What's funny to me about some of these zero-sum economic arguments (to be clear this is not directed at Just the Facts here), is that I see people bemoan the closures of local restaurants, shops and bars. Some of these same people insist that these places should be patronized almost exclusively over chain restaurants (I do support local). But, I see some of the same people arguing against the convention center, the streetcar and other investments because "they are for tourists," a position I don't agree with at all.

It may not be clear to folks but OKC is a regional tourism destination, and our businesses rely on a steady stream of out of towners to keep our restaurant and retail scenes thriving.

The benefits of the new convention center are a long-term investment over the life of the project. Many hotels have their own convention center facilities, they may be used in coordination with the main Oklahoma City Convention Center and/or another affiliated hotel.

Our hotel growth has skyrocketed since 2000--Sheraton 395 room hotel/Tivoli Gardens Inn had less than 100 rooms. OKC now boasts over 3,500 today.

Recall back in 1972 when the Myriad Convention Center opened OKC didn't have a large downtown hotel until we open the Sheraton Hotel at 395 rooms in 1975. The 619 room Biltmore closed in 1973, didn't have the funds to remodel in coordination with the Myriad's opening and later demolished in 1977. It was determined that the costs to remodel the Biltmore/Sheraton were too high to justify its redo.

We lost hour CHL ice hockey team the year the Myriad opened--Ray Miron GM for the Tulsa Oilers brought his team to OKC to play two regular season games. In 1973-74, OKC affiliated with the Toronto Mapleleafs.

Our Incomparable Myriad Convention Center hosted the NFR throughout the seventies and early 80s when it was moved to Las Vegas in 1985. . .

Ed Cook, president of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce said the board members were promised that a domed stadium, with a seating capacity of at least 55,000, would be built in time to house the 1988 National Finals and that the purse would increase to at least $2 million then. Source: https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1984/12/13/national-finals-rodeo-to-leave-city/62780647007/

We opened our new downtown arena (Ford Center-Chesapeake-Paycom) in 2002.

Let's get BEYOND PAYCOM CENTER by 2030.

Ed Cook, president of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce said the board members were promised that a domed stadium, with a seating capacity of at least 55,000, would be built in time to house the 1988 National Finals and that the purse would increase to at least $2 million then. Source: https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1984/12/13/national-finals-rodeo-to-leave-city/62780647007/

Which is interesting, because it's still held in the Thomas and Mack Center with a capacity of around 19k. This despite a newer arena and a stadium being built in the last 6 years.

Las Vegas will have the NFR locked for years once its renewed beyond 2025.

The NFL Raiders in a $1.9 billion state of the art stadium.

Now they want the MLB's Oakland Athletics: https://theathletic.com/4097332/2023/01/18/las-vegas-mlb-expansion-team/

Look for Las Vegas to eventually have all four major professional sports and of course--Major League Soccer.

Our situation (Downtown and Fairgrounds) in OKC with convention and even facilities:

Oklahoma City Convention Center Complex - $558 million:


($293-million), Convention Center Garage ($24 million) & Omni Hotel (241 million):
This center is 500,000 square feet and includes a 200,730 square foot exhibit hall, which is divisible into four halls. The 29,874 sq. ft. ballroom has 5,000 sq. ft pre-function space and terrace overlooking Scissortail Park. There are 27 meeting rooms and nearly 45,000 sq. ft. of meeting space that includes 9,726 square foot Junior Ballroom.


State Fair Coliseum, construction to begin in 2023 with an estimated 24 month construction timeline.
A connector (coliseum to super barn) is not included in the $102 million budget for the new coliseum.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idRCNe8mTnE


Bennett Events Center ($58.7 million):


201,000 square feet of continuous exhibit space
12,000 square foot front lobby
10,000 square foot commercial catering kitchen for all types of events

Paycom Center investment: $190 million - (18,203 NBA basketball)

Oklahoma City will have over $850 million invested in facilities catering to conventions, large gatherings, downtown & state fair park arenas.

LEGO convention to be held at Oklahoma City Convention Center in September

https://okcfox.com/news/local/lego-convention-oklahoma-city-convention-center-september-16-17-2023-meet-greet-lego-masters-television-show-star-wars-events-things-to-do-tickets-attractions-local-builders-creations-charity

Press release:

**************

Oklahoma City Council will consider election to raise hotel tax to promote tourism
05/03/2024

An ordinance will be introduced at the Oklahoma City Council meeting on May 7 proposing a citywide election to increase the hotel tax from 5.50% to 9.25%.

The tax is charged to people who stay overnight in a hotel or rent a home-sharing property in OKC.

City Council is expected to hold a public hearing for the ordinance on May 14 and vote on the proposal May 21. If the ordinance passes, a citywide election will be held Aug. 27.

The last time Oklahoma City residents considered a hotel tax increase was in 2004, and it passed with 89.4% approval.

If the election passes, the 3.75% increase is projected to bring in an additional $11.6 million, which will be allocated as follows:

75% Tourism Promotion, direct funding to promote and/or foster the convention and/or tourism (visitor) development of OKC.
13.3% Event Sponsorships.
6.7% OKC Fairgrounds for improvements, not including operational costs.
5% OKC Convention Center for improvements, not including operational costs.



The hotel tax is currently 5.5% and is distributed as follows:

55% OKC Fairgrounds for improvements, not including operational costs.
36% Tourism Promotion, direct funding to promote and/or foster the convention and/or tourism (visitor) development of OKC.
9% Event Sponsorships.
The 9.25% hotel tax would be in addition to the 4.5% state sales tax and the 4.125% City sales tax, for 17.875%. If passed, the new rate will take effect Oct. 1, 2024.



“Tourism is a vital part of OKC’s economy and Visit OKC is proud to be the driving force behind growing and promoting our visitor experiences,” Visit Oklahoma City President Zac Craig said. “OKC has invested billions in world-class infrastructure and facilities, but we need to also scale our destination marketing efforts as we compete with larger peer cities to attract leisure, convention and sports visitors.”

When considering hotel tax and assessments at checkout, Oklahoma City lags behind peer cities, as well as smaller markets such as Tulsa and Wichita:

Memphis 19.75%
San Antonio 19%
Kansas City 18.35%
Austin 17%
Tulsa 16.52%
Wichita 16.25%
OKC 14.13% (currently)


How the funding will be used

Visit OKC’s tourism promotion efforts bring conventions, sporting events and leisure travelers to fill hotel rooms, restaurants and facilities.

“Tourism employs 1 in 20 locals and is the third largest industry in the state, with Oklahoma City leading the way in visitation and economic impact,” City Manager Craig Freeman said. “Thanks to investments we’ve made through MAPS, tourism is now a significant and growing aspect of our economy.”

This additional funding would be used to attract more visitors by scaling advertising and marketing efforts and supporting large events and festivals. A portion of the funds would also be used to improve the OKC Fairgrounds and OKC Convention Center, which are anchor venues for national and international equine, sporting events and conventions that draw millions of visitors annually.

“Oklahoma City’s hotel room tax helps our City thrive by attracting national conventions and sporting events, and providing support for our venues and visitor services,” City Manager Craig Freeman added. “It’s been 20 years since the tax was adjusted and 52 years since we’ve increased funding for tourism promotion specifically. This update allows us to better keep pace with OKC’s growth and our competitive peer set of destinations.”

History of OKC’s Hotel Tax

In 1972, the voters of Oklahoma City approved a “room tax” of two percent to provide a source of dedicated revenue to promote conventions and tourism in Oklahoma City. In December 2004, Oklahoma City residents approved a 3.5% increase for an event sponsorship fund (0.5 cents) and OKC Fairgrounds improvements (3 cents), bringing the current hotel tax total to 5.5%. The approved rate took effect in 2005.

Will be interesting to see what the Oklahoma Hotel & Lodging Association thinks of this. They have opposed previous tax increases.

Also, they repeatedly make the point that Oklahomans don't pay for this, visitors do. But of course, plenty of people in the state stay overnight within the state.

Not sure how this applies to events but since I do all my class reunions, I know the various fees and taxes are already pretty crazy.

This is a no-brainer to me. Keep up with the "Jones's" and raise the tax a little to still be lower than most cities in the region but get a big boost to promote OKC.

The ONLY issue I have is with the fairgrounds "capital fund" and esp that it's more than the Convention Center. People have long said the fairgrounds is a revenue generator with it's own revenue vehicle, yet, they seem to always show up at the table for MAPS, this tax, and anything else where 'free' money is available. We know the CC is NOT a revenue generator, so I can totally see why we'd set up a fund for them. But the fairgrounds? Particularly with NO accountability? And the largest share?

Come on, I'm not saying the Fairgrounds shouldn't get anything, but the biggest share and always a component of MAPS? I'd argue the ZOO should be there at least split with the fairgrounds. Add Will Rogers World Airport as yet another beneficiary moreso than the Fairgrounds (both have their own revenue generator but the airport makes the biggest impact for the city). I really hope there can be some scrutiny on these handouts; but I do hope the tax passes as it will benefit OKC.

Will be interesting to see what the Oklahoma Hotel & Lodging Association thinks of this. They have opposed previous tax increases.

Also, they repeatedly make the point that Oklahomans don't pay for this, visitors do. But of course, plenty of people in the state stay overnight within the state.

Not sure how this applies to events but since I do all my class reunions, I know the various fees and taxes are already pretty crazy.

I have no idea what the Oklahoma Hotel & Lodging Association may think but this is from the Oklahoman's article on Friday about this.

"Jeff Penner, executive director of the Greater Oklahoma City Metro Hotel Association, said area hoteliers support the tax increase. If passed by voters, the tax would still be lower than what is charged in Fort Worth, Memphis, Austin and Kansas City. Right now we’re at the lower end, tax wise,” Penner said. “They’ve put together a proposal that would move us to mid-tier or maybe a little over mid-tier (among comparable convention markets).”