FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2019
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Sees Great Reward Following Mvskoke Dome Investment
OKMULGEE, Okla. – Since making significant upgrades to the Mvskoke Dome the Muscogee (Creek) Nation has seen great reward in its investment. The Nation has already hosted three successful basketball tournaments with more than 10,000 attendees, which has generated significant revenue in ticket and concession sales.
So far in 2019, combined revenue from the three events is just over $80,000, with a reported $30,000 in concession sales and $50,000 in ticket sales.
The Nation is pleased with the turnout of each event, which included the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Okmulgee County Basketball Tournament and the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activity Association (OSSAA) Class B Regional and Class 3A Area tournaments.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief James R. Floyd recognized the positive opportunities that have developed since the Nation’s investment in the Mvskoke Dome.
“It’s great to see. I am very pleased with the positive attention this has brought to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation,” Principal Chief Floyd said. “The investment has dramatically changed the use of the Dome, and we are already seeing dividends.”
“As a result of the upgrades we’ve already hosted two OSSAA playoffs events. In mid-January we were only being considered for the Class B Regionals and we didn’t even consider ourselves eligible for the Class 3A Area. Based on the response from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Okmulgee County Tournament we were awarded both tournaments. This has all happened very quickly. Being able to bring thousands of people to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is a unique opportunity. It has been great to host events in which many of our citizens play and where their families can attend. We are thankful to the National Council for their support in authorizing the appropriations for the upgrades.”
Tourism and Recreation Director Kyle Lee recently discussed the response from citizens by saying “We’ve received so many great compliments from citizens and visitors on the new floor, stadium seats and brighter lighting. Citizens expressing their pride in the changes have been incredible. We knew the floor would limit us to certain events, but based on the response and positive attention it’s brought we believe it’s really been beneficial for the Nation.”
Mr. Lee also discussed the importance of preserving the new gym flooring for future events.
“We are really excited that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is being seen as a destination for great sporting events. Given the expense of the floor, we are taking every precaution to maintain the integrity and life of the floor. We can no longer hosts events requiring a stage because the floor covers won’t protect from the excessive weight or sharp edges.”
“We are also not allowing heavy traffic events in an effort to maintain the ‘bounce’ for a prolonged period. We’ve received several compliments from players on the play-ability of the floor. This is a major factor when teams or organizations are making a decision on where to host games or events. If we lose the play-ability in our floor, our facility will not have the appeal for events such as the County Tournament, future OSSAA playoff events or other revenue producing events.”
When discussing the efforts they have taken to generate more recreation activity for citizens us Lee stated “We are no longer shutting down the Dome for smaller events as we have shifted our focus to athletic events with a larger number of attendees. We believe this limits the number of closures in effort to maintain access for use by citizens for recreational and fitness activities.”
Principal Chief Floyd also commented on the citizens’ concerns and shared the Nation’s plans to build an event center near the Mvskoke Dome in Okmulgee, Okla.
“We wish we could use the Dome for every event that is requested; but when making the decision to upgrade the court it was explained to us and the National Council that the new floor would limit the events held there,” Principal Chief Floyd said. “Considering the response and the pride our citizens have expressed in being able to host these events, we are glad we made the investments. We are now seeing the need to develop an Event Center on the Omniplex Grounds for more events due to the increased interest these past few months.”
Another highlight from the tournaments has been the Nation’s Facebook video of Muscogee (Creek) citizen, Pearl Thomas, performing the National Anthem in the Mvskoke language, which has now been viewed more than 19,000 times in less than a week.
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