Please go back and read the original MAPS ballot, it clearly states it wasn’t designed and built for a “wanna be competitor” of either league, but meeting the standards of those leagues. The phrase used on the ballot was: “An indoor sports/convention facility meeting not less than National Hockey League (NHL) or National Basketball Association (NBA) standards;”. (May be more info in the actual ordinance but can’t locate a copy of it right now)

Sorry, if you have trouble with that phrase, but that is what they said. They are also saying it will be that way again. Let’s take them at their word and presume that it will be that way. For how long? Another 5 years (after the renovations are complete)? Then how much is it going to cost to upgrade again (which the City is legally required to do according to the lease)? How many times is it going to have to be upgraded over the 15 to 30 year term of the lease? There is no significant funding mechanism for the improvements that we are required to make to “ensure that the arena continues to be a first-class NBA arena.”

As I have mentioned before, the 1st time I set foot in the Ford was at a Thunder game early on in the season. Did I consider it state of the art, no but then again it wasn’t a building that could even remotely be described as needing improvements costing more than the original building either. Especially when it was the City’s plan for the eventual tenant to pay for any “finishing out” costs.

Most cities keep improving, keep upgrading and updating, so what was “state of the art” at one point in time may easily have fallen behind other cities five years later.

The renovations of the Cox Center definitely improved it, but square footage is square footage, and it was improved as much as could be afforded at the time.

With any MAPS project, we can only do what we can afford, and like most of us, we might build or buy something hoping to add an extra room or a bathroom (in the figurative sense) later when we’ve got more money. Sometimes we outgrow the house and even if it seemed like it would be perfect forever at the time of purchase, time and change reveal that it’s gotten a bit shabby and/or small for our needs.

Damon: good info that I am sure most are not aware of unless they have been back in those areas. Another example where most thought they were getting completed projects under MAPS (then come to find out 5 years after opening the “state of the art”, “crown jewel of MAPS” Ford Center that it “needed” $120M in upgrades to bring it back up to NBA standards again…the MAPS 1 ballot says it would be built to those standards).

As for the new convention center being something that most citizens won’t use, that’s probably true of many cities’ convention centers. Most of their business comes from out of town groups or at least out of town visitors. However, I attended several events at the Myriad in high school, including my graduation. There are several local groups that use the center and attract out of town guests. I attend Ford Center events maybe 5 times a year. So for 360 other days, I have no use for it. But that doesn’t mean I think it was a bad investment. Just my two cents.