Guest: Community is the centerpiece of OKC’s renaissance, not an arena
In response to Devery Youngblood’s opinion “An arena has been the centerpiece of OKC’s renaissance, proven by 30 years of success.”
Regardless of the season or the roster, local districts continually operate with and for the residents of Oklahoma City. True, sports are a great way to rally tax dollars through ticket and alcohol sales, but neither of these things is solely responsible for OKC’s ongoing growth.
Oklahoma City districts are bolstered by the Commercial District Revitalization Program, a small, well-run program through OKC’s Planning Department. This program helps local stakeholders to organize around their commercial streets and provide services beyond what our city services are able to afford, like additional street cleaning, trash pickup, murals and events.
More: Editorial: Why we support building a new arena in Oklahoma City
Local districts you may know and love like the Plaza District, Uptown 23rd, Paseo District, Asian District, Adventure District, Britton District and more all have their own operating budgets, staff and volunteers that focus on programming and advocacy for their communities. Many of these organizations are nonprofits whose board members are business operators and property owners directly connected to the footprint of the district.
To distill the success of these vibrant neighborhoods and use it to leverage support for a citizen-funded arena is insulting to so many who have poured literal blood, sweat, tears and dollars into their communities.
Youngblood says in his opinion: “But no study projected the kinds and levels of success Oklahoma City has experienced over the last three decades, even beyond downtown. Midtown, Capitol Hill, Plaza District, NW 23 and other inner-city neighborhoods would not be thriving without a dynamic arena as the centerpiece of Oklahoma City’s renaissance.” I invite him and any others who may think that small business success in our districts is because of the downtown arena to come to the next Uptown Merchants meeting, where they will meet the local humans who keep the heartbeat of our neighborhoods alive.
Would you be surprised to learn that neighborhoods around our current arena are still lacking funding for roads and sidewalks? It’s even more frustrating to know that many of these street improvements go to the citizenry via GO Bond elections ― we can’t even keep our basic public services functioning without asking the taxpayer for more money. Until MAPS 4, many of our parks remained untouched by updates for over 20 years. A substantial portion of our households are cost-burdened and can hardly afford to eat beyond paying their rent or mortgage every month. Our youths, the ones who will be most impacted by our decisions right now are experiencing depression and anxiety at an all-time high since 1991.
And yet for some, the small-scale, collaborative successes of community are used to justify city spending that benefits private ownership. Did you know that MAPS 4 has already invested over $24 million into maintenance and upgrades to the current arena? Another $91 million is earmarked for future maintenance and upgrades. That’s our money.
In December, taxpayers will be asked to foot the $850 million bill of this new proposed arena. Sure, there are arguments to be made about how big infrastructure like this can make big moves for a city, but none of it matters if your citizenry cannot afford to participate because they can’t eat or get out of bed. There are so many more practical ways to make impact in the community right now that doesn’t involve handcuffing us to the debt of a building that doesn’t even exist yet.
Chelsea Banks is president of Uptown 23rd District Association and Friends of Uptown Foundation, currently serves on the MAPS4 Citizens Advisory Board representing Ward 2, and is cofounder of Workflow, a shared space that fosters health, community and education.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Community is the centerpiece of OKC’s renaissance, not an arena
