Dallas-based Rainier Development is partnering with the University of Oklahoma Foundation for a $1.1 billion mixed-use development in Norman that includes a new arena for the university’s basketball teams.
Courtesy of Rainier
Dallas-based Rainier Development is partnering with the University of Oklahoma Foundation for a $1.1 billion mixed-use development in Norman that includes a new arena for the university’s basketball teams.
Rainier signed the agreement last week for the 269-acre project. The Dallas firm will lead planning, design, coordination and development of the project in collaboration with Cleveland County, the city of Norman, the University of Oklahoma, community stakeholders and other development partners.
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The project will center around the 8,000-seat arena that will host the university’s men and women’s basketball teams as well as concerts, conventions, community events and women’s gymnastics competitions. The county will own the arena and build the facility with an arena operator to be named at a later date.
The project’s first phase will include the arena, roughly 140,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space, roughly 250 apartments and a 1,200-space parking garage.
Phase two is expected to feature 180,000 square feet of office space and a 150-room hotel. The third phase could include 500 apartments, along with townhomes and single-family houses. Future phases may include a fixed-base operator for private flights, according to the project’s website.
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Infrastructure work will start next month, and the first phase will be finished in late 2028 or early 2029, said Rainier Chief Executive Officer Danny Lovell.
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“As someone who grew up in Henryetta, Oklahoma, and has been visiting Norman for more than 40 years, this project is especially meaningful to me and our firm,” said Lovell, who is a huge Sooners fan.
“Rock Creek Entertainment District is a generational opportunity to help shape a destination that brings people together, supports economic viability and reflects the spirit and momentum of this growing community. This will be a destination where residents, families and visitors can come together.”
Homes, H-E-B and more
Tradition Homes and other builders are completing model homes in the Furst Ranch development.
Tradition Homes
A housing development in northern Dallas-Fort Worth is constructing its first homes in a development that will eventually include thousands.
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Furst Ranch is a 2,300-acre master-planned development near U.S. Highway 377 and Cross Timbers Road. Starwood Land and the Furst family are among the partners creating the development.
Several of the home builders have already completed their model homes and the others are close, said Josh McPhail, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Starwood Land, on Tuesday. Builders on the project include Coventry Homes, Highland Homes, Tradition Homes and others.
Plans for the first phase include about 1,400 homes across three neighborhoods. The community will have a welcome center near the end of summer and beginning of fall, McPhail said. Construction on an amenity center is also set to begin soon.
Furst Ranch also has a commercial portion, which is set to include an H-E-B store. A representative for the grocer said there was no timeline for construction.
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Building in the area — near Flower Mound, Argyle and Bartonville — expanded the reach of Tradition Homes, said Zach Schneider, president and CEO of Tradition Homes.
He said the area has become attractive to the luxury buyer because of its schools, lifestyle and proximity to major employment centers. Tradition Homes will start by building homes in the $1.2 million range on 80-foot lots.
Schneider said he doesn’t have a crystal ball but anticipates buyers will continue to seek quality homes.
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“As you look at our confidence that there will continue to be a flight to quality in the market and then you look at communities like Furst Ranch, we’re excited about the future and excited about the community and what’s to come,” Schneider said.
Dick’s Sporting Goods new warehouse
DICK’S Sporting Goods employees and leaders take part during a ribbon cutting of the grand opening event for its state-of-the-art regional distribution center in Fort Worth, on Monday, April 20, 2026.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Dick’s Sporting Goods recently held a grand opening for its new 800,000-square-foot distribution center in Fort Worth.
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The facility, located on an 89.5-acre site within the Risinger/35 Logistics Park at Risinger Road and Old Burleson Road, is the company’s sixth distribution center nationwide and the first in Texas. Risinger/35 Logistics Park is a development of Hillwood, which will plan and build the Dick’s distribution center.
The new supply chain operation will support distribution to more than 100 DICK’S Sporting Goods stores in several states.
When the center was announced in 2024, the retailer said the project was expected to bring 300 full-time jobs to the region over the next 10 years.