OKC Making Plans For New Thunder Arena

Oklahoma City leaders are discussing the future of the Thunder's arena.

Mayor Holt says he expects a proposal for a new arena this summer.

The current arena was built in 2002. It's less than 600,000 square feet, the smallest in the league.

"We have the second cheapest arena in the league. We have the smallest arena in the league by square footage, and we're a 20 year old arena in a league," Mayor Holt said in an interview with News 9 in 2022. "We no longer have a state of the art arena. We have an arena."

Voters did approve $111 million in renovations as a part of MAPS 4, but city leaders set $70 million aside for a new build.

Negotiations are underway about who, or what, would fund the rest.

The Thunder is on a short-term lease until 2026.

"It's no coincidence that our population and our economy exploded in the same 15-year period that we've been a major league professional sports city," Mayor Holt said.