Apartments hustled for Hornets’ arrival

By Richard Mize
The Oklahoman

Where to harbor a bunch of Hornets? With a bunch of Eagles.
What a nest.

The odd matching is part of the temporary location agreement between Oklahoma City and the NBA Hornets.

Nothing is settled. But rushing a little on new student housing already under way at Oklahoma Christian University, home of the Eagles, could provide temporary digs for front-office employees of the Hornets, who are headed here after Hurricane Katrina left them wandering.

The city agreed to provide 108 “adequately furnished apartments” at the university at 2501 E Memorial Road in north Oklahoma City by Dec. 1 and give the organization $500,000 to spend on housing needs. Oklahoma Christian happened to have 108 apartments left to be completed in a $34 million student housing project headed by Trammell Crow Co.

“They are, obviously, for the students. Our goal is to have them ready by January, for the spring semester,” said Ron Frost, director of university communications. But the city came calling and asked whether the university could accelerate the project to accommodate up to 100 families associated with the Hornets. A spokesman for Trammell Crow could not be reached Wednesday.

“We began looking at that and thought it might be doable. It’s obviously going to take a lot of extra effort in getting the work done and getting the materials on site,” Frost said. Hornets personnel would stay in the apartments until June. The apartments would then be vacated and renovated for students for the following fall semester, he said.

What’s the incentive for Oklahoma Christian?

“In terms of finances, probably nothing,” Frost said. “It’s probably going to be revenue neutral for us. We have to look at it as a service to the community,” as well as a way to help some people displaced by Katrina, not to mention something “to get students excited about,” he said.

Details still have to be worked out, even though Oklahoma Christian is spelled out in the temporary location agreement, said Tom Anderson, special projects manager in the city manager’s office.

“As gracious an offer that may be, that would still have to go back to the council,” he said. “We don’t have anything nailed down.”

Hornets players won’t be directly assisted by the city, but won’t be left on their own looking for temporary homes or other accommodations, said Karen Farney, public information director for the city.

“We’ve been getting calls from people with property,” she said Wednesday hours after the City Council approved the agreement. “I believe they’re just going to find their own. The (Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce) is working with real estate agents to be ready to help them.”