First look at possible new arena for OU basketball, women's gymnastics

OU might finally get its new arena. 

The university, along with city of Norman officials, finally released renderings Wednesday of the proposed $1 billion entertainment district, which will include an 8,000-seat arena for men’s and women’s basketball and women’s gymnastics. 

The next step for the entertainment district will be on June 13 when the city commission plan will vote on its approval. Shortly after that — likely sometime in July or August — Norman City Council will then vote on its approval. If it passes, they hope to begin construction in 2025 with the hope of the arena being done for the 2027-28 athletic seasons. 

“In just a few days, we’re going to move to the Southeastern Conference, an historic move,” OU President Joe Harroz said. “There’s so many things converging right now, this is what progress looks like. This is what being a unified city, looking out for the interest of all others, looks like. This could not be a more exciting opportunity, and yes, there’s some that get anxious over this. There’s some that don’t like change. There’s some who fear opportunity. I understand that. But I think what you see right here are people fully committed, collectively, toward this.”

University and city officials also provided details to the media on how much the project will cost and how it will be funded. The arena will cost approximately $330 million, with OU paying for $100 million of that cost. The university will pay $25 million upfront and $75 million over a 25-year period. For comparison, Baylor’s Fost Pavilion cost $212 million and Texas’ Moody Center cost $375 million. 

OU will be a tenant of the arena, which will not only be the home for basketball and gymnastics but also concerts, shows and other events 76% of the time. 

“Our primary contribution to this will be to pay rent in the arena component,” Harroz said. “When you look at that, there’s 24% of its occupancy will be with the athletic teams — men’s basketball, women’s basketball and gymnastics. So part of that will be that agreement to really help provide an initial anchor.”

But whatever the cost, there are many who believe this new arena is way past due. The Lloyd Noble Center has been the home for OU basketball since 1975. It’s time for something new. 

“I think it’s worth talking about again,” OU men’s basketball coach Porter Moser said. “You’re hopeful for what it could to do, not only for the basketball programs, but for the city. I think it would be unbelievable for the community, for the different sports. The businesses it’s going to bring. The attraction with the SEC launch for the teams to see this. There’s first and foremost, there’s a huge benefit to everybody. Then for us? You’re going to have to create a homecourt advantage that is a hostile environment. That gives us the best chance for a hostile environment.”

The entertainment district and the arena will be built by The Rainier Companies, a privately owned real estate investment and mixed-use development company out of Dallas that also built the University Town Center in Norman. According to city officials, they anticipate the district will provide 5,000 new jobs and housing for 3,000 Norman residents. It’s unclear what retailers will go into the entertainment district around the arena. But it will include bars, restaurants, clothing stores and apartments. 

One of the biggest concerns for the arena on the university side was building it off campus. This concern has been voiced loudly by fans and students who attend basketball games and gymnastics meets. But athletics director Joe Castiglione isn’t worried about that after conducting research into the issue over the last several years. The university plans on shuttling students who may not have capable transportation. 

“We anticipated that being a major issue for both of us,” Castiglione said. “We want our student body heavily involved in all of our athletic programs… Did surveys several years ago — about five years ago — of the students who are coming to Lloyd Noble on a regular basis. 85% of them were driving to Lloyd Noble — 85%. And that hasn’t changed.

“So we know the access to the arena will be — coming to the current location or new location — they will get there the same way. That being said, for students who may need transportation, we have built in a plan to shuttle from the campus over to the new arena. And there’s also going to be a lot of other improvements made over a period of time that include a transportation system all around the city that will serve people depending on where they may live.”

Castiglione also said that hopes to build the district in a way that will make it easy to park and walk around the arena and retailers. 

“We also thought about once people get there how easy it is to get around it,” Castiglione said. “So it has high focus on walkability. Getting a person there and then getting to everything around the entertainment district. I think that will just enhance people’s interest in being there. That’s the other thing that hasn’t been talked about the other elements that are taking place around the arena, which we currently don’t have at Lloyd Noble. People can come to an event early and then stick around depending on when the event itself occurs. So the synergy of all that has become the most important attraction for us as well what it means to our partnership with the rest of the community.” 

As for what the arena will look like, the university wants it to feel like an on-campus building. That’s why the renderings include familiar brick patterns that can be seen across campus. The name of the arena has not yet been decided either. That will likely come “organically” or through sponsorships.