Kathy Taylor Appointed to Lead Major Tulsa Project

Former Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor, pictured in 2023, played an important role in getting the BOK Center and ONEOK Field constructed. Taylor currently serves as chairwoman of the Tulsa Public Facilities Authority.
Daniel Shular, Tulsa World Archive

Calling it a “no-brainer,” Mayor Monroe Nichols announced this week that former Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor will lead the city’s effort to construct a downtown convention center headquarters hotel.

The mayor informed officials working on the project of his decision in an email Monday. The move comes as the city works to address an unspecified funding gap on the estimated $350-$400 million project.
Taylor, who serves as chairwoman of the Tulsa Public Facilities Authority, has been in the middle of those discussions. “TPFA is going to be the owner of this deal,” Nichols told the Tulsa World. “And I think it’s very appropriate that the chair of TPFA — given her experience, her knowledge and her official role right now — be in a leadership position to help steer the project from where we are today to getting it done.”

Nichols pointed to the important role Taylor played as mayor in getting the BOK Center and ONEOK Field constructed as examples of the experience and expertise she brings to public development projects.
“We know how big a difference it (the BOK Center) has made and, frankly, how big of a difference a ballpark has made on that area downtown,” Nichols said. “And so this project is very similar to those. You’ve got kind of a catalytic project.
“The financing of it might be kind of tricky. The ownership of it is going to have to be innovative in how you think about that.”
The city and Tulsa Regional Chamber announced in September that the city was negotiating with Matthews Hospitality to build a convention center headquarters hotel on property currently occupied by the Police Courts Building downtown, next to the Arvest Convention Center.
In February, Erran Persley, the city’s economic development director, told the TPFA board of trustees that Matthews had recommended Tulsa — like other cities and counties across the country — take the lead in constructing its convention center hotel to help make the project financially viable.
He noted that the 605-room Omni Hotel in Oklahoma City, which opened its doors in 2021, was built for about $280 million. Just a few year later Tulsa’s proposed 500-room hotel — the city’s original request for proposals sought as many as 650 rooms — is estimated to cost at least $350 million to $370 million, Persley said.
The figure does not include the estimated $37 million it would cost to modify the parking and plaza areas next to the Police Courts Building and make improvements to Fifth Street.
At that same February meeting, the TPFA board agreed to hire PFM Financial Advisors LLC to help develop a financing model for the proposed hotel and associated infrastructure — work that continues to this day.
Officials have said previously that they expect to have the hotel open by 2029. That is dependent on many factors, including when the city closes and demolishes the Police Courts Building as part of its plan to open a new public safety center.
Nichols said this week that he expects the move into the public safety center to be completed by fall 2027. As for the hotel, he stressed that the project would not move forward until everyone involved is confident the numbers work.
“It really is about pressure testing it all, looking at the return on investment,” Nichols said. “What does this mean for Tulsa, and then coming back with a well-articulated plan about how we get it done, and having a conversation with citizens about, what does that plan look like?
“But it starts with making sure that this is a really, really good deal for the taxpayer that’ll help us grow our economy as we are making the case of what that resource might have to be.”
Taylor was not immediately available for comment Friday.