Tulsa’s biggest event venues are getting older, and City Hall is eyeing out-of-town visitors to help pick up the repair tab.
City leaders are weighing whether to ask voters to raise the city’s hotel-motel tax for the first time in more than 40 years to cover major repairs and upgrades to downtown facilities. The idea is to funnel new money into urgent work at the BOK Center and the Arvest Convention Center and, in the process, free up funding that could help renovate the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. City officials told councilors the needs list includes new roofs, ADA improvements, security upgrades and other fixes meant to keep Tulsa competitive for concerts, conventions and other large events.
In briefing last month, Oak View Group and city staff outlined a multi-phase capital plan that puts immediate BOK and Arvest needs at roughly $117.3 million, with about $37.6 million in currently available capital, a shortfall near $79.7 million, according to the Tulsa City Council. The document breaks the work into a short 12-14 week Phase 1 for urgent fixes and later phases running through FY30 for elevator, exhibit-hall and roof projects…