Tag: paycom center

OKC City Council approves Dec. 12 vote for potential new Thunder arena

A special OKC election will be held on Dec. 12 for the approval of a new arena proposal.

Another signpost was reached on Tuesday on the path toward a potential new arena for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The OKC City Council voted in favor of holding a special Dec. 12 election to determine if the new arena plan gets approved.

The vote will ask OKC residents if they are interested in continuing its current one-cent sales tax for an additional six years. The new arena proposal also states that construction costs will be at least $900 million with $50 million of that contributed by Thunder ownership.

If approved, a new OKC arena will be opened by the 2029-30 season.

Paycom Center — the Thunder’s current home — is ranked near the bottom of the league in size and age. After their 15-year lease expired earlier this year, the Thunder agreed to sign a three-year lease to stay at Paycom Center until 2026.

The short-term lease allowed the Thunder and OKC to negotiate the details of a new arena proposal and begin construction.

The full meeting can be watched below:

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OKC Thunder to remain at Paycom Center until new arena is built

The Thunder’s current lease at Paycom Center expires in 2026, but it sounds like they’ll stay there until a new arena is built.

While OKC will — hopefully — begin the process of constructing a new arena soon, it appears Paycom Center will remain the home of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the time being.

In a press conference following the announcement of details of a new arena, OKC Mayor David Holt confirmed to local reporters the Thunder will remain at Paycom Center until a new arena is built.

The plan is for a new arena to be open by the 2029-30 season. The estimated construction cost will be over $900 million with Thunder ownership chipping in $50 million.

Pending voters’ approval, a new arena will secure the long-term future of the franchise in OKC as it will keep the Thunder in town beyond 2050.

Building a new arena takes several years to complete, so Holt saying the Thunder will stay at Paycom Center confirms they’ll sign a second short-term lease if necessary.

After their 15-year lease expired earlier this year, the Thunder elected to sign a short-term three-year lease that keeps them at Paycom Center until 2026. The new arena likely will not be ready by then, which means the Thunder will have to sign a third lease with Paycom Center.

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A new arena guarantees the Thunder’s tenure in OKC will outlast the Sonics’ in Seattle

A new arena will help future generations of NBA fans view the Thunder as its own NBA franchise without the Seattle baggage involved.

Another milestone was achieved on Tuesday for a potential new arena the Oklahoma City Thunder would call home.

OKC Mayor David Holt unveiled the details of Paycom Center’s successor, but an important temporary one-cent sales tax vote remains to be decided. If the vote on Dec. 12 approves the extension of the sales tax, then arena plans will be finalized.

The new arena is expected to cost at least $900 million and is planned to open by the 2029-30 season. The Thunder will sign a 25-year lease once the building is open and that will keep them in OKC beyond 2050.

If everything goes to plan, a new arena will guarantee the Thunder’s tenure in OKC will outlast the Supersonics’ tenure in Seattle.

By 2050, the Thunder will have played 42 years in OKC since their arrival in 2008. The Sonics were only in Seattle for 41 years, from 1967 to 2008.

A pretty interesting fact considering how some circles within the NBA community still view the Thunder as foreign and unwelcome considering how OKC acquired them.

By the time a new arena opens, maybe both sides can have their way. There’s been talks over the last several years of the NBA expanding soon and Seattle is always listed as one of the top preferred choices for fans.

The Sonics returning to Seattle as an expansion team could cool the animosity between both franchises.

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New OKC Thunder arena details officially revealed

The new OKC arena will cost at least $900 million and will be open by the 2029-30 season.

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.

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PHOTOS: Best images of Paycom Center’s newest upgrades

Click here to view the best photos of Paycom Center’s latest upgrades in anticipation of the Thunder’s 2023-24 season:

Tuesday marked the revelation of Paycom Center’s latest upgrades in anticipation of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2023-24 regular season.

The two most significant changes to the arena are a new, more giant scoreboard and different seats. The scoreboard weighs 28,000 pounds, is 24.5 feet tall and 125 feet around.

This comes two months after OKC Mayor David Holt updated the public on a potential new arena plan that would secure the Thunder’s future in OKC for the foreseeable future.

When/if a new arena is approved later this year, it will still take several years for it to be built and host Thunder games. Until then, Paycom Center will remain the home of the Thunder.

Let’s look at some of the best photos that showcased Paycom Center’s latest upgrades.

LOOK: Paycom Center installs new scoreboard for OKC Thunder games

The first glimpse of the Thunder’s new scoreboard was revealed on Tuesday, per @paytonnmay

While new arena talks progress, the Paycom Center received another upgrade.

Tuesday marked the reveal of the new and larger scoreboard in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s home. The scoreboard weighs 28,000 pounds, is 24.5 feet tall and 125 feet around.

Local OKC media had a chance to see the scoreboard — along with other upgrades around Paycom Center — on Tuesday.

This comes two months after OKC Mayor David Holt updated the public on a potential new arena plan that would secure the Thunder’s future in OKC for the foreseeable future.

When/if a new arena is approved later this year, it will still take several years for it to be built and host Thunder games. Until then, Paycom Center will remain the home of the Thunder.

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Recap: OKC Mayor David Holt talks about a potential new arena

“It is time to plan for a new arena and 2023 is the year to make that commitment.”

During last year’s State of the City address, OKC Mayor David Holt brought up the possibility of building a new arena for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder’s lease at Paycom Center ends in 2026 after they signed a short-term extension. But considering the size and age of the arena — both near the bottom of the league — it’s almost time to build a new NBA home to secure the long-term future of the franchise.

In this year’s State of the City address, Holt spoke more in-depth about a new arena, saying it’s time to take the next steps in the multi-year process and come to an agreement on a proposal before the end of 2023.

Let’s look at the biggest takeaways from Holt’s address and the details he provided about a new potential arena.

Bill Simmons suggests Seattle should look into buying the Thunder back from OKC

“What does Clay Bennett do if Seattle just offers him like $5 billion for the team?”

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After enjoying a season of unexpected success with the youngest team in the league, the Oklahoma City Thunder have caught the attention of the national media.

The recent return of Chet Holmgren — who missed the entire 2022-23 season due to a Lisfranc injury — has put OKC in the spotlight once again over the last week in summer league.

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons took the opportunity to talk about the Thunder in his latest podcast episode, where he praised the best young core in the league in his opinion and then offered an interesting take about the franchise.

Simmons threw out the idea that perhaps Seattle can swoop in and regain the franchise after previously losing the Thunder to OKC in 2008. He cites the recent arena talks as a reason why this could happen, believing OKC is not willing to fund a new arena with taxpayer money.

“I was thinking if Chet is as good as some of our Ringer people thought he was — potentially — but also just how he’s looking in these clips. Can you think of what OKC had last year, where they just were like super small-ball? They had no big guys. But everybody played (really) hard and everybody rebounded and they were able to still go .500 somehow and SGA was unbelievable.

But now they have SGA, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey and hopefully Chet — which is the best young nucleus in the league if Chet’s good. It just is… (If I can) have any four under-27 (year old) guys on one team, you’d probably pick those four. There’s a chance he might be as impactful as Wemby in the first couple of years anyway.

I hate to start (crap), but you know, OKC did steal a team from somebody else. This is the smallest market in the league. They have the smallest arena in the league… Google ‘Oklahoma City Thunder arena lease.’ Go Google all that stuff. It’s been a story there for a couple of years. They want the taxpayers to pay for a new stadium. They want to keep the team and the lease I think was up this year. They did a little three-year short lease extension.

But I just wonder — again, I hate starting (crap) — but I just wonder, you had the Bucks being valued at $3.5 billion (and) you have Phoenix at $4 billion. What happens to this team when they have all these young assets?

Like if I’m in Seattle, and I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to get an expansion team anytime soon, because you know, I still think Seattle and Vegas are gonna be the expansion teams if/when it happens, but what if you get a little (anxious) in Seattle? You look at that OKC team with the assets they built, you have the lineage of they played in Seattle once upon a time anyway.

What does Clay Bennett, who owns that team, they have a couple of other owners — one of them the Chesapeake, whatever the hell that was, they’ve fallen on some hard times, to say the least. What does Clay Bennett do if Seattle just offers him like $5 billion for the team? ‘We’ll take it, here’s $5 billion.’ What does the NBA do? And what happens if OKC wants to do it? What is the value of that team in a small market vs. a big market? And what if somebody just says (screw) it and overpays?

That’s how you get stuff. That’s how Ballmer got the Clippers, remember? Back in the day, it was like, ‘Oh my god. Ballmer, the Clippers are probably worth $1-3 billion and he’s like, ‘No they’re actually worth two.”

That’s how it played out and what happens if somebody comes at them? If I was a rich dude — like a crazy multi-billionaire, I would just want to go buy a team (type of) guy — I would start kicking the tires hard with OKC.”

OKC Mayor David Holt first brought up the possibility of the Thunder getting a new arena last July, citing it would secure the long-term future of the franchise.

“Here’s the bottom line — the NBA has changed our city forever. The vast majority of our residents know that and want that relationship to continue,” Holt said. “That facts speak plainly that we can never rest on our laurels and must always be proactive. I am extremely optimistic that we can and will secure a long-term relationship with the NBA because we have great partners in the Oklahoma City Thunder and the time to open that dialogue is now.”

In his end-of-season press conference in April, Thunder general manager Sam Presti deferred the new arena conversation to Holt, essentially saying the ball is in their court for the next steps.

“I commend him because he’s thinking forward about the future of the city, and I think that’s what’s driving his focus on that,” Presti said. “But I don’t want to talk about that without — he’s the one that needs to speak about it, I think.”

The Thunder’s current short-term lease with Paycom Center ends in 2026.

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Sam Presti talks about potential new arena in end-of-season press conference

Here’s what Sam Presti had to say about talks of a potential new arena.

It’ll be a years-long process, but discussions for a new arena for the Oklahoma City Thunder began last summer when OKC Mayor David Holt brought up the importance of it.

The creation of a new building would guarantee the Thunder’s long-term future in Oklahoma City. The Thunder are playing in Paycom Center, which is the smallest arena in the league. It has been their home since their inaugural 2008-09 season.

When asked for updates in his end-of-season press conference, Thunder general manager Sam Presti essentially said the ball is in OKC’s court.

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“That’s really a Mayor Holt thing, so I’d really defer to him,” Presti said. “I know he’s talked about it a little bit publicly, but I don’t want to like step out of my lane on that. It’s really his thing.

“I commend him because he’s thinking forward about the future of the city, and I think that’s what’s driving his focus on that. But I don’t want to talk about that without — he’s the one that needs to speak about it, I think.”

As said, this will likely take several years to plan as building a new arena is a complex and expensive project. While it’ll be a while before we get an actual update, it’s a clear positive sign that both the city and franchise seem to be on the same page when it comes to the importance of a new arena.

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Thunder GM Sam Presti comments on new potential arena and concerns of it being publicly funded

With Sam Presti being the face of the Thunder, it was important to hear his comments on the possibility of a new arena.

The talk of the summer for the Oklahoma City Thunder centered on a potential new arena down the road.

During his State of the City address, OKC Mayor David Holt brought up a new arena being necessary to secure the long-term future of the franchise.

This was the first time a new arena was publicly brought up by either the city or franchise. Holt said he did so to give the city a heads up of what the future will likely hold.

The Thunder have played in Paycom Center since they moved in 2008, and the arena itself was opened in 2002. With the arena being a little over 20 years old, Holt said it has reached its ceiling in terms of modifications and upgrades and that it’s time to start talking about a new arena.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti spoke about a potential new arena for the first time in his preseason media availability and said the franchise holds a very endearing relationship with the city.

“What I can say about that is the first thing that needs to be said is the relationship between the civic leadership here and the organization is uncommon. It’s a very — it’s all part of what makes the basketball in Oklahoma City so unique. I’ve tried to explain that to people in the league and with the other teams and stuff like that. It really is unique. It’s a unique place.

“Now, part of it is because of how we started 15 years ago when we arrived. That starting point, like from scratch, from nothing, from no logo — this was nonexistent — you build relationships, and I think that you also recognize that the mutual value of those relationships. So that’s the greatest thing when I hear Mayor Holt speak.

“And those relationships will be important as time goes on, but I’m really confident that they’ll be a great partnership as there has been since the day we arrived. I like to think part of that is also because we’ve tried to be a great partner with the community.

“I said at the end of my last press conference — I don’t want to say the end, but somewhere in there — we were pretty limited in what we could do in the community with COVID, and I kind of made a statement like we’ll be back out there, and we have been. This past summer, we’ve been out there quite a bit, and it’s been awesome.

“I know that stuff doesn’t get covered as much anymore because it happens a lot, and I think that’s a good thing because it’s normative. But we’re in the community almost every day doing something. We got something going — I think we’re unveiling another Thunder Court near Scissortail Park. We’ve got the book bus recently. Someone sent me pictures of Jalen, J. Will at a Loves with their granddaughter. That’s just very unique here, you know what I mean.

“That gives me the opportunity to say to J. Will, hey, when we talk about being a Thunder player, this is part of that. Now, a lot of guys that have been here for the last two years haven’t had the full 360 experience of what being a Thunder player is because they haven’t had the opportunity to be out in the community.

“I think that’s part of the reciprocity of a relationship. We’ve always taken it seriously. We want to be representative, and there’s a mutual aspiration for what the city can potentially be.

“When we arrived here, we had this thematic thing that said rise together. Most of you remember that. Some of you may be too young. But rise together with the city and the team was aspirational to get to the point where we have some of these things.

“The thing I love about Mayor Holt is he’s maintained that aspiration to strive for having first class things in Oklahoma City. I think that’s great.”

Presti was also asked about the concerns of some members in the Oklahoma City community of a new arena being publicly funded despite the franchise being worth $1.6 billion. Presti took the diplomatic approach of answering the question by essentially saying all sides should be listened to so that there can be a compromised solution.

“I think everybody has a right to an opinion. That’s what makes the country and community we have great. I think those concerns should be heard, and I think the people that feel otherwise should be heard as well. Hopefully through that process, there can be an honest exchange of ideas without there being a polarized point of view of right and wrong or your tribe and my tribe or everything’s wrong in the world.

“Like the only way to get to that is thoughtful discourse, respectful discourse, but I definitely think that your points are all taken and people should be heard. I think vice versa, to be heard, you also have to be willing to let other people be heard as well. Hopefully we can come to a place where everybody feels like they’ve been heard.”

The answers to these questions likely will not be learned for a long time — perhaps even several years — as the process of planning and building a new arena is a multi-year commitment. But with Presti being the face of the Thunder, it was important to hear his comments on the possibility of a new arena.

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