The HUB, Entertainment facility coming to Stillwater

Jacob Sellers Staff Reporter

The Stillwater Chamber of Commerce is working with the Tonkawa Tribe to open an entertainment facility in Stillwater.

The HUB will be opening its second location on Perkins and Airport Rd. Ground-breaking is expected to start within this summer.

Alane Zannotti is the president and CEO of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce. She took on both of these roles this January. For Zannotti, this facility is not only one of the biggest projects she has worked on at the chamber but also something that she believes the community has been missing.

“There’s not an entertainment or quality of life venue in this community that can service the whole family,” Zannotti said.

The HUB will feature 16 bowling lanes, four movie theaters, an arcade, a bar and a food venue. It will also feature multiple pickleball courts, a sport growing in popularity among all ages.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re an OSU student, a Stillwater community member or a retiree,” Zannotti said. “Anybody can enjoy this.”

The HUB is not only filling a hole for entertainment and recreation in the community, it’s also the start of a relationship between the Tonkawa Tribe and the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce. The chamber has not worked with another tribe as closely and on a development to the degree that they are with the Tonkawa Tribe now.

“We are proud to partner with the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce to create a family-friendly entertainment destination that will not only enhance the quality of life for our residents but also attract visitors from surrounding areas,” Tribal leadership wrote in a news release.

“The HUB will serve as a catalyst for economic growth and strengthen our sense of community. Together, we are building a brighter future for the Tonkawa Tribe and the entire Stillwater region.”

Reagan Mitchell is the Economic Development Coordinator for the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce.

Zannotti credits Mitchell for most of the work done on the development of this project so far.

Mitchell believes this venue will serve to keep people living in Stillwater, as well as boost the local economy.

“We’re losing money to other communities like Tulsa and OKC that people could spend here, if we had a facility that was what they were looking for,” Mitchell said.

Mayor Will Joyce broke the news about the facility last week on Twitter.

“This is the kind of facility that people in the community have been asking about and wanting to see for a long time,” Joyce said.

Joyce recalled his time growing up in Stillwater, and compared the HUB to the Cowboy Mall, which opened in the 1970s and shut down in 2020. Since the facility located on Monroe and Hall of Fame was turned into the Northern Oklahoma College building, Stillwater has lacked a large-scale center for family recreation.

“It’s been a while since we really had that kind of a facility,” Joyce said. “If this would’ve been around when I was a student, we would’ve spent a ton of time there.” news.ed@ocolly.com

13-year-old...

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With both parents heavily involved in the collegiate education system, they had an understanding they would set the bar high for their children and celebrate good grades and educational success as if it were a sport.

“They also have competed in sports, but primarily we were creating that culture and environment to do well academically” Muhammad Sr. said. “We were intentional about putting them in the right schools and in the right neighborhoods.”

Stressing the importance of education from early childhood has made it possible for Muhammad Jr. to succeed in his education, but just like any other 13 year old, he spends just as much time with his friends. He mentioned that finding time to participate in fun activities outside of school work is very doable when you put the work in first.

“I go outside, ride bikes, play basketball, go swimming, I do a lot of fun activities,” the 13-year-old said.

“One of my dad’s mottos has been ‘you work hard, you play hard’ so as much work as I do I play the same amount.”

When he’s not passing the time competing in one of his favorite leisure activities, playing Call of Duty, Muhammad Jr. is planning his future and setting goals he plans to achieve sooner rather than later. In addition to his educational aspirations, he plans on launching his own clothing brand, Smart Boy, by the end of summer and wants to start a pin-testing company that keeps users safe from hackers when browsing the internet.

Young Muhammad Jr. hopes to inspire other students and kids his age to go after what they want to accomplish head on.

“You can do anything you set your mind to,” Muhammad Jr. said. “That’s one of the things that I hold really close to me because my dad taught me at a really young age that if I set my mind to it then I can do it. So, if I want to finish the semester with a 4.0 GPA then I’m able to do that as long as I put in the work that’s needed to reach my goal. To other students, if you want to win a state championship, if you want to have good grades, you can do it as long as you set your mind to it. Do the work that it takes to get there.” entertainment.ed@ocolly.com