Next Tuesday, less than 5% of Oklahoma City residents will likely go to the polls to determine whether the city will, once again, extend the 30-year-old 1-penny MAPS tax, this time to build a new $1-billion downtown arena for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As I mentioned earlier this year, I’m a strong “Yes” vote for the new arena.
This is primarily because I – a lifelong OKC resident who suffered from an incredibly boring existence in this town during the doldrums of the 1980s and 1990s – am a hardcore Oklahoma City Thunder fan. I go to lots of games and watch the team on Bally Sports when the app works. I’m also selfishly fine paying a penny of every dollar I spend in OKC city limits to build a new arena, and give them the extra revenue they’ll need to dip into the luxury tax come 2028 when they owe SGA, Chet and whoever else a whole lot of money.