Ford Center plan must be OK'd before Sonics vote
Ford Center plan must be OK'd before Sonics vote
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190
By Bryan Dean
Published: December 21, 2007
OKLAHOMA CITY voters will decide March 4 whether they want their city to be an NBA town.
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Like ‘a brand-new arena'
The city has contracted with the architect who built the Ford Center, The Benham Companies, to study what improvements will be needed to bring the arena to NBA standards.
A practice facility, better concession areas, new restaurants and other fan amenities are among the improvements expected to be included in the architect's report.
The improvements would be funded by a temporary sales tax to be collected beginning Jan. 1, 2009 — the day after the MAPS for Kids penny sales tax expires. Cornett said the tax would likely last one year to 15 months and pay for about $100 million worth of improvements. The Ford Center cost about $92 million to build.
The exact cost of the improvements and length of the tax will be announced by Jan. 2, the day the city council is scheduled to vote to set the March 4 election.
Cornett said the city, working in consultation with the NBA, has determined a new arena won't be needed in the near future. The renovations would make the Ford Center comparable to the league's best arenas and will prevent the city from needing a new arena for at least 10 to 15 years.
"For all intents and purposes, it will be a brand-new arena the day it opens,” Cornett said.
Clay Bennett, the Oklahoma City businessman who leads the SuperSonics' ownership group, gave a preliminary endorsement to the move Thursday.
"Mayor Cornett and the city have taken a visionary and appropriate step towards becoming an NBA city,” Bennett said. "I applaud their leadership.”
Vote would be timely
City officials considered including Ford Center improvements in a MAPS 3 initiative expected to go to a vote late next year, but Cornett said it can't wait.
The NBA Board of Governors, made up of representatives from each ownership group in the league, is scheduled to vote on the SuperSonics relocation request in April. Cornett said the improvements must be approved before then to convince the league Oklahoma City is committed to hosting an NBA franchise permanently.
"We don't feel like a MAPS 3 initiative is ready to go in its entirety,” Cornett said. "The only prudent thing to do was pull the Ford Center improvements out and have it voted upon by itself.”
Even if the league approves the relocation request, the team moving isn't a sure thing.
The SuperSonics are in a legal battle with the city of Seattle over the terms of its lease, with the city claiming the team must play its games in Seattle until the current lease expires in 2010.
If legal disputes keep the Sonics from moving to Oklahoma City, the Ford Center improvements will be re-worked or delayed, Cornett said.
"We're not going to build something we don't need,” Cornett said.
Unlike past ballot initiatives like MAPS for Kids, city officials expect organized and well-funded opposition to the Ford Center proposal.
Cornett said the city will rely on the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce to get its message to the voters.
Brett Hamm, president of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc., said the chamber and the downtown business community will be big supporters of the proposal.
"With the Hornets, we saw a total economic impact between $65 and $70 million during their two-year stay,” Hamm said. "Regardless of whether you're an NBA fan or sports fan at all, having our own major league team in Oklahoma City expands business growth, development and opportunity across the city.”
Cornett said he knows getting the proposal passed will be a fight, but it's one he believes city leaders can win.
"My perception is that this city has loved the NBA's presence and wants more of it and is willing to invest in itself,” Cornett said.
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Let the NBA come here; awesome idea. The real bad precedent that was set back along time ago where cities funded private business should not continue. I am ready for BenClendon Center.
The final cost in on what Mayor Cornett, working in conjuction with the NBA, has said will put the Ford Center among the top tier arenas in the NBA, will be less than 200 million dollars. Thats insane.
Compare that with the cost of new arenas in places like Tulsa, Wichita and Louisville where they have no chance of landing a major league team and yet want a nice arena and the entertainment value they provide for their communitys.
Downtown OKC was in a pretty bad place in the early 90's and through some truly visionary leadership, we made the chose to invest a penny sales tax in ourselves. The results have been remarkable. We invested 350 million dollars that were aimed primarly at OKC's dying downtown and intercity and that has resulted in a renaissance of our intercity. Our 350 million has returned well over a billion dollars in private investment.
Getting an NBA team is just a big fat benefit of what we're doing as a city, as this arena upgrade would have been part of MAPS 3 regardless of whether we got an NBA team or not. We're just moving this project up to the front because of the opportunity before us.
What Oklahoma City metro area residents see in other cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas (the top four ranking Metropolitan Statistical Areas) is in most cases a mis-representation of their community spirit. The owners and players are atypical of area residents, not just because of their pay but because of how they have achieved their chosen professions. They in and of themselves are a part of the entertainment business. The only example of a sports team defining a community would be the Green Bay Packers, which unless I am mistaken, is not owned by a single individual but by individual shares spread out through the community. At least that was the way that they were founded.
When has a sports team really defined a community? Why do Oklahomans want to fall into that trap? Society has become overly sports centric. City residents define a city, not a sports team. A sports team cannot generate population, industry, or progressive business opportunities beyond the service industries meant to support the sports business(es). As Richard mentioned Rome had its Bread and Circuses. Do we in “conservative” Oklahoma want to head in a similar direction because we see from afar what we believe sports has brought to other communities? The perception might be different than reality. Do we want that climate in the metro Oklahoma City area? I guess Oklahoma City voters will decide for the greater Oklahoma City Metro area.
Oklahoma City is the number 45 MSA in the nation. Desiring to be number one is a trap. Envy is the reason why University of Oklahoma Fans have been disappointed in all but 8 or 9 years over the past 100 or so years of playing college football. Being a Norman resident I can say that this community and university are defined by much more than the OU football team. Life is not just about sports. I would hope that Oklahoma City residents would think about Oklahoma City and its direction in their collective votes and less about attracting a major league sports team. Norman and the University of Oklahoma are not going to close-the-doors, even if the university shuts down the football program. The converse may be true if we become so obsessed with sports to the point of neglecting higher education and city services. Fortunately I can say that there are enough people here who believe in Norman to make certain that Bob Stoops salary will not close down the city or University.
Maybe Oklahoma City should take the approach of Green Bay, take up a collection, and start a sports franchise using their own pennies. Now that is a spirit that could define Oklahoma City. Is there really a need for Clay Bennett to even be involved? Come on Oklahoma City... if major league sports can truly define your city, why don't you buy the team rather than build another new arena for a billionaire who will break your hearts five years from now when the renovated Ford Center is not adequate?
CITY PLANNER HAS NEW PLANS
Oklahoma City's planning director, John Dugan, has resigned to take another job.
Dugan, who has worked in the position for the past seven years, will leave Jan. 31 to become deputy planning director for the city of Los Angeles.
He announced his decision this week.
Dugan, 60, said he took the position because it offers retirement benefits he is not eligible for in Oklahoma City.
In an e-mail to city employees, Dugan said he was proud to be a part of the successful resurgence of downtown Oklahoma City. He also said he plans to come back.
"Oklahoma City will always be my home," Dugan said. "I plan to retire back here in 10 years, but I will certainly be visiting often."