Officials discuss economic impact of Rock Creek Entertainment District project

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — With the Rock Creek Entertainment District project approved by the Norman City Council, officials met with the media Wednesday at the planned building site to discuss it’s future economic impact. However, some are not sold on the idea.

"This project is about the prosperity of Norman and the prosperity of our state,” University of Oklahoma president Joe Harroz said during a Wednesday news conference.

Officials with the University of Oklahoma, City of Norman and beyond championed the new project that they believe could take the area to new heights.

"We want to be able to take every opportunity we can to have somebody not only build a business, but come here and live,” Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila said.

"The Rock Creek Entertainment District brings me a great sense of pride moving Norman forward,” Norman resident, business owner and Sooner Station Executive Director Michael T. Dean said.

The over $1 billion multi-purpose project that would put a new arena, retail, housing and office space in the field near I-35 and Rock Creek Rd. was approved by the Norman City Council just two weeks ago.

Two tax increment finance districts, or TIFs, will fund it. One of them will be ad valorem tax and the other will be sales tax. That’s the reason some citizens are fighting to take it to a vote.

"I think the OU foundation and Oklahoma Athletics are looking out for their interests,” OU economics professor and Norman resident Cynthia Rogers told KFOR not long after the 5 to 4 vote passed the project. “Which is what they should do right, it's natural and their interests will continue to be getting the public to pay for an arena."

"This agenda item is incredibly simple. Norman is not a fiduciary for OU,” Norman resident Mark Campbell said during the city council meeting’s public comment before the vote took place.

The cities payment will total into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Harroz cited different numbers for reasons to believe in the new project. He mentioned university growth with recent record classes and earned media exposure of $75 million from College Gameday and OU’s first SEC game viewership, which drew in millions of eyes. He also boasted higher ticket sales and rising hotel and restaurant rates in the area.

“Hotel rates up 40 percent. Restaurant rates during that month, up 33 percent,” Harroz said.

“The most visitor tickets that we had to provide in the Big 12 conference were 850 for Oklahoma State and not all of those were used. The minimum number that you can provide in the SEC for visitors is 5000,” Harroz said. “We all saw those thousands of orange outfits. They came in, well more than the 5000 that came to the game. We know those that come here visit and they spend way more money than individuals do that are not on vacation.”

However, residents like Rogers and others have shared concerns over the TIF’s effectiveness and impact on current public funding.

"If residents are mad enough and really want to vote enough they will come together and I have confidence,” Rogers said.

Residents, including Rogers, are committing to get signatures to petition for referendum, which would take the project to a vote.