Renderings of ballpark show untraditional look
BY BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
6/30/09 at 3:35 PM
The first specific, color renderings of what the exterior of the new Tulsa Drillers downtown ballpark may look like were released Tuesday.
They seem to evoke the Prairie School architectural style that was made famous by Frank Lloyd Wright and often features flat roofs, broad overhanging eaves and horizontal lines.
Reed Woods, the Tulsa Stadium Trust project manager, said the look that's been conceived by HOK Sport of Kansas City is not traditional to ballparks.
"It's got stone, structural steel and glass elements, and with those you tend to think of a very modern structure," he said. "What they are trying to do is make it complementary to all of the other downtown areas, like the Brady Village and even One Technology Center. That's why there is a blending of materials."
Woods cautioned that the design may evolve.
"Tulsa is most well known for art deco," he said. "One of the groups that has collected art deco pieces from demolished downtown Tulsa buildings has been in contact to see if we can incorporate some of them into the ballpark."
Woods shared the renderings at the Tulsa Development Authority's meeting as the final steps to secure the ballpark's land were discussed.
The authority owns the seven acres in the historical Greenwood District that will make up the stadium's footprint.
While the total appraised value of the site is about $2.78 million, the trust is only going to pay $723,250 for about two acres that are connected to federal grant regulations. The rest will be donated by the authority.
As Stadium Trust Chairman Stan Lybarger has explained before, since the city is the beneficiary of both the authority and the trust, it's as if the land is being taken out of one pocket and put into another.
The authority plans to formally transfer ownership of the land later this week, and a 1:30 p.m. Tuesday groundbreaking is scheduled.
The $39.2 million stadium is planned to have 6,200 seats, 30 suites and a sunken playing field that is about 13 feet below street level.
The trust is overseeing the total $60 million endeavor that includes purchasing some adjacent land for complementary development.
The money is coming from $30 million in private donations, $25 million from a downtown property assessment and $5 million from the Drillers' lease.
Last week, it was revealed that the Tulsa Community Foundation and Manhattan Construction formed Tulsa Stadium Construction Co. LLC to submit the only construction bid for the project.
The ballpark is expected to be ready by February 2010, just in time for the Drillers' spring season.
Brian Barber 581-8322
brian.barber@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
The new Tulsa Drillers baseball park, shown in an artist's rendering, may mix stone, steel and glass in what the project manager said could be considered as "a very modern structure."
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