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Council approves $3 million TIF allocation to preserve and redevelop Gold Dome
Summary
In a 7–1 vote, council members approved a joint resolution to allocate up to $3 million from a new Classen corridor TIF increment to support redevelopment of the Gold Dome. The allocation is intended to help secure private financing and preserve the landmark building.
The Oklahoma City Council voted 7–1 to approve a joint resolution authorizing an allocation not to exceed $3,000,000 from the Classen Corridor tax-increment finance (TIF) project area to support redevelopment of the Gold Dome.
Kenny Soodles, chief executive with the Alliance for Economic Development, told the council the plan would be used as a catalytic allocation to help finance a privately led renovation. “This would be a construction project…a renovation and redevelopment project of over $10,000,000,” Soodles said, describing how the proposed TIF allocation would fit into the developer’s financing plan.
Mike Brown, the developer presenting the Gold Dome proposal, described a plan to adapt the landmark structure for live entertainment and supporting uses. Presentation slides and Brown’s remarks showed renderings and a financing sketch that would pair a minimum annual tax payment with a profit-sharing arrangement. The proposal presented to the council included a minimum annual tax payment for the site of $120,000 and a revenue-share concept sketched roughly as a 60/40 split in favor of the city in the materials shown to council.
Supporters described the allocation as the only viable offer on the table to preserve the structure. Troy Humphrey, representing the property ownership and broker team, told council members that prior buyers had backed away because renovation costs made private purchase and rehabilitation difficult: the building has unique structural and mechanical systems and has been offered for sale for years without a viable buyer willing to commit to preservation without public assistance.
Not all speakers were convinced the venue plan will succeed as proposed. James Scheel, who said he has run venues in the city, questioned promoter ties to national ticketing platforms and said that the business model could be risky; he said, however, he supported saving the building. “I’m all about saving the venue,” Scheel said.
Council debate focused on the primary policy objective: council members repeatedly framed the TIF allocation as a tool to preserve a unique historic building that otherwise risked demolition. The allocation the council approved is an authorization to negotiate and later formalize an economic development agreement; the actual contract terms, repayment mechanics and safeguards were described by staff as subject to a later agreement brought back to council.
Formal action: the council adopted a joint resolution approving a budget allocation not to exceed $3,000,000 from the Classen Corridor revitalization project plan for the Gold Dome redevelopment; the resolution passed 7–1.
Next steps: staff will draft an economic development agreement memorializing minimum tax payments, revenue-sharing mechanics and other project commitments that will return to council for final approval.
