NBA team close to securing new arena

The Thunder are close to getting a new home.

A plan has been finalized to construct a new downtown arena that will keep them in Oklahoma City until at least 2050, according to an Oklahoma City government press release. The city and the Thunder plan to open the arena for the 2029-2030 NBA season, if not sooner.

The plan for the new arena and the commitment from the Thunder is conditional on passage by Oklahoma City voters on Dec. 12 of a temporary one-cent sales tax. A simple majority of Oklahoma City’s city council is required to call for the Dec. 12 vote, and a simple majority of voters is required for passage.

The Thunder’s current arena, Paycom Center, is the smallest in the NBA by square footage, and it has the second-smallest capital investment of all NBA arenas. The project cost for the new arena will be a minimum of $900M.

The franchise’s owner will make a $50M contribution for the publicly owned arena. All three of Oklahoma City’s previous downtown arenas have been paid for entirely by taxpayers.

“Perhaps the most important aspect of the deal is the length — this is twice the commitment we received in 2008 and will keep the Thunder here beyond 2050,” mayor David Holt said. “My children will be my age when this agreement ends.”

The Thunder will continue playing at Paycom Center while the new arena is designed and constructed. The Thunder have committed to play their home games in OKC for 25 years in the new arena, provided the voters approve the funding for a new arena and related legal documents are completed.

The current arena opened in 2002.