Plans for a $1 billion entertainment district were outlined Wednesday morning by a coalition of Norman public officials.

“Norman’s time has arrived,” said Lawrence McKinney, the president of the Norman Economic Development Coalition, in his opening statement to the audience. “Comprehensive challenges require comprehensive solutions, and we have just the team to get it done.

“Today, we’re announcing a proposed $1 billion mixed-use, multi-purpose performance venue and entertainment district.”

The proposal came during the State of the Economy event at Norman North High School’s Nancy O’Brian Performance Art Center.

The development is planned to be located at Rock Creek Road and 24th Avenue NW, and will include an outdoor plaza and multi-purpose performance venue designed to host different types of events such as concerts, shows, University of Oklahoma basketball games and women’s gymnastics competitions, McKinney said.

The planning effort comes after deliberations between the Norman Economic Development Coalition (NEDC), University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz Jr., Mayor Larry Heikkila, Cleveland County Commissioner Rod Cleveland, Norman Chamber of Commerce President Scott Martin and VisitNorman President Dan Shemm, all of whom spoke at the event.

In his statement to the crowd, Harroz said that 80% of the venue will be funded by the private sector.

“What brings us here today is this reality that we have not been everything we can be ... and we have lost potential that has not been realized,” Harroz said.

He emphasized that OU has not always been in collaboration with the city and the county, and this opportunity allows the university to do that.

“You’ve got to create a live, work, play environment where people are attracted and want to be, and create a community that is so desperately missing from our lives today,” he said.

Having the opportunity to create this environment will become important as the university population grows and research efforts expand, he said.

“28% of the venue will be occupied by OU as the lead tenant,” he continued.

However, he went on to say that venue use isn’t “the big attraction” for OU. “The big attraction is it creates a vibrancy in our city that right now is missing. 

Heikkila said that the city would lease the building to OU in a tenant-landlord relationship, and that the governing authority of the venue would rest with the city.

“I’ve heard criticism that it’s going to be OU’s venue. It’s not OU’s venue, it’s our venue. It’s for us to be able to do the things that are there,” Heikkila said. “As President Harroz said, it will be used 28% of the time. What about the other 72% of the time?”

The city will also hire a management company to ensure the venue makes money on the investment while the university is not using it, he added.

Martin said the project would accompany previous investments made to the city which now comprises the University Town Center.

He said the center is already the most heavily frequented shopping area in Oklahoma, with 60% of its visitors coming from outside of Cleveland County and 51% coming from more than 10 miles away.

Out-of-towners bring tax dollars that would subsidize the cost of the complex, and the expanded shopping district would also provide investment from different business sectors, he continued.

“Norman is the vibrant hub that we’ve always strived for it to be, and this project will cement our place in the region, if not in the state,” Martin said.

Cynthia Rogers, an OU economics professor, said it is impossible for residents to assess the effectiveness of the proposed tax dollars until the Norman Economic Development Coalition discloses its financial statements.

“It looks like a kitchen sink approach to bump up the private investment number and make the public portion seem smaller,” she said. “The risky part is the arena cost and return on investment.”

Schemm said that the district is also way to “roll out the red carpet” for new Norman visitors, especially fans from the SEC conference, and create an influx of “tourist dollars.”

“They travel bigger and stay later,” he said. “This project is exciting because it will give us the opportunity to keep them here to spend their money and make that first impression.”