GOAL ASSIST
OKC could score MAPS 4 soccer stadium south of Bricktown
Oklahoma City is being asked to locate the MAPS 4 soccer stadium on donated land south of Lower Bricktown and to provide tax increment financing to cover rising construction costs.
Bob Funk Jr. and Tim McLaughlin, owners of the Energy FC, have a contract to buy nine acres south of Oklahoma City Boulevard and east of the BNSF railway viaduct — a property that for decades was home to the Producers Cooperative Oil Mill.
“I want to be part of something that will be a catalyst for that area, that fits Oklahoma City and its citizens,” Funk said. “That’s my No. 1 goal. We always knew it’s a prime location and it was just a matter of getting the right deal in place.”
The site will need approval from the Oklahoma City Council, which also is being asked to approve use of $20 million from the downtown tax increment financing district and $10 million from the funding created for construction of the Omni Hotel.
The original MAPS 4 budget for the stadium is $41 million and is estimated to be short by more than $30 million due to inflation. Similar cost spikes have been reported with projects throughout the city, including a $100 million
“I want to be part of something that will be a catalyst for that area, that fits Oklahoma City and its citizens.”
Bob Funk Jr.
Co-owner of the Energy FC
increase for the OKANA resort under construction along the Oklahoma River.
“Steel, concrete, construction materials, the labor — everything that has gone up post-COVID — is up 30% to 50% or more,” Funk said. “We knew we were on a tight budget going into MAPS 4. As it turns out, post-COVID, if you're looking at $41 million, that means just building a high school stadium.”
How will developers cover costs?
Kenton Tsoodle, president of The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City, said the proposal to cover the gap will include $20 million in tax increment financing and $10 million from funding used to build the Omni Hotel.
Tax increment financing is possible only after a review by the Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust, the Oklahoma City Council and the taxing jurisdictions for the area, consisting of Oklahoma County, the City-County Health Department, CareerTech, the Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma City Public Schools and the city of Oklahoma City.
Tax increment financing, often referred to as TIF, uses taxes on future gains on real estate values to pay for new infrastructure improvements. The fund accumulates for an approved district. Proceeds also can be used by taxing entities for public improvements.
The stadium and the land, which will be owned by the city, is in a yet-to-start “Core to Shore” TIF district. The project itself won't generate property tax increment due to it being a public property. Tsoodle said the downtown TIF district, set to expire in 2026, is on track to end with a remaining balance of $20 million — funding proposed to help cover the cost gap of the stadium.
The remaining $10 million is in a fund initially reserved to cover two years of debt service for the Omni Hotel. The $10 million is above and beyond what was required in the city's development agreement for the hotel, which Tsoodle said has performed better than expected. As a result, $10 million is available for the stadium, Tsoodle said. Talks between Funk, Tsoodle, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt and other city officials about the location and funding started in 2022 as labor and material costs began to drive up construction prices nationwide.
“In my mind, the proposal addresses three important challenges,” Holt said. “MAPS 4 did not have money for stadium land acquisition. The Producers Cooperative property needs a catalyst. The stadium project was always underfunded. And being a TIF, this doesn't take away from core city funding priorities.”
The proposal, if approved, would make the stadium the third MAPS 4 project to include a private contribution of land. Property also was donated by Midtown Renaissance for the new Palomar campus set to be built in 2024 at NW 11 and Hudson. The Arnall Family Foundation, meanwhile, donated land along Linwood Boulevard for construction of a diversion hub.
Holt said city history, going back to its earliest days, is filled with examples of land donated for parks and schools.
“We really didn't budget for land with the stadium,” Holt said. “We knew that from the beginning we were either looking at city-owned land or a donation. “And in this case, it's a donation of land in a downtown area where we would like to see something happen.”
OKC's Energy FC first started at a high school field
Funk and McLaughlin started the Energy FC in 2013.
The team is part of the USL Championship, second division of the United States Soccer Federation. The team played at Bishop McGuinness High School during its inaugural year and then played eight seasons at Taft Stadium.
Team operations were suspended for the 2022 season due to renovations at Taft Stadium, and the team was to return this year, but instead, the suspension was extended.
“When we went to Taft, we knew we were operating on a field that wasn't regulation for USSF,” Funk said. “We had to apply for waivers, and we did that for a number of years. We assured the USL, the league we operate in, that we eventually would get that fixed.”
Oklahoma City Public Schools, however, declined a request to take out two lanes of the track at Taft as part of the renovation. That left Taft short on the pitch of the field and the team as the only member of the league to not be playing in a regulation-size field.
Why choose this site?
The search for a stadium site predates the 2019 passage of MAPS 4. Funk previously entered into a purchase agreement in 2017 with the cooperative, which is now based in Altus.
“We weren't able to come to a final agreement,” Funk said. “As we worked through some of what we saw as important to the city, we saw that this is an area most in need of development. The ownership agrees it's time to figure out a way to develop it, and the surrounding property owners are supportive of figuring out a way to get it developed.”
Other sites were considered. Strawberry Fields, west of Scissortail Park, is tied up in litigation, and developer Pat Salame is under investigation by the Oklahoma Securities Department. The property on the west side of the OKANA development, meanwhile, has access issues that might require new entrance and exit ramps from Interstate 35.
The Producers Co-Op started cotton seed processing operations in the early 1990s.
The plant was closed in 2015 and operations moved to Altus in the heart of Oklahoma's cotton crop region. The site was cleared after the earlier deal with Funk fell through.
The original deal called for Funk to acquire 37 acres, but this time the deal is for nine acres with options to later buy the remainder of the property for development.
The proposed site is one block east of the 1,100-space convention center garage and 10,000 parking spaces are located within a quarter mile of the proposed stadium site.
“We've talked about parking over and over,” Funk said. “Because of the area's density, surface parking isn't an option. You can put a parking garage on it (the cotton mill site) and that would be fine. It would be a decent opportunity for whatever a developer for the property needs.”
Multi-use, future use of stadium plays into design
In addition to the Energy FC, the stadium also is expected to host high school championship games, NCAA events, rugby, lacrosse and concerts.
“We have to take all the events into consideration, especially when it comes to concerts and being able to do changeovers effectively and a stage that will be efficient,” Funk said. “We want this used as much as possible. We want to put on 80 events a year.”
The revised cost estimate is based on stadiums built in Rhode Island, Des Moines, Iowa and most recently, a $65 million, 12,000-seat soccer capacity stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
“It was built pre-COVID,” Funk said. “They have one of the nicest stadiums in Division 2 of soccer. We know we need to at least get to $70 million to get 8,000 seats, which is what we proposed to the city council. We would like to get to 10,000 seats. But we can't get there on $41 million.”
Funk said the stadium in Oklahoma City needs to be designed to allow for expansion should the city ever have a shot at moving up to division 1 soccer.
“This is a long-term asset,” Funk said. “If you're going to build it, and a building's life is 30 to 40 years max, it's a significant investment for a long period of time. You need to get it right.”
Much of the decisions on location and funding are set to occur in January with presentations set to occur with the TIF review committee, the city's economic development trust and the city council.
“I would like to open back up (with team play) in 2027 if we can make it happen,” Funk said. “That means we would need to start with design in 2024 and be intentional about it. And if we could get shovels in the ground in 2025 and into 2026, that would be fantastic.”