The Tulsa Stadium Trust approved the sale of $25 million of revenue bonds to finance a new baseball stadium in downtown and a 30-year lease with the Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League during its first meeting last week
The trust was formed by the city to build a downtown multi-purpose ballpark in an effort to stimulate redevelopment of the area. The bonds will be supported by an assessment on property within the district.
The trust will own the ballpark and oversee the financing, construction, and redevelopment of the areas around it. The city is the sole beneficiary of the public trust.
The new stadium will have 6,200 fixed seats and 25 luxury suites. The facility is expected to cost $39.2 million. The total project, which includes acquiring properties adjacent to the stadium for mixed-use development, will cost $60 million, and is scheduled to open in 2010.
Financing includes the $25 million in bond proceeds, $30 million from private donors, and $5 million from the Drillers’ lease.
Trust chairman Stan Lybarger, who is president of the Bank of Oklahoma, said work on the ballpark will begin before the end of the year.
