When the Drillers Go

Over the past several months there has been much said about the future home of our Tulsa Drillers. After many years as a tenant on the Expo Square property, which draws thousands of fans each year, no one can blame the organization for seriously considering the offers of a new location and new stadium. After all, the Drillers are one of the most, if not the most, successful sports organization in Tulsa County. One of the key reasons for their success is that the ownership of the Drillers, first under Went Hubbard and now Chuck Lamson, have had a business plan that has successfully mixed affordable family entertainment, good marketing, great players and staff, and a loyal fan base.

If we are to look into the future and see that a new home for the Drillers is a matter of when it will happen, not if it will happen, then how might this affect the property at Expo Square, which the Drillers now occupy, and what could be the future use of that property. Ultimately, this will be the decision of the five-member fair board known as the Tulsa Public Facilities Authority. There are several possible ideas on how the corner of 15th and Yale could be used or developed.

One option would be to keep the facility as a baseball venue. The Board could consider approaching the University of Tulsa to inquire if they have any interests in establishing a baseball program at TU and to use the stadium as their home ballpark. It's close to the TU campus and, being designed with major league dimensions, should need little retrofitting or capital expenditure, and there is plenty of parking.

We could also consider offering it as a host site for a regional NCAA tournament venue and possibly some youth baseball tournaments like the American Legion.

The Board could study the possible usage of the facility, with modifications of course, as a soccer venue.

We could consider using it for entertainment and hold more out door concerts throughout the year. With the Drillers gone, the scheduling of outdoor concerts would be much more flexible.

If there are no feasible ideas for retaining the stadium as a sports/music venue and the stadium has to come down, we could look to the private sector to develop a state-of-the-art family entertainment facility. Along those lines, perhaps there will come a time when the Fair Meadows Race Track is not the best usage of all the real estate currently used for the track, given that there are less than 30 live racing days a year and the rest of the time the property sits largely unused. If a good portion of the Expo Square real estate from 15th Street to 21st Street along Yale was cleared and opened for private development, it could create the perfect economic development climate to compliment the already great improvements happening at Expo Square.

Of course there will be other good ideas about the usage and development of Drillers corner if or when the Drillers say goodbye to Expo Square, and there's plenty of time to consider those and to hear from the neighbors around Expo Square. For now, let's just root for the home team and hope for the best for our Tulsa Drillers.

Randi Miller is Tulsa County Commissioner for District 2.