Correction: This story was updated at 4:19 p.m. May 5 to reflect that the correct number of certified signatures is 10,689, not 10,698.
Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development announced the city clerk certified over 10,000 signatures on its petition to send the Rock Creek Entertainment District to a public vote.
This comes nearly three weeks after ORED announced it gathered 11,602 signatures on Oct. 17.
According to a Facebook post by Paul Arcaroli, an ORED member, City Clerk Brenda Hall certified 10,689 signatures for the petition, exceeding the 6,098 required to turn the entertainment district to a public vote.
The $1.1 billion Rock Creek Entertainment District was introduced in September 2023. The development would include an arena to replace Lloyd Noble Center, new offices, homes and retail establishments.
Norman City Council approved the entertainment district 5-4 on Sept. 18 after 1 a.m. Three residents, Pamela Mccoy-Post, Paul Arcaroli and Richard Sondag, filed the petition on behalf of ORED on Sept. 20.
“We believe a project of this magnitude should require a real public vetting followed by a citywide vote of the people,” ORED wrote on its website.
ORED argues that the tax increment financing model or TIF used to fund the project will burden the city budget moving forward and take $100 million of taxes away from Norman Public Schools.
“Our group is not opposed to the arena, and we are not antigrowth. We oppose public financing of a project plan that saddles our city with a $600M debt obligation for 25 years,” ORED wrote on its website.
According to Arcaroli’s post, legal notice of the petition will be published in the Norman Transcript on Nov. 10. A protest may be filed by an elector of the city in district court within 10 days of the publication in the newspaper. If this occurs, the district court will have 10 days from the filing of the protest to set a date to hear the protest.
If the petition is accepted, registered voters will be allowed to vote on the development of the entertainment district on Feb. 11, the day of the first municipal regular election.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Ismael Lele.
