The Oklahoman: Oklahoma City Council approves MAPS 4 implementation plan

The Oklahoma City Council approved plans Tuesday for the city's nearly $1 billion MAPS improvement program that was originally scheduled to begin last month.

After a delay to hash out details and adjust the project's timeline to speed up construction of the program's four youth centers, the council passed the measure with seven votes. Ward 3 Councilwoman Barbara Young and Ward 5 Councilman David Greenwell were not present during the vote.

"The pace at which this has been accomplished is amazing," said Mayor David Holt while comparing the project's planning phase to that of the previous MAPS 3 process. "This one is going to end up taking about 19 or 20 months, but there's been a global pandemic during the middle of that and everyone's done a great job."

MAPS 4, passed by voters in 2019, contains 16 projects that address things like homelessness, post-incarceration programming, and youth and senior well-being, along with traditional MAPS projects like the fairgrounds coliseum, updates to the NBA Thunder's arena and a multipurpose stadium.

The new fairgrounds coliseum and updates to Paycom Center will be the first projects to begin construction using MAPS 4 money, but most projects will receive money for planning purposes next year.

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