I am thick headed, I don’t understand your post.

Polling says the convention center and convention hotel are very unpopular projects. The public could care less about conventions. The streetcars were the only big ticket item that had strong public support, so I tend to think the streetcars carried the ballot.

So naturally that means that City Council should and will strip the $120M from streetcars, give downtown some buses and more rubber tire trolleys, and give the $120M to the convention center project. Find some crony who could take the $10M hub money off their hands.

And people call me cynical!

This is just strange….

The logical question is, when the Convention Center is built, what will happen to the Cox Center?

I believe the best possible site would be where the Cox Center stands now. Bur the time taken to demolish and rebuild the site would leave OKC unable to host conventions for several years, as well as displace the Barons and any other arena functions.

On the other hand, the Cox Center is just across Gaylord from the Train Station, making the site a good choice for a transit hub, for Amtrak, the streetcar, Metro Transit, and even the commercial buses currently at the Union Bus Station, with underground parking to support it all.

I have felt like the Bob Howard Ford dealership, or at least part of it, would be good for the Convention Center, as it is not too far from the hotels, and would not require moving the OG+E Power Station. But it appears that will not be planned.

So, if the Cox Center is eyed as the site for the MAPS 3 Center, where would the Transit Hub Go?

Steve, you failed to mention that when asked, the most preferred location among those surveyed was the area south of the OKC Arena.

What I saw was 56 percent of respondents wanted the convention center in Bricktown, either on the east side or south side, compared to 32 percent favoring the site picked by the mayor. A majority of respondents were against the site south of the arena. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the mayor’s site.

Numbers lie, Steve. There were only four options available in the survey, two of which are in Bricktown, and the other choice was “no preference.” Your 56 percent figure is deceptive.

Sorry Steve, but that is really pretty misleading. LordGerald is right, there were only four options on the “survey.” East of Bricktown had 24.4%, South of Bricktown 32.0%, South of OKC Arena 33.7% and No Preference 9.9%. Seems South of OKC Arena had the most votes. Doesn’t sound to me like there is a ringing endorsement of any site right now. Why the need to skew the thought on this? Why not just present the information and let people make up their own minds? People can go to http://npaper-wehaa.com/oklahoma-gazette/2011/01/06/#?article=1132379&page=12 and look at the survey themselves and decide.

I’m not trying to skew, but rather point out the majority of responses show they want it somewhere attached to Bricktown, and that the Core to Shore site is not really leading against Bricktown. You’re right Brent – in terms of individual sites, there doesn’t seem to be clear leader despite all the maps, graphics, speeches given by the mayor pushing the Core to Shore site.
56 percent chose sites in Bricktown. 33 percent chose a site in Core to Shore. Add this to the other questions and responses, and the trend toward a Bricktown connection seem obvious. I agree – go to the survey and read it.

Surveys and polls are greatly influenced by who you include in the polling and how the questions are asked (wording, position, etc.) A survey by a publication with a specific demographic would hardly represent the voice of the entire city. The wording of the survey is also critical. Professional pollsters use various techniques to assure objectivity and accuracy. I doubt that this is a very scientific poll and very accurate results.

Also, people fail to support things they don’t associate with personally. It is much easier to get people to relate to a streetcar they can visualize themselves riding and needing than it is for them to see themselves ever staying at or profiting from a convention hotel. And people wanting the site near Bricktown is a no-brainer….they cannot visualize it elsewhere as the other areas don’t really exist. To expect the public to understand the complexity of the decision is just naive…not that they aren’t smart, but they are not practiced in the art and don’t have all the facts in detail.

This survey is practically worthless, in my humble opinion.

Steve that was my point with my earlier post. I didn’t get your post because of what I saw in the Gazette. They didn’t necessarily say Bricktown. They said East of or South of. For a small second, I thought you were saying right where the COX center sits right now.

Nick, where do you get your information? What poll did you see? Post it please.

I’m not sure if I also agree with the contention that the public doesn’t want to pay for a hotel at all as the post orignally states. The survey just asked whether the city should “own” the hotel. I too don’t want the city running and owning a hotel, but a public/private partnership to build one may be different if I see a specific proposal. I guess that is a problem I see with a lot of “surveys.” It often depends on the question asked as to what result you can get.

Matt, I was referring to the News 9 exit polling data on the MAPS 3 issue.

Steve, I think they’re right on this one, but my personal opinion is that the study is a joke if it only included those four particular options, it seems out of touch with where this debate really is right now. More people should be made aware of the options that exist and are actually being debated.

Steve, you ought to do an article on it. I’m sure there are people that could offer up balanced viewpoints on the issue. It might even be interesting because I have just not heard very persuasive arguments behind the parkside location, perhaps there is a persuasive argument out there other than “I hate cities.”

With the investment the City has made in Bricktown(Canal and Ballpark), it would only make sense to keep the location of the Convention Center in close proximity. The other point that the Mayor has totally missed, is how important Bricktown is to the convention goers. They love to be able to walk to Bricktown for lunch or dinner. Bricktown is what makes Okc somewhat unique as a convention destination!
Who knows what motives exist to put the CC on the park? It certainly isn’t what’s best for Conventions, Bricktown, or Okc in general. These motives can only be politically motivated!!

One thing that makes me not want it is it looks terrible 70′s retro from every conceptual rendering I have seen (granted many do not look like the artists initial renderings). I guess I do not know how many conventions we have in town at any given time but I had not heard that we were laking for spaces.

I have seen a great increase in interest from my out of town buyers about downtown, midtown, and bricktown loft living options in Oklahoma City. Used to be all people wanted was a single family home out in NW or Edmond. Nice to see that OKC downtown development is pulling in new interest in downtown living here in OKC!

regardless of polling and surveys the convention center and convention center hotel(s) should be placed in bricktown