Council outlines $53M sales-tax proposal for sports facilities as Proposition 8; projects to be front‑loaded if voters approve

City staff described plans for Proposition 8, a proposed temporary one-half cent sales tax to fund sports-user facilities across Broken Arrow.

Charlie Bright told the council the tax, if approved, would operate for five years and is estimated to generate about $53 million in revenue over that period. He said the city has modeled a scenario that would borrow against the anticipated revenue to front-load approximately $46 million in project work and pay roughly $5.6 million in debt service so improvements can be delivered sooner rather than paying escalation over time.

Bright outlined potential projects at Arrowhead, Indian Springs, Challenger Sports Complex and Neenahce, including turf conversions (either artificial turf or improved sod on sand base), LED lighting upgrades, regrading and sodding of playing fields, restroom facilities at practice areas, parking upgrades and added sidewalks and connectivity. He said specific design decisions would be determined during the design phase if voters approve the proposition; staff would immediately start consultant selection the day after a favorable April vote.

Councilors asked whether excess collections beyond the $53 million estimate would be used for additional upgrades or to pay down debt. Staff and councilors said the ballot and plan require that collected sales-tax funds be spent on sports-user groups; however, the council would later choose whether excess revenues pay additional improvements or retire debt earlier.

Councilors confirmed the tax would automatically end after five years. A motion and second were recorded to accept the project allocation language for Proposition 8 and the clerk conducted a roll call.

Next steps: staff will prepare final ordinance language and design schedules for projects that would begin design immediately after the election, pending voter approval.