BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Broken Arrow will soon be home to a 12,500-seat amphitheater for concerts and events. Not everyone's on board with it, including one Wagoner County Commissioner who believes public safety could be jeopardized.
Wagoner County is growing. The company behind the arena, Notes Live, sees it, too. It's why they decided, along with the city of Broken Arrow, to build a 12,500-seat amphitheater near Events Park. It's in the city of Broken Arrow but in Wagoner County.
Keri Roughface lives nearby and has her concerns.
"I know I'm not the only one concerned about the traffic," she told 2 News.
City of Broken Arrow officials approached Wagoner County Commissioners at Monday's regularly scheduled board meeting. They asked commissioners if they'd be willing to participate in a sales-tax increment financing (TIF) project. It would allow Wagoner County to fund infrastructure projects in the area once amphitheater revenue comes in.
Two commissioners were for it, which was enough to pass the motion. However, District 1 Commissioner James Hanning was not. 2 News spoke with him on Wednesday.
"I would only believe that an arena that size, you're going to see some trickle down of public safety issues, not only in the traffic, but in the immense of amount of people in a confined area," Hanning said.
Hanning brought up the Wagoner County Justice Center situation. Hanning and Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott believe it's time to build a new county jail since it's overcrowded and the county is growing. However, it'll come with a multi-million dollar price tag.
"You hear of the other communities that wait, and I don't think Wagoner has to," Hanning said. "I don't think the citizens want us to wait until a tragedy happens."
The city of Broken Arrow says Notes Live has agreed to have one security officer for every 200 people and will not allow tailgating at the venue.
City of Broken Arrow officials say they will go to Colorado Springs to see how that city handles traffic management and public safety with a similar arena.
Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott recommended the city of Broken Arrow talk to Tulsa police about how they handle public safety issues having the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa.
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