Pro football could transform Crossroads Mall property
By: Janice Francis-Smith//The Journal Record//November 17, 2022
The Oklahoma City Wranglers have plans for a new stadium at the Crossroads Mall, representing a new start for both the team and the property. It’s a comeback story for the ages: a minor-league football team returns to its hometown and helps revitalize a critical piece of commercial real estate in the process. The Oklahoma City Wranglers are constructing a $1.1 million temporary outdoor facility at Crossroads Mall, representing a new start for both the team and the property.
The Wranglers – a team that had previously played as the Memphis Pharaohs and Portland Forest Dragons – played two seasons in Oklahoma City before being disbanded in 2001 by the now-defunct Arena Football League.
Today, the team is part of the United Football League, a minor league once dreaming to challenge the NFL, but which had seemingly stalled out in 2012. The UFL is planning a relaunch in the spring of 2023, with 14 teams competing for the league championship.
“They’ve scheduled their first game in April 2023,” said Carri Lawrence, co-founder and CEO of Crossroads Mall.
The temporary outdoor stadium will be on the south side of the mall, constructed in the south parking lot.
The UFL estimated it would cost $1.1 million to build a temporary facility and remove it once a permanent facility is secured, the team announced last summer while searching for a temporary site. The Wranglers have since entered a 20-year agreement to develop a 10,000-seat stadium at Crossroads Mall.
The Crossroads Mall facility is likewise undergoing a revitalization. New ownership plans a mixed-use application, combining shopping, housing, education, and live events.
The 1,268,000-square-foot regional shopping mall opened in 1974 at the junction of Interstates 35 and 240. Though once a major tax generator for Oklahoma City, the mall declined along with many shopping malls across the country, losing its anchor tenants.
For a while, the mall was renamed Plaza Mayor and repurposed to cater to the Hispanic population, but eventually the mall shut down in 2017.
“I’ve always thought that that mall was ripe for redevelopment and reuse because of its location at basically what we call the crossroads of America, I-40, I-44 and I-35,” said Oklahoma City real estate expert David Chapman. “It’s just a really nice location.”
Creating a stadium sounds like an expensive proposal, Chapman said, but if the league has the resources to do it, the stadium could be just the kind of development that could flourish at the site.
“I think that would be a great location,” Chapman said. “It certainly has the room to do something like that with a significant amount of parking available there, really good access to the highways. It’s a nice piece of land and a great place. I would think somebody could do something with it and maybe it will be the Wranglers.”
The Wranglers intend to use the space to bring Oklahoma City fans a fresh, new minor-league football experience. The team previously played at an indoor stadium.
“Those franchises played indoors in the tight and congested confines of arena football in a sport that quite frankly does not resemble real football,” according to The Wranglers’ statement. “In the new Wranglers, outdoor professional football will be in Oklahoma City for the first time.
“In a state with storied college football programs such as the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys, football fans are looking for a spring football experience that feels like real football. In the Wranglers, fans are getting their wish and a franchise ready to make a long-term commitment to Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma,” the team stated.
The Wranglers’ website welcomes applicants for a wide range of jobs to be filled for the upcoming season, from coaches to announcers and more.
https://journalrecord.com/2022/11/17/pro-football-could-transform-crossroads-mall-property/