David Manica wanted to be an architect since he was in fifth grade. “Ever since I learned there’s a word for someone who draws buildings for a living, that’s what I wanted to be,” he said.
That dream has led Manica to a highly successful career. From the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center to the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium, Manica has designed some of the most stunning sports venues built in the past few years, and soon he will bring that expertise and brilliance to the heart of the Sooner State.
Last fall, Manica, alongside architect of record TVS, was selected to design the new Thunder arena by the city of Oklahoma City. But he didn’t bring a pre-conceived design to the final interviews.
“I came here with my listening ears on, instead of arriving with a design that I thought would be cool for Oklahoma City. I want to make sure that I respond to everything that the city wants.
“The site is big enough, so there’s going to be some nice outdoor spaces. We want to begin to bring the parks and gardens into the site so it feels threaded into the city. While the nearly $1 billion budget sounds like a lot of money, all of those funds aren’t going to the building itself. There are other things that have to be built, like parking garages and landscaping in public areas,” Manica said.
“I am known for being on time and under budget with my projects. I consider myself a steward of the design. The three pillars of success are a good budget, a good site and a good schedule, and we have all three of those here. I have no reason to believe that this thing is going to go off track in any way.”
Manica doesn’t often bid on projects with an architect-of-record partner already secured, but did in this case because he and TVS have had a positive experience teaming up together in Nashville on the Tennessee Titans’ new Nissan Stadium.
“A lot of it is just personality and attitudes — they understand their role on the project and respect our role on the project,” Manica said. “No second-guessing, just 100% support. It’s just a very complementary working relationship.”
Manica instantly understood the potential of this project to affect the city in a different way compared to his projects in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Nashville and Miami (where there are multiple major pro sports teams). “I wanted to work on buildings that make a difference to cities and that people love to go to,” he said, “and I can’t think of a project that will have a bigger impact on a city than this one in Oklahoma City will.”
Oklahoma will wait with breathlessly to see the first renderings of the arena this summer. Welcome to the Sooner State, David Manica!
Interested in learning more about the Oklahoma City Thunder? Check out our story on The Evolution and Triumphs of the OKC Thunder.
