Widgets Magazine
  • Plans for Thunder Alley move forward

    Plans for a large entertainment block directly south of Chesapeake Arena are moving forward, with revised plans being submitted for design approval.



    The ownership group behind the Thunder submitted the only application for the city-owned property when a request for proposal was issued earlier in the year. Last month, the submission Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority selected the group as the conditional developer for the property.

    The new plans are similar to the previous proposal but with some alterations. The design by Bockus Payne calls for an open plaza at the west end with a large basketball sculpture, a 6,000 and 10,000 square foot restaurants, a large plaza in the center and a small amount of covered surface parking on the east end.

    The sculpture is planned to be a 24-foot diameter highly reflective polished stainless steel basketball held by bronze hands. In-ground LED lights will illuminate the artwork at night.

    The 6,000 square foot restaurant will be a Thunder-themed sports bar with indoor and outdoor seating.

    The 10,000 square foot restaurant will be full-service and casual eatery combining food, music and numerous craft beers on tap. The interior design will be industrial with exposed beams and high ceilings. The two restaurants may or may not be connected.

    The plaza in the center of the block is designed to be flexible to accommodate large crowds on game days and restaurant parking otherwise. As a part of the recently-approved MAPS 4, a new southeast entrance to the arena will be constructed and immediately adjacent.

    The design application states the east end of the property is very limited due to utilities and thus will be used as covered parking.

    The design will be considered at a meeting next month. The original proposal also called for buying the property at a discount and receiving tax dollars from the Tax Increment Financing fund.














































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