No one’s revealing how much money Oklahoma Gas and Electric donated, but its contribution to the State Fair of Oklahoma resulted in the new $126 million arena under construction being named the OG&E Coliseum.
The final truss was carried into place this week as the Fair made the formal announcement. OG&E became the lead donor among those who helped finance the construction of the building to replace the Jim Norick Arena. Ground was broken on the OG&E Coliseum 13 months ago and once it’s complete, the coliseum will seat up to 7,500 people for a variety of events including high school basketball tournaments, bull riding and concerts.
The naming rights contract carried a confidentiality requirement concerning OGE’s contribution. The majority of the funding, $82 million, came from MAPS 4 while $25 million is earmed from Oklahoma City’s hotel and motel tax.
Ron Norick, former Oklahoma City mayor and now chairman of the Oklahoma State Fair board of directors said it was known from the beginning that the coliseum part of the MAPS 4 budget wasn’t enough to cover the entire cost of the new arena.
“Multiple funding sources needed to come together to bridge the gap. We are extremely thankful that the OGE Energy Corp. Foundation stepped up with their generous donation. Without them, we would not have been able to build the coliseum we are building today.”