• Groundbreaking held for Alva Arena
Members of the Alva Arena Authority listen as Todd Holder tells the ten-year history of the arena project. From left are Daren Slater, Melinda Barton, Dr. Janet Cunningham, Holder, Darrel Kline, Gregg Glass and Mike Hood.
A sign at the construction site shows what the new Alva Arena and Expo will look like.
It's been 10 years from idea to realization. Wednesday morning, the groundbreaking was held for the Alva Arena at the intersection of County Road 460 and Flynn Street. People made their way along a gravel and dirt drive to a grouping of heavy equipment. Between the giant bulldozers and tractors, shovels waited in a line of dirt. Members of the Alva Arena Authority (AAA) took their places, gripping the shovel handles and wearing custom cowboy-style hardhats for the occasion.
AAA trustee Todd Holder provided some history of the years' long work to bring the new facility to reality. He said it was April 2014 when the idea was rekindled in the parking lot of a local bank. Meetings were held and the process grew. The original location was to be at the county fairgrounds south of Alva.
A public trust was formed sharing the ownership between the City of Alva and Woods County. Local attorney Rick Cunningham worked with the group to draft documents for the trust. Public comments were solicited and meetings were held. How big should this arena be and what kinds of events would be sought? Interviews were held with several design teams, and the group selected Glen Calvert of Priefert Complex Design.
Membership on the trust board was set up with representation of interested parties. The Woods County Commissioners chose Daren Slater, the City of Alva selected Mike Hood and Northwestern Oklahoma State University chose Dr. Janet Cunningham. The Alva Tourism Committee voted to have Dr. Charles Tucker represent them; following his death Melinda Barton took that position. Jim Holder represented the Charles Morton Share Trust; after his death Darrel Kline filled that spot. The Pete and Ruth Leslie Foundation representative was Gregg Glass.
According to an article in the Alva Review-Courier, the first official meeting of the newly formed Alva Arena Authority was held on Friday, March 4, 2016. At that meeting, Todd Holder was nominated and appointed to be the seventh ad hoc member. The seven trustees named Jim Holder as chairman and Glass as vice chairman with Todd Holder as secretary-treasurer. Glass is currently chairman of the board of trustees.
After numerous meetings and visits to arenas in other locations, Holder said the trustees received a "kick" that officially set the wheels in motion. That incentive was a generous donation of 40 acres of prime land for the project from the Lee Mackey family. The location has easy access from US-64 and US-281 and is being cleared and leveled. Construction is expected to take about 12 months.
From the trustees, a design team of Hood, Cunningham and Slater was formed. They have met for countless hours going over plans and making changes from the seating in the arena to the color scheme of the building.
To fund the arena, voters approved a TIFF district that will provide a portion of ad valorem taxes, based on improvements made in the district. The project will receive New Market Tax credits. Large financial commitments have been made by both the Pete and Ruth Leslie Foundation and the Charles Morton Share Trust.
"This is just the beginning of great things for the future," said Holder. "The amazing cooperation of our entire county serves as a testament to northwest Oklahoma and the fabulous area that we call home."
Numerous special guests were called forward to pose for photos. Among them were Oklahoma Rep. Dr. Carl Newton, representatives of the City of Alva and the Tourism Committee, numerous people from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and their rodeo team, and members of the Charles Morton Share Trust. Joy (Leslie) Glass and Gregg Glass represented the Pete and Ruth Leslie Foundation. Lee Mackey and Mike Mackey were present as donors of the land.
Following photos, Slater spoke briefly of the long-term benefit this building project will bring to Alva and the area. He particularly mentioned youth events, such as 4-H and FFA shows. He expressed hope that the first event booked will bring in enough people to increase the county population to 10,000. (According to the Census Bureau, Woods County's population was estimated to be 8,564 in July 2023.)
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