Norman City Council failed to pass an agenda item that would have helped determine if council has the authority to hold a public vote on the Rock Creek Entertainment District tax increment financing districts during Tuesday’s regular meeting.
The item would have authorized the city attorney to enter litigation to clarify if council has the authority to order an election on TIF district ordinances.
Ward 1 Councilmember David Gandesbery motioned to hear the item, but no council members seconded the motion, causing the item to fail.
Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman told OU Daily after the meeting he was surprised that no council member seconded the item.
“(I’m) surprised there wasn't a second to at least have the discussion and to allow the public, who came to speak, to give their thoughts and let council deliberate on the action to take,” Holman said.
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Read more about the Rock Creek Entertainment District:
On Monday, the Cleveland County Board of County Commissioners approved the sale of $5 million of an up to $50 million bond anticipation note for the entertainment district arena.
The bond will be used to start preliminary engineering and site work for the project, according to David Floyd, attorney and special counsel for the county’s Recreational and Entertainment Facilities Authority. The authority is a public trust created to oversee the development of the Rock Creek Entertainment District.
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8:59 p.m.
Council has adjourned the meeting.
8:56 p.m.
Holman said he came to the meeting prepared to discuss or vote on the agenda item.
“I personally hold fast that I think this item, this public financing for this entertainment district, should be through a vote of the people, or that private investors and donors of the university should come up with the funds and pay for it themselves,” Holman said. “...I’ll continue to explore any way that we can to make that happen.”
Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman at the Norman City Council meeting on April 14, 2026.
8:55 p.m.
Ward 5 Councilmember Trey Kirby said he still believes the TIF districts should go to a public vote.
“Had we been voting directly on whether it was gonna go to a vote of the people or not, I would have voted for the project to go to a vote of the people,” Kirby said. “But as far as encouraging a lawsuit against residents for standing up for what they believe is right, I was not gonna be a part of that.”
8:54 p.m.
Ward 7 Councilmember Kimberly Blodgett said she hopes the arena goes to a public vote, but not like this.
“Actually, I’m kind of surprised also that I wasn’t the second,” Blodgett said. “But I actually really do agree with council member Grant with how, even if it had gone to a discussion tonight — and it probably should have — had it gone to a discussion tonight, it wasn’t going to pass.”
Blodgett encouraged residents to sue the city.
8:50 p.m.
Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant said they were surprised the item did not get a second motion but that they would not have supported the item. Grant also encouraged ORED to pursue a lawsuit against the city.
“It would be great if we could get it to a vote of the people but I don’t know what the best pathway is right now,” Grant said. “... Exposing ourselves to a personal lawsuit, which we would have to get our own lawyer and pay for it out of our own pocket, I don’t think really appeals to anyone up here. …. If we’re acting not in accordance with the city attorney’s advice, that is the risk we as council members take when we go against it.”
Helen Grant at the Norman City Council meeting on April 14, 2026.
8:49 p.m.
Gandesbery said he will always be against the entertainment district arena and encouraged Norman residents to take legal action.
“If I was somebody listening to this, somebody that maybe owned an organization or something like that, I would probably give a suggestion to go ahead and file some litigation,” Gandesbery said. “I don’t know where to go from here.”
8:47 p.m.
Chelsea Hinkle, Ward 6 Councilmember Joshua Hinkle’s wife, defended council's decision.
“Even if it takes the full 25 years for this district to fully develop, we’re here for that future and we’re invested in it,” Chelsea Hinkle said “So I respectfully appreciate you focusing your energy on building the future of Norman together.”
8:40 p.m.
Paul Arcaroli, Ward 3 resident and ORED chair, said he’s “not done” and is sad the item was not discussed.
“Each and every one of you actually said things that suggested, at least implied that, we were all gonna fight this together at some level,” Arcaroli said. “...I’ve never been hurt this deep, not even by my first wife, or my second for that matter.”
8:21 p.m.
Ward 4 resident Stephen Ellis, an OU philosophy professor, said he was surprised the motion failed.
“Almost everyone on the dais, six of nine (council members), have been advocating that the arena TIF issue should go to a vote of the people. I, along with 11,000 other Norman voters, appreciated that you were trying to find a way to unwind this kind of disaster (and) at least put it to a vote of the people,” Ellis said. “...It looks like you’ve abandoned that promise.”
Norman resident at the Norman City Council meeting on April 14, 2026.
8:12 p.m.
Rob Norman, attorney for Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development, said he was disappointed no one seconded Gandesbery’s motion to see the item.
“You had a solution to the problem in front of you, and you utterly vetoed it,” Norman said.
In a statement sent to OU Daily Tuesday prior to the council meeting, ORED wrote the city should collaborate with the organization to come to a solution. The statement references a March 6 letter sent to the city by ORED stating the organization’s intent to sue the city and Cleveland County.
“The opportunity to collaboratively pursue declaratory judgment relief is also in harmony with the position ORED stated in its March 6, 2026, demand letter to the City. ORED stated at the outset of that letter that its desire was to collaboratively work with the City to put the Rock Creek Entertainment District Project to a vote of the People of Norman,” the statement reads.
ORED’s letter claims the city of Norman and Cleveland County willfully violated the Open Meetings Act with the adoption of and attempt to move forward with the Rock Creek Entertainment District project plan.
The letter claims the city’s adoption of the project plan is invalid because it was approved during meetings that were allegedly in violation of the Open Meetings Act.
In a Tuesday email to the Daily, OU Marketing and Communications wrote that ORED's efforts to repeal the TIF ordinance set a “dangerous precedent.”
“The credibility and long-term investability of our city are at stake,” the email reads. “At a moment when Norman has a clear opportunity to move forward economically and culturally, continued efforts to disrupt what has already been decided carry significant reputational and financial risk for the city and its future development.”
8:11 p.m.
An agenda item related to TIF district ordinances failed because no council member seconded Ward 1 David Gandesbery’s motion to see the item.
The item would have authorized the city attorney’s office to enter litigation that would have clarified if council has the authority to send a TIF district ordinance to a public vote.
The judgment would have helped determine if council has the power to order an election on the Rock Creek Entertainment District TIF districts, according to a staff report.
8:09 p.m.
Council has unanimously approved an amendment to NOUN Hotel’s existing Center City Planned Unit Development, or CCPUD. The amendment will allow for the hotel’s expansion, which will include a first-floor ballroom and meeting space, about 54 additional guest rooms and other amenities.
7:35 p.m.
Council will now consider an agenda item amending the NOUN Hotel’s existing Center City Planned Development, or CCPUD, to allow for the hotel’s expansion.
7:34 p.m.
Council has approved items 9-28 on the consent docket. The motion was approved unanimously.
6:49 p.m.
Mark Howery has been awarded the 2026 Norman Animal Welfare Volunteerism Award.
Howery served on the Norman Animal Welfare Oversight Committee from 2005 to 2025, according to a staff report. Under Howery, the committee recommended the new Animal Welfare Center be designated a “no-kill” shelter and a resolution was passed in 2017.
“I’m very proud of our shelter. I’m very proud of the shelter staff. I’m very proud of all the volunteers,” Howery said. “This award should be out to many, many people.”
6:39 p.m.
Trey Kirby is being sworn in as the Ward 5 council member.
Trey Kirby swearing in at the Norman City Council meeting on April 14, 2026.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure. This story was copy edited by Kylie Caldwell and Sophie Hemker.
