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Venue amends amphitheater plans: owner club, year-round heat and higher budget
Summary
Venue representatives told the Broken Arrow City Council the amphitheater design now includes a 350-seat owner's club, heated winter operation through large wind walls and radiant heat, and a revised budget that grew from $74 million to about $107 million.
Venue representatives updated the Broken Arrow City Council on design changes and a larger budget for the amphitheater project on Tuesday evening. Bob Mudd, vice president of construction and expansion for Venue, said the company filed a new site plan that incorporates the enhancements.
Mudd said the project now includes three primary enhancements: an "Aikman's owner's club," a shift from an open green to dedicated bench seating in the rear, and structural and mechanical upgrades intended to enable year-round programming. "We filed a new site plan yesterday that fully incorporates all the changes that I'm going to share here," Mudd said.
Why it matters: the changes change the facility's market model and the city's expected revenue and event calendar. Mudd told council the additions are intended to increase ticket sales, extend the season and reduce neighborhood impacts from sound.
Most significant changes and numbers: Mudd said the restaurant/hospitality space in the owner's club will seat about 350 people. The design team studied winter conditions and is proposing four large side "wind walls" and radiant heating. "The combination of these two technologies and construction approaches is going to raise the temperature inside for 5,000 seats by about 30 degrees," Mudd said, and he estimated that year-round capability would increase ticket sales by "about 40%" compared with the original projection. He said the project cost has increased from an anticipated $74,000,000 to about $107,000,000.
Mudd also described structural adjustments for the roof. He said a recommended roof structure required heavier steel beams than initially planned and that those engineering changes have increased cost and time. He offered an opening target for operations in the April time frame next year.
Neighborhood and operational notes: Mudd told council the side walls would remain at least 50% open to preserve ingress and egress, and he said the walls should reduce outgoing sound. Council members asked about multimedia uses of the walls; Mudd said properly designed surfaces could be used for projection and other displays.
What council heard: City staff and councilors asked technical and timeline questions but did not take action on the designs at the meeting. Jennifer Rush, who introduced the presenters, framed the update as informational; no vote was scheduled.
Where this came from: Venue's presentation and Q&A with council on May 6, 2025, including statements by Bob Mudd and by Jennifer Rush.
Looking ahead: Mudd said construction remains on the critical path and the team will return with formal permits and final plans as the project moves through planning and building reviews.
