The Oklahoma Eagle Newswire
Mayor G.T. Bynum announced today that the City of Tulsa and USA BMX have identified Evans Fintube as the preferred site for USA BMX’s national arena and headquarters.
“We are bringing an Olympic sport and its national audience to the Greenwood District,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “Much as the BOK Center was a public project that spurred private investment in downtown, we believe this partnership with USA BMX is the first step in drawing significant private investment to this area of North Tulsa.”
Over the course of the past three weeks, the City of Tulsa worked diligently with USA BMX and local and state economic development professionals to secure a prime Tulsa location for the arena and headquarters.
“After carefully considering each location we have decided the Evans Fintube site is our preferred site and will be the best option for our organization and the Tulsa community,” B.A. Anderson, CEO of USA BMX said. “There is certainly a great deal of due diligence to complete in order to solidify this location. We look forward to working with the team in Tulsa to work through the logistics and make the new USA BMX Headquarters a new exciting addition to the Tulsa Downtown skyline.”
The Evans Fintube site was a key area included in the Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilot Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to facilitate redevelopment through specific strategic initiatives that would address both environmental and development issues at key sites in North Tulsa.
Mayor Bynum said the new site location will allow for economic growth north of downtown and in the historic Greenwood district. “Once our due diligence is complete, I intend to begin working immediately with Councilor Hall-Harper and North Tulsa leaders to ensure this project serves as a catalyst for the kind of community development many have worked toward for years.”
“The development of the Evans Fintube site in the Historic Greenwood District represents the opportunity to grow and develop with progressive ideas while honoring the rich history of Black Wall Street,” Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper said. Rose Washington with Tulsa Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) echoed Councilor Hall-Harper’s sentiments, “Because of TEDC’s partnership with the City of Tulsa, I’ve spent countless hours with City and community leaders discussing Brownfield issues as well as evaluating redevelopment proposals. When I heard about the BMX prospect and the potential it brings to the area, for the first time I was ecstatic because this project has the opportunity to draw visitors from across the globe that will get acquainted with Historic Greenwood.”
Tulsans approved the sales tax renewal package, Vision Tulsa, last year, which set the stage to make Tulsa the world headquarters for an Olympic sport: BMX racing. With a $15 million investment from Vision Tulsa, the city is expected to see more than 100,000 visitors attending more than 100 local, state, and national events in the first five years – including the Olympic trials in 2020. The BMX events are expected to help generate nearly $11 million in economic impact for the city of Tulsa over the five-year time span.
“Despite the recent challenges we’ve endured related to the USA BMX HQ location, there was never any doubt an equally attractive location would be made available for Tulsa to be the epicenter for the sport of BMX,” Ray Hoyt, Tulsa Regional Tourism President said. “The relationship we’ve nurtured with USA BMX’s executive leadership team, staff and athletes over the last several decades, and our strong partnerships with city and county leadership, are a testament to what a top American city like Tulsa can achieve when we all believe in the same vision and work together to make big dreams real.”
“We are so happy to celebrate USA BMX’s journey to their new home in Tulsa ,” Vince Trinidad, Tulsa Sports Commission Executive Director said. “The preferred Evans Fintube industrial site provides a wonderful backdrop of downtown Tulsa and the USA BMX HQ will be a crown jewel of our great city for generations to come. We owe sincere gratitude to Bernard Anderson and the entire USA BMX Staff for their commitment and unwavering faith in Tulsa. We also sincerely appreciate all of our sports partners, city and county leaders for pushing this effort forward.”
Evans-Fintube was built in 1911 and covers approximately 22.3 acres along the 100 block of North Lansing. The Evans building was formerly a steel manufacturing facility that contained a foundry and was once the largest manufacturing facility in Tulsa. Evans Fintube lies just north of downtown Tulsa separated only by I-244. The site is in close proximity to Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District, OSU-Tulsa, ONEOK baseball field and the Brady Arts District.
