The name of the street pays tribute to the band The Flaming Lips.

Plans for the tribute were made public in 2006,[1][2] and the alleyway was dedicated in 2007.

[3] Prior to being named, The Oklahoman described the alley as "littered with open dumpsters and poorly lit at night."

Mayor Mick Cornett called the description "an exaggeration," and that the alleyway was "very high-profile and very safe and clean.

On the corner of Flaming Lips Alley and South Mickey Mantle Drive is the entrance to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.