OKPOP Museum Far From Reality, Despite $25M Bond Agreement
Tulsa pop culture museum is still a long way from realization
By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
The first step in the design and construction of the Oklahoma Popular Culture Museum — a letter to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services seeking guidance on a “request for qualifications” — was taken this month by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Within a few months, said Historical Society Executive Director Bob Blackburn, he hopes to firm up the project’s construction budget and financing.
But the doors of OKPOP won’t open for at least three years, and that’s if Blackburn can raise $15 million and figure out how to go about building the 600-space parking garage he says is necessary for the downtown Tulsa museum to succeed financially.
“The biggest challenge right now is how to raise $15 million,” Blackburn said. “I’ve got to find a way to do that.”