As the founder of Kicker , a successful high-performance audio company that sells products on every continent , people tend to ask Steve Irby why he and his wife Becky choose to continue living in a small city like Stillwater . After all , they could have moved their headquarters anywhere .
But Irby says that question has always baffled him .
“ I think , you know , why not ? I was born here , I was raised here , this is my home and so I never thought of just picking up the business and moving it ,” he said . “ I mean , why on Earth would I even do that ?
“… And the quality of life here is so much better in Stillwater ... It costs more to be in a big city . People think , ‘ Move to a big city .’ Well , you know , there ’ s big cities on both coasts too , so which one are you going to choose ? Anyway , quality of life , that ’ s why we stayed here and it works , you know ?”
THE OPPORTUNITY
For many years the Irbys and Kicker have quietly supported organizations working in the community . But in December they stepped into the spotlight with a pledge of $ 3.8 million for the development of Block 34 , a full square block in downtown Stillwater that is owned by the City of Stillwater .
City leaders saw the two acres of vacant land that sits between Eighth and Ninth avenues just east of the Stillwater Community Center as a unique opportunity to transform downtown and spur new development . And they have been working on various plans to do something with the space for more than 10 years , but a lack of funding always stood in the way .
Now , thanks to the Irbys and Kicker , Block 34 is about to become the kind of public space that draws crowds and elevates the entire area around it .
With years passing and no deep pockets in sight , the Block 34 Trust Authority had adopted a piecemeal strategy for developing the space and were seeking grants and donations where they could find them to build the various elements of their vision for the block .
Trust Authority member Jim Beckstrom initially approached Steve Irby about donating money to build an outdoor stage on the block . It seemed like a natural fit for the owner of a company that makes audio equipment .
THE PLOT TWIST
Irby said as a musician who got into the audio business by way of playing in rock and roll bands and building speakers for bands , the idea appealed to him , but everything shut down as the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread across the country and work on the block stalled .
In a twist of fate , it would be the pandemic that created a windfall that allowed the Irbys to make a gift big enough to do much more than build a stage .
“ So we were on board and then COVID hit ,” he said . “ Everything came to a screeching halt … but as time went on , we applied for the Payroll Protection Plan . We ’ ve got a lot of employees and we ended up getting approved for that and getting a big check from the government . And I thought , ‘ If we make it , I would like to use this to give something back to Stillwater .’
“… as time went on , we were approved for the loan and then our business actually kicked off during COVID and did well because people wanted to do something … the people that have been involved in car audio got back into it , installed systems in their cars . You can still drive your car , even though you ’ re locked down … and our business really took off . In my mind , I kind of set that money aside thinking , ‘ Let ’ s see how this goes , but if we come out of this OK I would like to use that in some way , for Block 34 ’”
Irby said once he determined his business was going to be OK , he got in touch with Beckstrom and said he would like to look at the entire concept for the block . He had an idea for a multi-use space inspired by a downtown park he had seen while visiting his son in Boulder , Colorado .
“ It was right in the middle of Boulder and on Saturdays , they would have a big farmer ’ s market with food trucks and vendors and things like this at the park ,” Irby said . “ We went there several times when we were in town and thought , ‘ This is such a cool atmosphere , I wish we had this in Stillwater that would bring people together where you could be outside , you could listen to some live music and
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STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE