To build or not to build a new north-Norman arena for OU basketball, gymnastics and other events? That question has been on the minds of Normanites for years, and it hasn’t been resolved yet.
The Norman City Council recently approved a massive TIF district package supporting construction of the $1 billion “entertainment district” proposed for vacant land near Interstate 35 and Rock Creek Road. The area once was home to “Mt. Norman” or “King Kong’s grave” (if you know, you know), but how much public financing should be dedicated to the project remains a point of contention for some.
Vanquished by a narrow City Council vote, opponents of the new Norman arena project are taking to the streets in pursuit of a referendum election challenging the creation of the TIF districts. They have until Oct. 15 to collect at least 6,099 valid voter signatures — 25 percent of the total votes cast at the preceding general municipal election — for their Norman arena petition to trigger a referendum election. (Those wanting to sign the Norman arena petition can apparently find copies daily between noon and 7 p.m. at a booth in the Roots Salon parking lot at the southwest corner of Porter Avenue and Main Street.)
Of course, among the names absent from the petition sheets will be Top Daug, the mascot of OU’s basketball programs, who we all know would love an upgraded doghouse. Just imagine the high-def view fans could get of Top Daug’s “ear pull” move on a brand new scoreboard.
But is it worth up to $600 million of future sales and property tax rebates? Perhaps that’s the real question in all of this.
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