OKC Mayor David Holt announced the full details of a proposed new arena that will keep the Oklahoma City Thunder in town for the foreseeable future.
After openly discussing the benefits of a new arena for more than a year, the wheels are finally in motion to begin the process of building the Thunder a new home.
Some details of the finalized plan for a new arena are:
- The project will cost at least $900 million; sales tax will not increase.
- Thunder ownership will commit $50 million for the publicly-owned arena.
- At least $70 million will come from the MAPS 4 project.
- The arena will secure the Thunder’s future in OKC beyond 2050 via a 25-year lease, with it opening by the 2029-30 season.
The new arena is pending official approval of a temporary one-cent sales tax vote that will take place on Dec. 12. The temporary tax will start after the expiration of the MAPS 4 increase. As a result, OKC’s current sales tax rate will not increase.
In an official statement, Holt also spoke about how desperately OKC citizens wanted a new agreement to be made between both parties, citing the cultural importance of having a professional sports team in the small-market city:
“As this very public discussion played out over the last year, the people of Oklahoma City have overwhelmingly expressed to me two desires – 1) keep the Thunder for as long as possible, and 2) don’t raise taxes if it can be avoided. We have accomplished those two priorities with this plan, and it is truly a win-win for all of us. Perhaps the most important aspect of the deal is the length – this is twice the commitment we received in 2008 and will keep the Thunder here beyond 2050. My children will be my age when this agreement ends. For a generation, we will retain the economic impact and quality-of-life benefits we have enjoyed as a big-league City. It is an investment that pays for itself many times over. With this new arena, we will also continue the aspirational investments in ourselves that our residents have made for a century. We will construct an arena worthy of America’s 20th-largest City, leaving a legacy to future generations.”
Thunder owner/chairman Clay Bennett also released an official statement about the news:
“For fifteen years the Thunder has been honored to help lead the transformation of Oklahoma City and enhance the tremendous pride our citizens have in their community. We now have an opportunity to build on that progress, advance our status as a true big-league City, continue to grow our economy and secure the long-term future of the Thunder. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Mayor Holt, members of the City Council, and the forward-thinking business and civic leaders in our community. Together we can develop an arena to serve as a crowning achievement in the ongoing renaissance of Oklahoma City.”
The Thunder have played at Paycom Center since their arrival in 2008 — but the arena itself opened in 2002, making it one of the oldest/smallest NBA arenas.
The long-term 15-year lease expired earlier this year, which resulted in the Thunder signing a short-term three-year lease that ends in 2026.
The short lease gave the Thunder and OKC extra time to work out the details for a new arena. Paycom Center will remain the home of the Thunder until the new arena is built, which means a second short-term lease might be necessary if the new home is not ready by 2026.
The full official statement on the new proposed arena can be found here.
Today is one of those exciting days in the life of our city. After 14 months of very public discussions, we have a finalized plan to build a new state-of-the art arena without raising taxes, and a commitment from the Thunder to play in that new arena beyond 2050. (1/3)
— Mayor David Holt (@davidfholt) September 12, 2023
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