Construction is nearing 70% completion at the OG&E Coliseum, the official name for the new OKC Fairgrounds arena being built under the MAPS 4 program since last February.
City leaders and MAPS 4 venue subcommittee members were given a tour of the new 216,164-square-foot venue, expected to open in mid-2025. The $126 million construction is being funded largely by a local one-cent sales tax collected from 2020 to 2028 as part of a broader, voter-approved $1.1 billion multi-project effort across Oklahoma City.
Ron Norick, former OKC mayor from 1987 to 1998, was among the various civic leaders who walked around the facility interior recently. He said he is excited by the progress he has seen since he last visited earlier in May.
“When I was in it last time, they had only poured about two-thirds of the floor, and now all of the floor is in,” Norick said. “You can see a lot thatâs happening in plumbing and electrical as far as whatâll be in the ceilings. You wonât see it once they put the ceilings in, but you can see a lot of conduit. Some of the tile is being put up on the walls, and Sheetrockâs going up, so theyâre making really great progress. Itâs going to be an absolutely first-class building.â
The new coliseum holds special significance for Norick, as it will be replacing the current arena that bears the name of his father, Jim Norick, also a former two-term mayor of Oklahoma City who died in 2015. The Jim Norick Arena has been a major economic driver for the city, hosting more than 250 event days a year, including international horse shows, music concerts, high school sports championships and the Oklahoma State Fair.
There’s strong sentimental value attached to the old arena at the fairgrounds, but father and son both agreed a decade ago that it needed to be replaced. By the time the new coliseum is set to open, the current venue will have marked 60 years of service.
“My dad wasnât the least bit disappointed that the Jim Norick Arena would come down,” Ron Norick said. “Thatâs just a matter of age. Everything finally just wears out, and that building is worn out. It needed to be replaced, and weâre doing a good job of getting it replaced. Iâm excited about it, and itâll be open before we know it.”
More: New OKC Fairgrounds arena remains on track for mid-2025 opening
What’s next after the OG&E Coliseum is completed?
Architects with Populous and construction workers with Flintco expect the coliseum to be fully completed in mid-2025. Todd Gralla, principal at Populous Architects, recently said that the venue would look like it’s already finished by February.
âThe building will appear to be complete in late winter,â Gralla said. âThere will be still some interior works happening â some signage, graphics, furnishings and seats going in â but when you drive by it, probably in January or February, itâll look like itâs open. But weâre obviously going to be still doing some work inside.â
MAPS 4 to have busy 2024: Coliseum updates, arena upgrades, and a hub for entrepreneurs
Afterward, planners will demolish the old arena and begin work in early 2026 on construction of a promenade connecting the new coliseum with the Super Barn.
Building the connector will be a major undertaking of its own and likely span 18 months, Norick said, with a large warmup pen, an exhibition space for vendors and full air-conditioning and heating among the plans.
For Norick, the new coliseum’s construction is further vindication of the MAPS program’s legacy, which he first proposed during his time as Oklahoma City mayor in the early 1990s. By that time, the city was in crisis mode: The local economy was reeling from various bank failures and energy industry layoffs, and downtown OKC needed serious revitalization.
The mayor pitched the temporary sales tax as a way for the city to invest in its infrastructure and better its quality of life. Residents were skeptical at first of the tax increase, and the first MAPS vote passed by a thin margin in 1993. But over the past three decades, different versions of the program have been introduced, expanding the scope beyond capital improvement projects and passing with strong support.
Norick said he is very hopeful about the possibility of a MAPS 5 being proposed and passed in the future, noting that MAPS initiatives had been championed by subsequent mayors, Kirk Humphreys, Mick Cornett and David Holt.
“Thatâs the unique part, I think, of our city: Itâs that weâve each carried that vision to improve our city, one after the other, whereas I think, you look around the country and anytime they have a change in leadership, youâll see a complete change in direction,” Norick said. “Thatâs not happening here in Oklahoma City, and everybody just keeps working together. It makes me feel good that weâre still heading down that same path.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: New OKC Fairgrounds coliseum ‘making great progress’
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