Oklahoma City’s iconic Gold Dome is once again fighting for survival, this time facing a sheriff’s auction after its owner defaulted on a mortgage, even as city officials stand one vote away from approving $3 million to help rescue the property. The geodesic landmark at NW 23rd Street and North Classen Boulevard has dodged the wrecking ball twice before, and now a foreclosure case is testing whether a long-discussed concert venue conversion can still happen.
Chickasaw Community Bank, which is owned by the Chickasaw Nation, filed to foreclose on developer Jonathan Russell in November 2025, according to The Oklahoman. The bank’s filing accuses Russell of defaulting on a mortgage issued in 2017, and the paper reports he owed $1,163,195 including interest as of 2025. With the sheriff’s auction looming, a music venue operator is reportedly one vote away from receiving the $3 million the city may grant for the Gold Dome’s redevelopment.
Russell, who runs Land Run Development, purchased the Gold Dome in 2015 for $1.1 million, following years of ownership turnover and a previous owner’s legal troubles, according to Abandoned Oklahoma. That purchase came after the building had already survived two separate brushes with demolition, first in 2001 when Citizens Bank sought to flatten it for a Walgreens, and again in 2013 when developer David Box bought the property for $800,000 and applied for a permit to replace it with a gas station. Public protests halted both plans, according to the same account.
A $3 Million Bet On A Concert Venue
The current rescue attempt traces back to January 2025, when the Oklahoma City Council voted 7-1 to approve $3 million in Tax Increment Financing loan funds for Tulsa-based Kismet Koncerts to convert the vacant building into a concert venue, part of an estimated $10 million project, as reported by Route 66 News. Under the redevelopment proposal advanced in late 2024, Kismet Koncerts pledged at least $7 million in private capital to build a 2,500-capacity venue hosting roughly 65 events a year, while guaranteeing a minimum annual tax payment of $120,000, per the Oklahoma City Free Press. Kismet Koncerts also operates other regional venues, including The Odeon in Cleveland and the Crown Uptown Theater in Wichita…