Ideas 4 MAPS

[okccowan]

One project for MAPS4 needs to be a downtown middle/high school for the John Rex kids

[Jersey Boss]

Not enough students to warrant either. When there are 2 or 3 elementary schools dt, then would be the time.

[SouthSide]

They need to take care of the overcrowding at southside schools first.

[Midtowner]

How about investment in renewable energy production to bring power to the City of OKC at or near cost, delivering more cost effective power to benefit businesses and the people?

[OKCRT]

How about investment in renewable energy production to bring power to the City of OKC at or near cost, delivering more cost effective power to benefit businesses and the people?

That would be great for the people but OG&E might not like that idea so much. And from what I understand they have a very powerful voice around these parts.

[Midtowner]

That would be great for the people but OG&E might not like that idea so much. And from what I understand they have a very powerful voice around these parts.

That's one company vs. ALL of the other companies and people. One company shouldn't get to decide. If they have a business model which doesn't hold up because they are selling us power at too high a markup, too bad.

[jonny d]

That's one company vs. ALL of the other companies and people. One company shouldn't get to decide. If they have a business model which doesn't hold up because they are selling us power at too high a markup, too bad.

Not sure if serious. This is something that literally every city in America has to think about. You don't want to upset the balance with your biggest employers. Just saying, this is something OKC deals, with, Seattle deals with, Portland, Austin, DFW, Chicago, Atlanta, etc. Seattle did away with a tax because Amazon didn't like it. I am about 90% sure that, if investments in renewable energy is chosen as an initiative, then OG&E will have been behind it.

[gopokes88]

Because FERC that’s why.

You don’t get to just build power plants and power lines.

It’s such a big, massive, expensive, complicated undertaking you need an entire team to get it done. (You know like a company)

Also I’m pretty sure cities have zero authority in that area it’s mostly a state and federal issue.

[Midtowner]

Because FERC that’s why.

You don’t get to just build power plants and power lines.

It’s such a big, massive, expensive, complicated undertaking you need an entire team to get it done. (You know like a company)

Also I’m pretty sure cities have zero authority in that area it’s mostly a state and federal issue.

Edmond has their own electric company. OKC could do the same. You don't have to be a for-profit corporation to follow federal regulations.

It would be better for the community that we either have a profit-neutral operation or reinvest the revenues back into the community as Edmond does rather than paying shareholders. This would be the sort of investment which would pay dividends for generations. Rather than building costly toys like an empty stadium, which would probably kill MAPS, I hope leadership would be looking at long-term improvements which could really produce a return on the public's investment. That was surely the hope for all of the downtown projects.

[catch22]

I think it would be cool if OKC built its own solar panel farm. Doesn’t have to be overly massive, but it would be a small step to making OKC a little more environmentally friendly. Could just pump the electricity straight into the grid and use the proceeds in the general budget.

[Plutonic Panda]

Renewable(solar and wind) are not a good energy source for large scale solutions. Nuclear is the best option.

[Laramie]

Just thought about another idea related to the article in the Oklahoman (today, Sunday) about the Stockyard Stampede. Include in the MAPS 4 budget to give each district/area/neighborhood its own money for enhancements:

Oklahoma City currently has a number of unique areas, neighborhoods & districts: Asian, Adventure, Automobile Alley, Bricktown, Boathouse, Capital Hill, Deep Deuce, Eastside 23rd, Film Row, Midtown, Stockyard City, The Paseo, The Plaza, Uptown 23rd, Western Avenue, Wheeler...

Budget whatever Total amount is needed: $75 million to $100 million--let the individual districts, areas & neighbors decide how they want to spend their money. Council representative and/or established neighborhood groups could help implement/oversee the funds for the projects--$1 to $2 million...

Give these districts/areas/neighborhoods the funds-grants for things like beautification, lights, sidewalks, signage, planters, trees etc.

[catch22]

I don’t have a dog in this fight but the problem with splitting it up is every district gets such a small amount that there’s very little overall impact. $2 million sounds like a lot, but even just some new signage, lighting, and landscaping for an intersection can get into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and if utilities need to be relocated it can very easily jump into the millions.

MAPS has always been about a small number of huge projects that have a transformative impact on the city as a whole. If we don’t have any more of these, we need to retire it. I’d hate to see MAPS die because it got butchered up into a ton of tiny projects that no one would notice. .

[gopokes88]

Edmond has their own electric company. OKC could do the same. You don't have to be a for-profit corporation to follow federal regulations.

It would be better for the community that we either have a profit-neutral operation or reinvest the revenues back into the community as Edmond does rather than paying shareholders. This would be the sort of investment which would pay dividends for generations. Rather than building costly toys like an empty stadium, which would probably kill MAPS, I hope leadership would be looking at long-term improvements which could really produce a return on the public's investment. That was surely the hope for all of the downtown projects.

Edmond has a co-op that buys their power from OGE.

Lol. ROI. Have you ever seen an Edmond power bill? It’s about double OKC’s.

This is ludicrous. You have no idea what you’re talking. It’s just a bunch of green energy virtue signaling without any regard for how it all actually functions versus what’s feasible and makes sense.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Edmond has a co-op that buys their power from OGE.

Lol. ROI. Have you ever seen an Edmond power bill? It’s about double OKC’s.

This is ludicrous. You have no idea what you’re talking. It’s just a bunch of green energy virtue signaling without any regard for how it all actually functions versus what’s feasible and makes sense.

Edmond owns and operates its own power company.
They get their energy from the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, which has power plants all over. They don’t buy anything from OG&E. They use “profits” to pay for essential city services - police, fire, etc.
Find information here http://edmondok.com/1241/Why-Public-Power- before posting false information.
Oh, Edmond residents pay 4% less than OKC. They also don’t have all the added fees. Really, did you do ANY research at all or just make up your reply to Midtowner?

[Midtowner]

Edmond has a co-op that buys their power from OGE.

Lol. ROI. Have you ever seen an Edmond power bill? It’s about double OKC’s.

This is ludicrous. You have no idea what you’re talking. It’s just a bunch of green energy virtue signaling without any regard for how it all actually functions versus what’s feasible and makes sense.

Sounds like you don't know what you're talking about.

Quoted for posterity.

[Rover]

I think it would be cool if OKC built its own solar panel farm. Doesn’t have to be overly massive, but it would be a small step to making OKC a little more environmentally friendly. Could just pump the electricity straight into the grid and use the proceeds in the general budget.

OKC is not in a good solar power location. I doubt the economics would be good. This IS a good wind energy state though.

[LocoAko]

OKC is not in a good solar power location. I doubt the economics would be good. This IS a good wind energy state though.

We're not?



NREL also tied Oklahoma for 6th place on their sun index level (http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/201.htm).

[Paseofreak]

Further, while lots of OK is good for wind energy generation, OKC is marginal at best.

[Johnb911]

Did you mean to quote to my post? I didn't make that argument.

I was tacking on in agreement with you. Sorry, unclear

[aDark]

A lot of comments which do not support MAPS monies for a soccer stadium downtown seem to come from folks who don't enjoy soccer. "Granted I'm not a soccer fan... the few people that care at all about soccer don't watch the MLS." - "I'm all for just about anything but a MLS type stadium" - "If MAPS 4 is made primarily about a soccer stadium, I'm voting against it." and "Agreed. And I believe a lot of people will feel the same way."

As I read these comments I began to wonder what the demographics of OKCTalk readership. (Has this ever been studied?) If we assume the average contributor to OKCTalk is a college educated white male in his late 40s or older then it's no wonder we are having this discussion in an echo-chamber of disgruntlement.

Now, if the lack of support for a soccer specific stadium is coming from a place of "cities shouldn't subsidize sports teams" then that is a different beast. But, if your gut reaction to a proposed MLS/USL specific stadium is an emotional response to money being spent on a sport you don't personally watch then I would suggest you consider the benefit OKC would gain from the existence of a second "major league team" instead of focusing on the sport itself. The Thunder have absolutely elevated our recognition and profile on a national level. A second "major league team" would provide an additional avenue for recognition and a new dimension to our city's national identity. I would suggest that discussions of a MAPS funded soccer stadium occur with recognition that soccer, like it or not, is a legitimate sport with a real following. I've linked a few articles below so you folks can see I'm not just making stuff up. If we take the findings below as true, wouldn't it be wise to invest our city's money and energy in a sport which is on the rise and has demonstrably been shown to be the sport which our teenagers will be watching? I want OKC to be forward thinking, and I believe having an MLS team is a progressive approach to city-building.

Lastly, I would reference a telling quote from the Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban. Mr. Cuban was asked, "If you could own a team in any other sports league, what league would you choose?" He responded, "if you would have asked me this question 10 years ago, I would have said baseball, but things have changed. I think the MLS has the best opportunity outside of the NBA. Their challenge is that the value of their franchises are growing faster than their revenues which makes it harder to invest in a franchise. But I think generally they are best positioned behind the NBA."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/filipbo.../#212d4c563c53 (Great article summarizing the rise of US soccer - 2018)

https://news.gallup.com/poll/224864/...ort-watch.aspx (The Gallup poll which the prior article pulls from - take a look at the second data chart as it's very relevant to what is stated above - 2018)

http://www.espn.com/soccer/news/stor...says-espn-poll (ESPN article showing US teens are already watching more soccer than MLB. NHL is way behind- 2014)

[Johnb911]

^^^

I was one of the ones that said I'm not in favor of a stadium. I am a big time soccer fan, but I don't think the city should subsidize a stadium, and I don't see OKC being anywhere near the map of landing a MLS franchise unfortunately. They won't keep expanding forever (unless they magically decide to devalue their investments by going to 40 or so teams and splitting up into two divisions with promotion and relegation between them) and I fear we are just too far behind to make up ground on the already very much established expansion candidates.

Thank you for posting though aDark, that's some good information.

[Pete]

^

Yep, I'm a huge soccer fan. Have seen many matches in Europe, follow the sport extensively.

I do not think the taxpayers should be subsidizing a soccer stadium and agree that MLS is a very long shot.


Also, I've yet to hear what 'other uses' this stadium would provide that aren't already offered in town. We have tons of stadiums, arenas and outdoor space and those aren't exactly maxing out on their usage.

[PaddyShack]

Not that I can vote on the measure, but as an Energy FC fan and avid lover of the game of soccer, I would prefer a privately funded stadium. I do not want to deal with conditions set about from the city or the scrutiny of taxpayers who do not care about the club or sport.

I don't like Taft, but I would rather wait for a privately funded option than to try and make taxpayers pay for it.

[OkieHornet]

What if a soccer stadium were built similar to the Dallas FC stadium that had a stage on one end? It could double as a concert venue. And it could be used for high school football games also, even as a championship site for the larger classes - they could rotate between OKC and Tulsa.