Event Center in Limbo
By BETH TURNER
Contributing Writer
NEW OWNER WANTED: SpiritBank is no longer booking large events at the 4,500-seat SpiritBank Event Center while the bank looks for a new owner for the center. This means that the Tulsa 66ers will have to find a new home for the 2014-15 season.
When the 4,500-seat SpiritBank Event Center, 10441 S. Regal Blvd., in Bixby, was being constructed in 2008, hopes were high. Unfortunately, while the center has received numerous well-known performers and welcomed a number of tenants, including the Bixby Chamber of Commerce and various retailers in the adjoining Regal Plaza, the center has not been able to hold onto its original momentum.
After being constructed by Remy Companies, the company entered foreclosure, and the center was later sold to MacPot . The owner had big plans but had to sell the property back in 2011 for his purchase price after being unable to get the space back on its feet.
As the reason for SpiritBank’s repurchase of the center in 2011, Joyce Madewell, with SpiritBank, said, “From our perspective, we had a commitment to the project, to Bixby and the South Tulsa areas.”
The Bixby Chamber of Commerce moved into the event center in 2009 as a way to reach businesses in north Bixby, says chamber President Krystal Crockett.
“At that time, all the business growth centered around 101st to 121st,” she says.
“We knew that the business community was in this area, and we wanted to be there for them but we’re here for all businesses.”
Crockett confirms that the chamber’s lease with SpiritBank runs for two more years. “We are here for the long haul. We are comfortable and confident in wherever the center goes,” she says.
For the time being, no large events are being booked in the event center, which includes the Tulsa 66ers, who have called the event center home for three seasons. The 66ers is an development team for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
However, smaller events of up to 400 people can still be booked in the center’s two ballrooms and the event space that formerly held Duke’s Southern Kitchen. These events are being booked through the center’s caterer, PARTYSERV.
Updated 07-26-2014
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