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Site Selected For MAPS 3 Convention Center, Energy FC Closes Successful Season On, Off The Pitch

The site of downtown Oklahoma City’s new convention center will run along S. Broadway Avenue.
Brent Fuchs
/
The Journal Record
The site of downtown Oklahoma City’s new convention center will run along S. Broadway Avenue.";

On Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Council closed its meeting with an executive session, and when they emerged, it look less than 30 seconds to cap months of speculation and uncertainty over the site of the MAPS 3 Convention Center.

The council moved to pick a site known as East Park 1, located south of the Chesapeake Energy Arena from SW 3rd to SW 7th streets between Robinson Ave. and Shields Blvd.

Earlier this year, a deal fell through on a site south of the Myriad Gardens at the head of the planned central park that would’ve been along the streetcar line and near the new planned boulevard. The Journal Record’s managing editor Adam Brooks said those negotiations collapsed due to sticker shock.

A $274 million convention center is expected to be built over the next few years in an area referred to as East Park-1, generally bounded by SW Fourth Street, S. Shields Boulevard, SW Seventh Street and S. Robinson Avenue in downtown Oklahoma City.
Credit Bryan M. Richter / The Journal Record
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The Journal Record
A $274 million convention center is expected to be built over the next few years in an area referred to as East Park-1, generally bounded by SW Fourth Street, S. Shields Boulevard, SW Seventh Street and S. Robinson Avenue in downtown Oklahoma City.

“The city thought it could get the land for about $13 million,” Brooks said. “The group that owned it decided they wanted to value it based on new development downtown, and they were way, way off by a factor of eight or nine.”

The city still needs to negotiate with landowners in the area to make sure they can acquire the property, and have about $18 million set aside, according to The Journal Record’s Brian Brus:

However, that does not include about $30 million needed to move an electric utility substation in the northeast part of the area. Those funds were set aside earlier in the planning process. According to the director of real estate appraisal at the Oklahoma County assessor’s office, the properties City Hall is interested in have had a few sales recently that reveal land values. For example, a building was recently removed at SW Fifth and Shields with the intent of building a new hotel, which generated two sale prices of $1.25 million and $975,000. That breaks down to between $40.65 and $31.70 per square foot, Director Steve Storff said. Also, the sale of the lumberyard across the street to the east of the substation totaled $8 million, or $31.12 per square foot, Storff said.

Brooks says the new site will still be across the street from the park, but a little further from the central business district, and attractions like the Myriad Gardens and Bricktown.

“It’s not as ideal, but the city thinks it can work,” Brooks said.

Fans cheer during the USL Western Conference Finals match between Oklahoma City Energy FC and LA Galaxy II at Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City Sunday.
Credit Courtesy / Steve Christy
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Steve Christy
Fans cheer during the USL Western Conference Finals match between Oklahoma City Energy FC and LA Galaxy II at Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City Sunday.

‘Energy’ Economics

Oklahoma City’s Energy FC soccer team wrapped up its season Sunday with a Western Conference finals loss. The team averaged 4,900 people per match, or a 30 percent increase - at its new home pitch at Taft Stadium, after relocating from Bishop McGuinness High School following the inaugural season.

“That’s also good for a non-profit called Fields and Futures, which helps rebuild athletic fields at schools in Oklahoma City,” Brooks said. “Each ticket includes a donation to that group, and it raised more than $200,000 this year.

Team executives told The Journal Record’s Molly Fleming corporate sponsorship doubled in 2015, and they expect it to grow even more next year:

While the team is still settling into Taft and even finishing some work on the facility, [ Prodigal CEO Bob Funk Jr] has his eyes on the future. He said there is still a need for a soccer-specific stadium. He said the United Soccer League could make it a franchise requirement as the league moves into a higher division.
He doesn’t expect the need for a soccer-specific stadium to arise for at least four years. “It could be a multipurpose facility,” he said. “It could be used for lacrosse, American football and even concerts.” To make Taft – a high school football field with a track – into a soccer pitch, the goal posts were removed for each game and the soccer lines were painted. Funk said the management didn’t hear complaints from fans about the stadium not being soccer-specific.

The Business Intelligence Report is a collaborative news project between KGOU and The Journal Record.

As a community-supported news organization, KGOU relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online, or by contacting our Membership department.

The Journal Record is a multi-faceted media company specializing in business, legislative and legal news. Print and online content is available via subscription.

Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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