Tulsa County To Solicit Proposals For Old Drillers Stadium

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- The chairman of the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority says he's formed a committee to solicit proposals for using the property where the old Drillers Stadium now sits.

The Tulsa Drillers are set to open their new downtown Tulsa stadium, ONEOK Field, on April 8th.

In a news release Tuesday afternoon, Tulsa County Commissioner John Smaligo announced the formation of the Driller Stadium Property Marketing Committee.

Smaligo is chairman of the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority, better known as the Fair Board, which operates Expo Square where the old stadium is located.

According to the release, Smaligo selected a five-member committee to be led by Commissioner Fred Perry, who last year headed up the property study committee for the site.

Other members of the committee are Mark Andrus, CEO of Expo Square; Mike Parrish, commercial real estate broker; Amanda Blair, marketing manager for Expo Square; and Terry Walters, a representative of the surrounding neighborhood.

According to Smaligo, "This core group has been very active in this project since the Drillers announced their move. I know Commissioner Perry and the committee will make the appropriate efforts in marketing this site for future development."

Perry says Expo Square has been in talks with various groups interested in using the stadium for the present and near future.

"There are a lot of groups interested in the stadium for various athletic events, but none have produced scheduled events or contracts," said Commissioner Fred Perry. "In the meantime, we are moving ahead with our plan to publicize the availability of the property for future development."

He emphasized that the board is not interested in selling the 5.5-acre site.

"We hope to have a professional package to distribute within 60 days.  I'd like to get a variety of interesting proposals, and hopefully one will come forth that will complement Expo Square's mission, but still something consistent with the neighborhood.  Ideally we'd like it to provide a revenue stream to help insure Expo Square's financial viability."