Oklahoma City will get a new arena in downtown.
OKC voters overwhelmingly supported the new facility and approved a new home for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the years to come.
The margin of victory was wide, with 71% of voters providing support to proposal.
“Tonight we told the nation, we told the world that Oklahoma City is and will remain a Big League city,” Mayor David Holt said.
Holt was a key supporter of the Vote Yes campaign. He said before the election that if voters accepted the deal, the team would agree to stay in Oklahoma City until 2050. Currently, the team is obligated to stay in OKC. until 2026.
The one in Oklahoma City Paycom Center has been the home of the Thunder since 2008, when the team arrived in the city. It opened in 2002 and is one of the smallest arenas in the NBA.
Construction of the new arena will cost at least $900 million, with $70 million expected to come from MAPS 4 funds and $50 million from team owners. The remaining funds – worth more than $700 million – will come from a one-cent sales tax over 72 months. It’s an affair that some economists have criticized.
In a statement sent to journalistsNBA Commissioner Adam Silver praised the deal.
“A signature of the Oklahoma City Thunder, beyond the team’s success on the court, has been its deep connection to its fans and community,” Silver said in the release. “This vote for a new arena is another example of this connection. »
The planned opening date is for the 2029-2030 NBA season.
Southwest Oklahoma voters choose new senator
Republican Dusty Deevers will be the new state senator for Senate District 32, representing much of Lawton, Cameron University and Fort Sill, Oklahoma’s largest military base.
Voters in Comanche County in southwest Oklahoma chose between Deevers and Democrat Larry Bush to replace John Michael Montgomery, who resigned in July to become president and CEO of the Lawton Chamber of Commerce Fort Sill.
Deevers presents himself as a conservative Christian, campaigned as an abortion abolitionist and advocated for a End of no-fault divorce in his bid for the Statehouse.
Edmond primary voters advance Republicans, Democrats in Statehouse special election
Republican Erick Harris and Democrat Regan Raff will face Libertarian Richard Prawdzienski in the Feb. 13 general election for the House District 39 seat.
The district includes much of western Edmond and a small part of northwest Oklahoma City.
Nine people – seven Republicans and two Democrats – were running in the primary to replace former GOP Rep. Ryan Martinez, who resigned in September. Martinez’s status as a lawmaker had been called into question after he signed a plea deal for a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated.
Harris narrowly defeated a large field of Republicans, edging out second-place finisher Ronda Lee Peterson by fewer than 30 votes. Raff won his race by winning over 80% of voters in the Democratic primary.
