William Crum
The Oklahoma City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday in favor of public financing for a new downtown luxury hotel to be built adjacent to the MAPS 3 convention center.
Consultants and experts in the convention business say a headquarters hotel is necessary to the success of the convention center, which is financed by the 1-cent MAPS 3 sales tax.
Oklahoma City is to provide $85.4 million in financing, while Omni invests $150.1 million.
The 600-room, $235.5 million hotel is to be owned and operated by Omni, which operates the Dallas Omni, headquarters hotel for the Dallas Convention Center.
Oklahoma City is to issue bonds, to be repaid over 25 years, for its share of the construction cost.
Construction is to begin using funds raised by Oklahoma City, then be completed with the money Omni brings to the project.
The city is to repay the bonds by drawing on revenue generated by the hotel and by a package of other finance vehicles, including tax-increment finance districts that capture taxes generated by redevelopment of blighted property.
Analyses project the MAPS 3 convention center's performance and economic impact will be significantly better with a headquarters hotel across the street.
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