A billion-dollar entertainment district could soon replace the sunflower fields between Max Westheimer Airport and Interstate 35 if the stars align for Team Norman.
A partnership between three civic organizations, the city and county governments and the University of Oklahoma called Team Norman unveiled plans Wednesday for an 8,000-seat arena, a hotel, housing and a variety of shops, restaurants, bars and offices.
If the plan, brokered by the Norman Economic Coalition, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Cleveland County, the Norman Chamber of Commerce, VisitNorman and the local business community goes through, OU would become the facility’s anchor tenant and would be expected to sign a multi-year lease.
The university’s use of the new arena, containing 2,500 fewer seats than the current 48-year old Lloyd Noble Center, would move OU gymnastics and basketball to a high-traffic locale. The arena would also be utilized for concerts, business expos, local graduations, rodeos and more, according to a press release.
“Anyone that thinks that our strategic plan can execute itself by OU alone is wrong. It will fail,” OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. said. “It has to be a part of a larger plan, and that’s what Team Norman is all about.”
The proposed development is expected to be funded through an 80/20 split between private and public funding. None of the public funding for the project is expected to come from the city or county general fund.
Former city councilman and defeated mayoral candidate Bob Thompson, who was among those who raised questions about the plan four years ago, said he hopes the City Council will opt for a general obligation bond so citizens can “have their say.”
“I think it becomes a matter of the integrity of our taxing jurisdictions, whether it’s the county commissioners or the City Council, to include the public in that decision and give the public the opportunity to vote on it,” Thompson said.
“If we want to do something like that with a general obligation bond, then we will put that to a vote of the people, and if the people approve it, we go forward,” he said. “It’s an excellent mechanism for doing things that are otherwise out of the ordinary.”
Located in the heart of the proposed development space, IMMY, an international medical manufacturing company based in Norman, is looking forward to the increased traffic the proposal will bring.
“As you can see driving up, we’re a little bit off to ourselves right now,” said Keegan Nees, IMMY marketing manager. “We’d like for other things to come into this area and help develop it and grow it a little bit more.”
Harroz made it clear the university intends to do its part to make sure the new entertainment district succeeds.
“Every one of us in this room knows that we have not been acting like a team for the city of Norman over the last decade and a half,” he said. “There is so much that our city and our county have to offer, and the potential has not been realized. We have to look in the mirror, and we did.”
With less than a year until the university joins the Southeastern Conference, many called for renovations to the university’s facilities and infrastructure to facilitate the influx of new opportunities.
The new plan mirrors one proposed in 2017 by the OU Foundation, who suggested using University North Park’s TIF district to build the multi-purpose arena. That plan ran into resistance from the City Council causing the foundation to withdraw its plan a year later.
“This is something that benefits our kids, our grandkids, and generations to come,” Harroz said. “As we go out and as we are reaching new heights at OU, the only way to get to the next level is to be able to attract those students that want more.”
Gaylord News reporters Zack Wright and Nate Pletcher contributed to this report.
Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net.
