TULSA, Okla. — Few things say “Tulsa” quite like the Tulsa Drillers. For nearly 15 years, fans have walked through the gates of ONEOK Field to root for the Drillers.
The city pays for the ballpark and its maintenance through the Stadium Improvement Tax. The tax is paid by businesses within the IDL.
WATCH: TAX FREE? Greenwood advocates call for stadium tax exemptions
“Out of respect, they should not allow or not impose upon these buildings a stadium tax; [Greenwood Business Owners] should be exempt from that stadium tax,” Alvin Muhammad, who handles landscaping around Deep Greenwood, said.
Muhammad is renewing calls for city leaders to exempt Greenwood from the tax.
The City of Tulsa responded to the calls with a statement:
“All properties within the Tulsa Stadium Improvement district are required to pay a fee that goes toward paying the bonds on ONEOK Field, as well as for services such as maintenance, marketing downtown and management of improvement, which is overseen by the Downtown Tulsa Partnership.”
“Since the beginning of last year, the Downtown Tulsa Partnership has invested more than $30,000 in lighting upgrades in the area, in addition to the installation of new trash receptacles and benches, as well as downtown engagement through ambassadors. Recent funding has also gone toward other essential services in the district.”
The stadium improvement district is within the IDL, including Greenwood.
That’s where 2 News listened to Charles Emerson. He’s sympathetic to the descendants of the massacre victims.
“I have kind of looked ahead and made sure that there’s something even for my kids, down the road, and I think that’s something that Black Wall Street hasn’t had a chance to do,” Emerson said.
As for the tax exemptions … Emerson is unsure.
“You know, just giving an opinion, I would say you know, I do think that we owe them an amount. I think the people that are in the offices to be able to do something about it, they know more than I do about it,” Emerson said.
Dr. Freeman Culver is the president of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. He also operates some businesses in the district.
“This area was devastated by historic trauma on many occasions. And it shouldn't be taxed at all,” Culver said.
Muhammad started an online petition. It is worth noting, online petitions have no true credence, other than to create awareness. Awareness is Muhammad’s goal.
“The first thing is to get attention, so we wanna as much as we can get people involved, to sign the petition, and then maybe we can present that petition to our new mayor, and hopefully he would consider our plea,” Muhammad said.
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