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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) \u2014 The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday the City of Norman can move forward with a controversial tax-increment financing plan for a massive entertainment district and new University of Oklahoma basketball arena without putting the decision to a vote of the people.<\/p>\n
The ruling clears a major legal hurdle for the planned Rock Creek Entertainment District along Interstate 35.<\/p>\n
The project includes thousands of square feet of retail and restaurants, along with a new arena for OU basketball.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the Norman City Council approved creating a tax-increment financing, or TIF, district for the project.<\/p>\n
State Supreme Court ruling moves proposed $1 billion Norman entertainment district forward <\/a><\/p>\n The TIF allows developers to keep sales tax revenue generated within the district to pay for up to $600 million of the project\u2019s roughly $1 billion cost over the next 25 years.<\/p>\n Some Norman residents strongly opposed that decision.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the revenues and property taxes and sales taxes from activity there will\u2014instead of going to the city and the county and the schools\u2014that will go to pay off the debt for the arena,\u201d Cynthia Rogers said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis city lives and dies on sales tax revenue,\u201d Paul Arcaroli said. \u201cAnd, quite frankly, the bank account is really low. So we need we need the money more than we need an arena.\u201d<\/p>\n Arcaroli and Rogers helped organize the group\u00a0 \u2018Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development\u2019 (ORED), which gathered signatures to force a public vote on the TIF district.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to submit this petition, in this case, it was 6000 was the number. We ended up with 10,500 verified,\u201d Arcaroli said. \u201cAnd that would have on its face gotten us a vote.\u201d<\/p>\n A separate group later sued, arguing\u2014among other things\u2014 the petition\u2019s ballot language inaccurately described how much TIF money the project would use.<\/p>\n A Cleveland County District Court judge agreed and blocked the vote.<\/p>\n ORED appealed that decision to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.<\/p>\n In an almost unanimous ruling Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court\u2019s decision, finding the petition language was inaccurate and that a public vote could not proceed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can always find a reason. You missed a comma, you weren\u2019t clear enough,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cYou can always find a reason to reject it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cClearly the referendum petition is not really a tool,\u201d Arcaroli said. \u201cIt\u2019s not available to those people who are the most vulnerable\u2014and that\u2019s our neighbors. We\u2019re the most vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n