds to jump start preservation efforts to save the Historic 225 room Skirvin Hotel--still the source of rumors to be haunted.

With all the passages of MAPS imitative funds & recent 2009 & 2017 general obligation bonds, Oklahoma City will have invested more than $2.5 billion in new construction and improvements in public development; this has yielded an estimated $8 billion in total economic impact on the OKC economy since 1993.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City plans for second pedestrian bridge




Pics via OKCTalk

Skydance pedestrian bride (below), inspired by Oklahoma's state bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher, overlooks the OKC skyline. Construction of the bride totaled in excess of $6 million has become an iconic structure that lights up the skyline crossing the OKC I-40 crosstown expressway on Shields Boulevard.

The bridge is a 380-foot-long pedestrian bridge with a 197-foot-tall sculpture.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City's 2020 MAPS 4 $978 million initiative.

Chesapeake Energy Arena's future...

  ...MAPS 4 proposal for Chesapeake would prolong life of arena, backers say

Excerpts from the November 17 Oklahoman:

         

Tom Anderson, special projects manager with the city of Oklahoma City, talks about Loud City recently at Chesapeake Energy Arena.[SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN]

The MAPS 4 proposal on the ballot next month includes more than $100 million to update Chesapeake Energy Arena to keep it competitive as an NBA host and concert site, according to those who developed a wish list for the building...

• An expansion of the area at the northeast entry, where about 60% of patrons pass through, creating a pinch point before games or concerts. The expansion would allow more space for foot traffic. Planners also want to move the souvenir store to that vicinity and create a food court.

70,000 square feet expansion by widening the concourses

                        Makeover for the locker rooms
                        New scoreboard
                        Larger, better quality video screens
                        New seats and elevators would be replaced

...Oklahoma City voters will decide on Dec. 10 whether to extend the MAPS penny sales tax for eight years to fund nearly $1 billion in projects. An estimated $115 million would go toward Chesapeake and the Thunder's practice facility in northwest Oklahoma City. If sales tax revenue meets projections, the arena would receive about $104 million, with the rest going to the practice facility.

The arena was built for $89.5 million. When the Thunder moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, voters approved a sales tax increase that provided about $93 million to upgrade the arena to NBA specifications. Should the MAPS 4 proposal pass and the proposed improvements be made, the arena's total cost would approach $300 million.

About half of the money targeted for the arena would be used to give fans more space, more food options and more restrooms, according to Anderson.

Anderson said setting rental rates for the NBA team and touring acts was "a delicate balance."

Promoters can find another venue, often within 150 miles, if they don't like the rate, Anderson said. The arena competes with the BOK Center in Tulsa for shows, even though both are managed by the same company.

...Mahoney said the Thunder did not approach the city about including Chesapeake upgrades in MAPS 4 and that there is no implicit threat from the team to move if the improvements aren't made.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Mary Fallin

That's  Mary Failin'.