ONEOK Field - Tulsa Drillers

Tulsa Drillers

ONEOK Field 201 N Elgin Avenue Tulsa, OK 74120	Opened: 2010	Capacity: 7,833	Elevation: 709'

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ONEOK Field Facts & Figures

Construction cost: $39.2 million

Financing: With the inclusion of land acquisition costs for desired surrounding development, the total budget for the ballpark project was $60 million. Of that amount, $30 million was raised privately, via 29 donors and sponsors, with the naming rights fee a part of the private contributions. A downtown property assessment fee, which is to be assessed annually for 30 years on property owners within a defined downtown district, accounts for $25 million of the funding. Lease payments by the Drillers cover the final $5 million.

Architect: Populous

General contractor: Manhattan Construction Company

Site: 8.5 acres in size; the parcel had previously been vacant and was owned by the Tulsa Development Authority.

The ceremonial groundbreaking date was December 19, 2008. Site excavation began on January 8, 2009. The ballpark was deemed substantially complete on February 26, 2010.

Owned by the Tulsa Stadium Trust, which is a component unit of the City of Tulsa. The public trust was created on September 25, 2008 with its primary purpose being to "own and operate a baseball stadium in downtown Tulsa."

Naming rights: ONEOK, a downtown Tulsa-based natural gas supplier, paid $5 million for a 20-year term with the name of the ballpark being announced on January 12, 2009. Pronounced ONE-OAK, the energy company actually split their sponsorship payment between ONEOK corporate ($850,000) and the ONEOK Foundation ($4.15 million), which is the charitable arm of the company. Based on the financial terms and length of the agreement, the average annual value of the naming rights deal is $250,000.

Has 23 suites and physical seating for 6,333 people.

Lease length/terms: 30 years, with the Drillers paying an annual base rent of $150,000. The yearly rent is adjusted upward based on an escalation clause tied to the Consumer Price Index, although the inflation increase is capped at 5%. During seasons in which the Drillers top 400,000 in paid attendance they owe extra rent in the amount of 50 cents for each ticket sold past the 400K benchmark. The team also has to contribute at least $50,000 annually to the ONEOK Field capital maintenance fund. The lease terms between the Tulsa Stadium Trust and Drillers' ownership were officially agreed to on October 29, 2008 and became effective when the ballpark opened in 2010.

The grass that covers the baseball field comes from Riverview Sod Ranch, which is located 29 miles to the southeast of the ballpark. About 95,000 square feet of sod is needed to cover the infield, outfield and foul territory. Grown in the city of Bixby, the grass used is a patented Bermuda variant called TifSport, which was developed by the University of Georgia and is noted for its cold weather endurance, dark green color and traffic tolerance.

Since 2015, has been home to a minor league soccer team, the Tulsa Roughnecks FC of the United Soccer League. The Roughnecks are owned by the Tulsa Drillers and they drew 8,335 to ONEOK Field on March 28, 2015 for their inaugural game, which was played against the Oklahoma City Energy and ended in a 1-1 tie.

Replaced 10,997-seat Drillers Stadium as the home for professional baseball in Tulsa. Opened as Sutton Stadium in 1981, the Drillers played 29 seasons and 2,002 Texas League games there, the final one taking place on September 7, 2009. Drillers Stadium was located 5½ miles from ONEOK Field in the county fairgrounds. In 2016, it was finally decided that the stadium would be dismantled and replaced with the USA BMX national headquarters and training center.

Ballpark Firsts

First game: April 8, 2010; the Corpus Christi Hooks beat the Tulsa Drillers, 7-0, with 8,665 as the announced attendance. The game was played in 2 hours and 37 minutes after starting at 7:33 p.m.

Ceremonial first pitch: Country music singer Tim McGraw, who played a concert in downtown Tulsa later that evening, threw the honorary pitch. Of note, Tim McGraw is the son of former ace relief pitcher Tug McGraw.

Official ballpark firsts (all of which occurred on 4/8/10, unless noted):

Pitch Batter Hit (single) Home Run (4/9) Winning Pitcher Losing Pitcher Save (4/11)

Christian Friedrich Jack Shuck Anthony Jackson Koby Clemens Sergio Perez Christian Friedrich Craig Baker

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