TULSA, Okla. — The group behind the movement to save the historic Skyride at Expo Square says a recently announced plan to find a new operator for the ride is not fair to those potential operators.
FOX23 reported last week that Expo Square was opening a 45-day period for a new operator to step forward to run the historic Skyride.
The announcement came just two days before Thanksgiving.
“At first when I saw it I was excited,” Friends of the Skyride spokesperson Scotty Martin said.
But then Martin started reading through the fine print of Expo Square’s request for proposals for a new Skyride operator.
“The excitement left my body very quickly,” Martin said.
The request, posted to Expo Square’s website on November 22, calls for any qualified operators to propose a plan to either maintain and operate the ride, or outright purchase, maintain and operate the ride by January 13, 2023.
But it comes with some caveats.
It restricts sponsorships and advertising on the ride, something Martin’s group has advocated for as a way to produce more revenue.
If someone were to purchase the ride, it asks they share 25 percent of gross sales to the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority (TCPFA), the public body overseeing Expo Square. The TCPFA consists of the three elected Tulsa County commissioners and two other people they appoint.
If someone were to agree to operate and maintain the ride, but not buy it, that number goes up to 45 percent of gross sales that must be shared with the TCPFA.
“What they’re proposing in the RFP does not match the history of the Skyride,” Martin said.
Robby Bell, whose family operated the Skyride as part of Bell’s Amusement Park until 2006 told FOX23 when Bell’s operated the ride, their agreement with the TCPFA only required they share 20 percent of gross sales.
In August, FOX23 introduced you to Don McClure, the man whose company operated the Skyride from 2015 to 2019. Records obtained by FOX23 show his company was required to share gross sales on a sliding scale from 10 to 20 percent, depending on how much the ride made.
He told FOX23 in August he’d be willing to operate it again if he could get a more favorable deal.
“The scale that they would want him to operate at [under the RFP] would be at 45 percent, so he can’t even get the same deal he had before,” Martin said.
Martin is also concerned about the timing chosen to begin the 45-day proposal period.
“It includes Christmas break and New Year’s,” he said. “The only month out of all 12 months that if somebody is in a business looking at bidding this… they just simply do not have the time.”
Now, Martin and his group are left with more questions.
“At some point I have to say I personally no longer believe that this is in good faith,” Martin said. “It feels like a poison pill to me.”
In October, Expo Square’s Chief Operating Officer, Amanda Blair, told FOX23 over email she would be “happy to talk” once the plans for the RFP were finalized. In an email to FOX23 Monday, Blair wrote she was “not available at this time and will get back to you.”
©2022 Imagicomm Tulsa, Inc.