City flexes leverage as Energy FC stadium location remains unclear
Oklahoma City Energy FC presented two stadium options to the Oklahoma City – City Council on Aug. 6 as it lobbied to earn a spot on the upcoming MAPS 4 ballot in Oklahoma City.
A recap and details from the club’s city council presentation can be read here.
The council will decide by no later than Sept. 24 (and potentially as early as Tuesday) if the Energy will be part of the list of projects on the ballot, which, if residents pass in December, would fully fund a new soccer-specific stadium for the USL Championship club.
There was quite a lot to review and process after the 2.5-hour stadium presentation that provided innumerable details about a proposal that publicly had been vague generalities.
Yet the biggest remaining question remains the one that has persisted throughout the club’s six-year history — where will it call home?
Destination unknown (again)
The actual site of the proposed 8,000- to 10,000-seat stadium has been the biggest challenge, by far, in the club’s three-year pursuit of a new, USSF-standard home stadium.
Initially South Bricktown, Wheeler Park and Chisholm Creek were sites that had been informally proposed (in addition to exploration at other locations such as Wiley Post Park and Crossroads Mall) before Energy co-owner Bob Funk Jr. announced in February that South Bricktown would be the pitched location for the MAPS 4 proposal.
So it was shocking to quickly hear from the City Council during the presentation that the South Bricktown site was anything but set in stone.
The city knows it has leverage over the Energy, but it is also aware that it has to sell the community the benefits if the stadium is included in the MAPS package. The lone poll pre-MAPS 4 presentations had 67.2 percent opposed to the proposed stadium. The council has to made adjustments so the stadium doesn’t sink the entire MAPS 4 package at the polls (a MAPS ballot initiative has never failed in the 26 years existence of the package, and this council does not want to be the first to have a MAPS measure rejected at the polls).
Three councilmembers publicly suggested a southside stadium location (the predominantly Hispanic area). Previous MAPS projects from the past two decades have mostly ignored this area of the city, so having the stadium in this section of town would be an outreach to the residents south of the Oklahoma River.
However, unless the Energy ownership group makes a significant concession, it’s doubtful the stadium will venture too far away from the central section of the city. The club knows a stadium not located near the prime downtown real estate will make travel or the amenities surrounding a stadium less desirable — the exact situation the club faces with Taft Stadium, its current home.
Funk was adamant about the stadium being located close to the downtown core, and Chuck Wiggin (president of Wiggin Properties in Oklahoma City) was one of the four formal speakers Funk brought up to the podium. Wiggin spoke repeatedly about the need for the stadium to be in the downtown area.
“Our preference is for a neighborhood that is dense, mix-used and affordable,” Funk said. “It must have bike and pedestrian infrastructure and connection to public transportation.”
The five primary candidates for the new stadium sites (with only two, South Bricktown and Farmers Market, meeting the requirements Funk listed in the quote above) are the following:
· First mentioned in 2016 – Funk Jr. had deal to acquire the land for stadium, but the deal fell through
· The ideal location — developed area in the heart of the city at the corner of a major freeway junction
· Easy access to OKC Streetcar and EMBARK bus transit
· Likely the most expensive land acquisition of any location
· May require additional cleanup costs (former oil mill was at location)
· First mentioned in 2017 by Funk Jr. in media interview
· Acreage (and plenty more) available at location
· Unable to sell alcohol under current park statutes (previous owner had stipulation in will)
· Easy access to western suburbs (Yukon, Mustang), though difficult access from northern (Edmond) and southern (Moore, Norman) suburbs
· First mentioned in 2019 by Funk Jr. in Q&A live chat this month
· Opposite (north) side of Interstate 40 from Wheeler Park
· Significantly less land than Wheeler Park, but much better access and walkability to restaurants and bars
SW 44TH and S. WESTERN (NE corner)
· First mentioned in 2019 by Ward 6 Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon during the Energy’s city council presentation as a possible site location
· Site currently occupied by a closed Sears store
· Location fantastic and ideal for the predominantly Hispanic southside part of town
· Extremely poor access to remaining parts of the sprawling Oklahoma City metro (at least three miles away from access to the nearest Interstate)
· Would replicate same challenges currently at Taft Stadium regarding restaurants/bars, accessibility, pedestrian friendliness, etc.
· First mentioned by Funk Jr. in a 2018 tweet
· Site of former mall that closed in October 2017
· Extremely accessible to Moore, Norman and the southern half of the city.
· Extremely challenging accessibility to Edmond and Central/Northern Oklahoma City. Would take 45-60 minutes to access from some locations in Edmond
· Long-shot at best to receive consideration, especially given accessibility logistics for northern and central parts of the metro
Follow James on Twitter: @James_Poling.
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