I’m moving this from being a comment to a post because it deserves a good discussion here and elsewhere. Let’s start with what was said by Grant Humphreys (developer of Block 42, the Flatiron and the former Downtown Airpark site):
Been wanting to share an opinion with you regarding a possible (probable?) MAPS III project. I have read several times (including in your articles) the prospect of MAPS III including construction of a new convention center.
My feeling is the City should approach this with great caution. I believe many resident will respond as I do - which is, we spent a bunch of money renovating the Myriad to Cox, it looks great. If more convention space is needed for continued economic growth downtown I think the City will need to make a very quantified, data-driven case for that.
My thought is, why would developing / filling in the “bowl” of Cox not generate sufficient additional convention space for much less than building an entirely new one? Wouldn’t a new convention center in addition to Cox create a glut of convention space at least relative to the downtown hotel space? I think it would be better to designate a piece of real-estate in Core to Shore for a potential new convention center but NOT make it part of MAPS III.
On one other MAPS III note, I think it would be a VERY good idea to include an outdoor amphitheater as part of the Core to Shore space. Look at downtown Chicago and their Millenneum Park. That’s a great venue and OKC could be just as good as that!
Good question. The old Myriad Arena is yet another unresolved issue from the original MAPS projects - one that a lot of people never fully understood. At one time city leaders were hoping to convert part or all of the arena “bowl” into additional convention space, but the project ran into two obstacles. The first, and primary obstacle, was money. MAPS was ballpark guess at funding needs when the items were placed on the ballot. The costs for the convention center were already way over budget and the idea of converting the arena bowl was quickly shelved. All along, the All Sports Association and other sporting groups contended the city could benefit from keeping the old arena open - and operating across the street from the new Ford Center arena.
At first that contention wasn’t given much consideration. But then came along the Big 12 Basketball championships, and the idea of having men at Ford Center and women at the Cox Arena was a huge hit that put OKC into regular contention for future championships.
So now, the question is, if the old arena bowl were to be converted into more convention space, what would happen to the city’s chances of luring back the Big 12? Would they be happy with the women’s teams playing at State Fair Arena? Or would the magic be lost? Mayor Mick Cornett himself commented that really, if one were to build a convention center right now, the current spot would likely still be the very best choice.
Choices, choices, choices…..
April 5th, 2008 at 5:59 am
I think a new Convention Center is a must for MAPS 3. We will also need a convention hotel to go along with it. The Cox Center is an important part of Okc hosting the Big 12, but I also a remember a New Years Eve a couple of years ago when the Hornets played the Ford Center and the Blazers played in the Cox Center. Both teams had great crowds.
April 6th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
” if one were to build a convention center right now, the current spot would likely still be the very best choice.”
The key here, of course, is the phrase “right now.” Of course the Cox Center would be a better location over the proposed convention center site in C2S when that site is still surrounded by nothing… But it will be a better site in 5-10 years when MAPS III is able to fund construction.
I think it’s a bad idea to fill in the arena at Cox when we have used it as leverage to secure tournaments. And as Jim mentioned, it also is amazing when we can have two major events going on across the street from each other- say, a concert and an NBA game, or NBA/Blazers. The Cox arena is still a great, viable asset.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
I agree that the Cox center is more of a complement to the Ford Center. It goes great with hosting tournaments and if/when we get an NBA team it will free up arena space for something else… Blazers game, concert or whatever that might conflict with an NBA game. The state fair arena would do the Big 12 tournament justice as a big draw for most people was the fact that it was right across the street. Plus the State Fair arena isn’t the greatest place currently. We would want to keep the momentum and the fans downtown to get the full return on investment. If more convention space is needed to lure more attractive conventions then we must include plans in the next MAPS. This can be strictly a convention center with plenty of space and a hotel anchored to it. We already need more hotel space and this would be a great way to obtain both. We need two arenas to maintain our status with sports and entertainment and convention space should be separate.