Study reports up to $400 million needed for new convention center in Oklahoma City (3/10/09)
“… we are slowly going out of business as far as conventions are concerned.” — David Thompson, chamber chairman

(General point reiterated during the MAPS 3 campaign)

Then a month later: Conventions are booming in downtown Oklahoma City (4/15/09)

City leaders were celebrating Tuesday’s story in USA Today that Oklahoma City has seen the highest increase — about 80 percent — in the number of planners’ requests for convention and meeting proposals here.

The main street site provides a case study where we can use density and urban form to our advantage and create a true destination and a direct link between the downtown core and bricktown. The juxtaposition to the existing Bricktown structures would also be refreshing.

Here are also a few things to consider.

First, The Convention Center shouldn’t be thought of as a means of “kicking off core to shore” or any other neighborhood.

Second, Jeff Bezdek made a great point and that is we need to consider transit and access to transit as a factor in deciding where to locate the Convention Center.

Third, how is the convention business doing in general? in light of the economic challenges how will the convention business rebound?

Buildings can certainly coexist with trains, but the subcommittee needs to weigh in the size and spacial needs of future transit through that space.

The HOK Study ranked the Main Street Site as the #2 site – over both the #3 ranked Co-op site and #4 ranked Core to Shore site – with only the lumberyard site being ranked higher. This analysis accounted for some apparent weaknesses of the Main Street site, including: size, truck access, and expansion options; and yet the site’s considerable strengths still placed it at #2 overall. Of course, the HOK study’s focus was on the best site from a convention goer’s perspective, not from the city as a whole’s perspective. I believe when you combine the criteria laid out by the Mayor concerning proximity to existing hotels and Bricktown, with the convention goer’s criteria used by HOK, the Main Street site is an even stronger option and thus worthy of serious consideration.

That said, at this point I am simply a proponent of all potential sites being considered, and a site being selected based on objective criteria that targets the best interest of the city as a whole.

Jonathan said: A better guessing game is to try to guess why the mayor keeps pushing the site south of the ford center. Is it because he believes core to shore is not viable without it?

I think this is probably the case. Much more likely than the conspiracy theories that his buddies own that land.

Here’s my idea for the main street site:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=35.466769,-97.511194&spn=0.007969,0.013797&z=16&msid=114564274036136809344.00048ce137b26f436980d

ADVANTAGES:
-immediately adjacent to Bricktown and could help jumpstart the northern edge that hasn’t gone anywhere really.
-Skirvin would be immediately adjacent (via the Transit Center) and no longer have an ugly 70-era garage looming over it
-significant infill of empty lots
-one or two blocks from all downtown hotels except the Courtyard, which benefits from Ford Center
-new Aloft would be adjacent as well
-ideal location for combination w/ Transit Center
-could serve to link Bricktown and Deep Deuce better

DISADVANTAGES:
-or it could become too much of a barrier between the two districts
-definitely would block some/all views
-too small?