By John Dobberstein, Editor
A proposed Broken Arrow Student Event Center (BASEC) that will support Broken Arrow school athletic programs and hold as many as 3,000 fans was approved by the City Council on Tuesday.
The facility will accommodate event spaces, sports practice rooms, and a competition arena that allows approximately 3,000 fans to cheer on the Broken Arrow school sports teams.
The building will be located at 1901 W. Albany St. on the Broken Arrow High School campus, at the intersection of County Line Road and Albany Street. Covering 17.4 acres, the BASEC will consist of a new arena and practice facility addition to Broken Arrow High School’s existing Varsity Training Center.
The facility will sit on a 17.4-acre site which is currently a parking lot, located between the Varsity Training Center and County Line Road. The site sits east of Broken Arrow High School’s main campus and south of the Tiger Memorial Stadium.
Initial construction is anticipated to commence in the second quarter of 2022. Occupancy is anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2023.
The city said Broken Arrow has sought to create a unique multi-purpose auditorium facility to serve the growing needs of the athletic programs it will serve and the students and the community that support them.
The venue is designed to include a stage-type setup which would be the only space on the high school campus where the entire student body could gather. The facility is also home to the Broken Arrow High School wrestling, volleyball and cheer programs.
By adjoining the new BASEC to the existing Varsity Training Club, existing square footage can be used and spaces renovated into much needed office space. The sports medicine and training room will be fully renovated and expanded to include a wet room for hydrotherapy. Classroom space is also on the second floor.
Support spaces for the facility include relocating to the Varsity Club. This suite-style conference room’s entrance is centered with the auditorium and contains a balcony that is centered on the football field.
A kitchen area that can support catering is also included. Other support spaces include a large lobby with grand stair and elevator, public restrooms, concessions, audio visual control booth, Tiger nutrition, and a new home for Tiger Threads for better visibility and access for the public.
The building connects back to the rest of the campus with a separate student entrance and Tiger Plaza that can be used before and after events through its environmental design.
The building will primarily be constructed of prefinished metal wall panels and a low sloped roof. While 136 parking spaces will be removed, 249 parking spaces will be added.
The existing two points of access to 23rd Street will remain. However, the drive between the football stadium and the proposed building will be closed. Part of the drive will be converted into a parking lot. The access point south of the proposed building will be widened to accommodate left and right turn movements.
Excluding the two access drives, a 20-foot-wide landscape buffer will be provided along 23rd Street for the entire south 500 feet of the property. In this landscape buffer, 17 medium to large trees will be planted, of which at least 50 will be evergreen. In addition, a 3-foot-high berm will be provided along the entire 500-foot frontage, excluding the access drives.
Seventeen trees will be installed in the new parking lot south and west of the Varsity Training Center. The south side of this parking lot will have a berm along with 24 trees, of which at least 50% will be evergreen. In addition, the north side of the southern-most drive will have at least 240 shrubs.
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