Nearly 58,000 people cast ballots in Oklahoma City’s local election last week, and 71% of them voted for a penny sales tax to fund a new Thunder arena.
That’s the second-largest margin of any other sales tax proposition in the past five decades — only MAPS 4 topped it with 72% in 2019.
Now that voters have approved the tax bump, OKC still has a lot to figure out about the new $900-million arena.
Mayor David Holt praised voters for their approval on social media.
"Congrats to OKC for making this possible," Holt wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Visions of sugarplums and arenas will dance in our heads this holiday season, and it will indeed be a happy holiday in this Big League City."
City Manager Craig Freeman said officials are looking for a location — options include sites directly north or directly west of the Paycom Center. They’re also seeking architectural and engineering services to design the arena.
The targeted opening date is for the 2029-2030 NBA season.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
