Last Updated on September 27, 2023, 9:16 AM | Published: September 26, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — The City Council for Oklahoma City voted Tuesday to hold an election on December 12 in an effort to extend a one-cent sales tax for another 72 months to pay for a new NBA arena.
The Council also voted to authorize OKC Mayor David Holt to sign a letter of intent with the owners of the OKC Thunder basketball team for them to stay in Oklahoma City through 2050 contingent on the passage of the tax in December.
If passed, the new tax would begin at the sunset of the current MAPS 4 penny sales tax.
If voters approve, the money will be used to pay for around 95% of the $900 million estimated cost of building a new NBA arena for the Thunder basketball team with the owners paying for the last 5%. The City of Oklahoma City would own the arena.
Ward 2 Councilmember James Cooper has joined with the mayor and other pro-business councilmembers in favor of the arena making the vote tip even more toward pro-development on this particular issue.
Only Ward 6 Councilmember JoBeth Hamon and Ward 7 Councilmember Nikki Nice voted against the proposal for the tax election.
On the resolution to create a jobs program and labor peace agreement, only Ward 8 Councilmember Mark Stonecipher voted against it.
Hamon and Nice consistently voted against all other items that had to do with the new arena.
The exception is that Nice voted for the two process resolutions that empowered the mayor to call the election and the city clerk to notify the State Election Board.
Jobs agreement
Cooper has supported the arena idea as long as an effort was made to make the building and running of the arena benefit workers with fair pay, training, and other assistance to those who have a difficult time gaining employment.
The model used in this case is a slightly modified version of one used in the building of the new arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where clear agreements were signed between the owners, the city, and local labor unions.
The resolution to include a jobs and training program connected to the operation of the new arena calls for the selected operator to “utilize workforce intermediary programs to focus recruitment and training for the new arena jobs in certain areas and people of the city….”
The agreement also calls for the “City Manager to negotiate the payment of regionally competitive wages commensurate with those paid by the city of Oklahoma City and its trust….”
A unique concept for Oklahoma and Oklahoma City is the provision in the resolution for a group to “study and deliver findings” and “potential recommendations regarding the use of a labor peace agreement in the operations of the new arena ….”
Transparency
Mayor David Holt has claimed that the “conversation” over a new arena has extended over “14 months.”
Holt’s calculations are based on his announcement in general during his State of the City speech in 2022 that the City of Oklahoma City had to build a new arena in the future to hold the popular Thunder NBA team in OKC. But, no numbers were presented then.
Even in this year’s State of the City speech, Holt did not talk numbers, only making a strong case for doing what we can to keep the Thunder in OKC.
But, although Holt has been talking about the need for a new arena and the need to extend the MAPS penny sales tax for it, he did not disclose the price tag or specifics about what part the owners would pay until 14 days ago.
On Sept. 12, Free Press learned that all of the City Council members were finally filled in that day on the financial numbers and the owners’ portion of the cost of a new arena.
A news conference with broadcast news outlets was quietly set up for the afternoon the same day. When Free Press asked about it, only then we were told when and where it would be.
In that news conference, Holt’s talking points were not that much different than his presentation during the State of the City speech in the winter.
The only difference was in revealing the numbers to the public for the first time and making an even stronger argument that it would not be hard for the owners to find another city with an NBA-level arena already built and ready with offers.
The fact of talking about needing a new arena may have been the mayor’s “14 months” ago, but some may think that the actual full discussion about the arena did not start until 14 days ago.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
