Someone else posted over at NewsOK.com but the Mandalay that owns the team (http://www.mandalay.com/#/sports/) is NOT the same folks that own Mandalay Bay out in Vegas (http://www.mgmresorts.com/default.aspx). The Chickasaw tribe are the owners of the Newcastle Casino (they also own Riverwind and a few other properties).

Thanks BoulderSooner for the additional info...

Someone else posted over at NewsOK.com and I haven't verified any of this but the Mandalay that owns the team is NOT the same folks that own Mandalay Bay out in Vegas (MGM?). The Chickasaw tribe are the owners of the Newcastle Casino (they also own Riverwind)???

Mandalay Entertainment group is a movie tv and sports group

they own 5 minor leage baseball teams and they own the golden st warriors

Thanks for making things a bit more clear. This morning's paper indicated that Mandalay Sports is operating the casino on behalf of the tribe, and implied that the same organization owned the team. I wonder how many other folk came to the same conclusion that I did?

Sorry to digress, but while Shoeless Joe was banned for life over the Black Sox Scandal, there was never any real proof that he participated. A lot of people who've researched the matter are convinced he was innocent or had known about it but refused to be involved. I became pretty fascinated with the whole incident after a trip to Greenville, SC.

As a native Newcastlite(?? lol) I am sick of seeing articles all over the place blasting the city of Newcastle for having the field named after it.

It is being named after the Newcastle Casino, not the city of Newcastle!!!

Just to chime in and reiterate the fact that Mandalay Entertainment is primarily in the motion picture industry. They do not have ANY gambling connections.

I guess they heard the outcry about the name. Now to be called "Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark"

http://kfor.com/2012/04/05/ballpark-in-bricktown-changing-name-again/

The Chick Brick. (j/k) Seriously, this is better and Mandalay should be commended for their improvements at the ballpark. As someone said earlier in the thread, they're making remarkable progress in updating and making the park a great baseball venue. That's their reputation and I was sorry to see the naming thing throw it for a loop. I was surprised because I think the ownership has been wonderful but thought they really blew it with the naming rights. They should have known better. Hopefully, we're back on track.

Probably end up upsetting a whole nuther group of folk, but hey, since they dinna try and call it Chickasaw Travel Stop Field in Bricktown, all I have to add is .... Batter Up!

Oh, and a well played to the owners, and the Chickasaw Nation.

This is a really funny way for the Chickasaws to inject their name on a city owned piece of property. I personally have no problem with it. It is just an interesting jab (imhop) to the City Staffers and others involved in the water rights dispute.

Reminds me of the time Google had a large green park displayed digitally on Google Maps over the Apple campus for a few months. lol

I'm going to start crying if u guys start bitching about this name too.......

http://kfor.com/2012/04/05/ballpark-in-bricktown-changing-name-again/

The Chick Brick. (j/k)

This actually caused me to literally LOL. It's kind of awesomely hilarious. I'm cool with the new name.

The game was packed tonight. Flyover by an AWAC to start the game was cool as well

I think here's an instance in which a public outcry made a big difference. Phwew.

Wow. Public grumpiness can still work. And we got "Bricktown Ballpark" back in the official name. Chickasaw part? Meh. No gripes here.

I think they (The Chickasaw's) have a plan and are only playing the game to get what they want. Let time move about and this will only be the beginning.

Had a really good time at the game last night

This was probably their plan all along. If they would have said Chickasaw from the start, people would have griped to no end about a city owned building being named after a tribe. But now it doesn't seem so bad since it's not named after a casino. lol

This was probably their plan all along. If they would have said Chickasaw from the start, people would have griped to no end about a city owned building being named after a tribe. But now it doesn't seem so bad since it's not named after a casino. lol

That implies an awful lot of rather disingenuous strategic planning just to get a tribal name on the ballpark. Sure seems to me this was just a serious misjudgment on the part of Mandalay in their naming negotiations. They failed to learn from the SBC naming fiasco of several years ago. Bottom line: Stop screwing with the name of the ballpark. Huge mistake for the city to have relinquished naming rights control. A more stubborn team owner would have told the city to shove off.

Hands up of all the people that will still call it "The Brick" or the "Bricktown Ballpark" regardless of whatever paid-for name slaps a new sign on it...

Me....

A more stubborn team owner would have told the city to shove off.

Ever hear of Bob Funk?

Makes me think they are trying to win over the public opinion to support the issue on water rights.

Need to change the thread now that this is the 7th name (#6 lasted a day?)...LOL

http://kfor.com/2012/04/05/ballpark-in-bricktown-changing-name-again/

The Chick Brick. (j/k) Seriously, this is better and Mandalay should be commended for their improvements at the ballpark. As someone said earlier in the thread, they're making remarkable progress in updating and making the park a great baseball venue. That's their reputation and I was sorry to see the naming thing throw it for a loop. I was surprised because I think the ownership has been wonderful but thought they really blew it with the naming rights. They should have known better. Hopefully, we're back on track.
I caught that in a couple of the news articles. What improvements have they made to a building they don't own. Why would they do that? That could set a bad precedent if we have team owners/renters paying for improvements
:sofa:

The only thing I remember for sure that they did was close off parts of the upper deck if anyone considers that to be an improvement. I believe there have been some changes to the concessions but I don't know if they control that.

http://okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-14840-grand-slam-grub.html

I caught that in a couple of the news articles. What improvements have they made to a building they don't own. Why would they do that? That could set a bad precedent if we have team owners/renters paying for improvements
:sofa:

I don't think that's really uncommon at all Larry, nor would I see it as a bad thing.

I caught that in a couple of the news articles. What improvements have they made to a building they don't own. Why would they do that? That could set a bad precedent if we have team owners/renters paying for improvements
:sofa:

they did create a new season ticket holder bar on the main concourse on the 3rd base line ..

New signage to be installed reflecting the recent sponsorship / name change:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ballparksign.jpg

Will new signage be approved for each entrance where they currently have the banner signs hanging or is it just for this main entrance?

Just from an eye-appeal standpoint, that signage isn't nearly as attractive as the "bulb-lit" arched sign that used to be there. Just looks kinda dinky to me.

Will new signage be approved for each entrance where they currently have the banner signs hanging or is it just for this main entrance?

Each entrance gets it's own, similar, sign.

Each entrance gets it's own, similar, sign.

I don't really care for this sign as much as what I thought was originally proposed. I'll see if I can dig up an image of what I'm remembering.

Here's a couple of older ones:

http://act.alz.org/images/content/pagebuilder/Bricktown_Ballpark_OKC.jpg


http://www.ratestogo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/mlb6.jpg

Here's a couple of older ones:

Those signs look great. The newer one...not so much.

Not only does that Chickasaw photo look like it was taken with a toaster, it also looks to be "rendered" in MS Paint.


So is it just metal stencile letters? No lighting to the actual sign?

The new signs will all have individually-lit letters.

Most of it will be LED, which is probably why the letters aren't as thick.

In my observation, it seems somewhat unreasonable to expect something tasteful when your sponsor is an Indian casino.

In my observation, it seems somewhat unreasonable to expect something tasteful when your sponsor is an Indian casino.

This is a most distasteful statement. Why do you feel at liberty to disparage a people in this manner?

This is a most distasteful statement. Why do you feel at liberty to disparage a people in this manner?

While I can't speak for the poster, I suspect the statement really intended no disrespect at all to Indians since all casinos in Oklahoma are Indian related.

This is a most distasteful statement. Why do you feel at liberty to disparage a people in this manner?

It's a pretty observable fact that nearly every casino in Oklahoma (all of which are owned by various tribes) is over-the-top ugly, gaudy, and lacking even the most basic taste. I merely made an observation of an obvious fact with no intent to put down any particular group of people (except maybe the designers of these crimes of architecture). Put away the race card, it is not needed here.

It is easy enough to just say casino. Defining a race or culture by associating it with something negative and applying it in a stereotypical way is a form of racism.

This is a most distasteful statement. Why do you feel at liberty to disparage a people in this manner?

I think its all in how you read the statement. I didn't read it as disparaging (but i could see how someone in a different mindset might). And that said, I have no idea how the author intended it to read.

Personally, I don't think all casinos in Oklahoma are God awful ugly. I just think they are most often not very unique or imaginative. I also agree their advertising is most often over the top tacky. So, in that sense I'd agree with the original post. But, I don't think it has anything to do with the race of the owners, it just happens that the one's in Oklahoma are Native American owned/operated.

It is easy enough to just say casino. Defining a race or culture by associating it with something negative and applying it in a stereotypical way is a form of racism.

My apologies.

It is easy enough to just say casino. Defining a race or culture by associating it with something negative and applying it in a stereotypical way is a form of racism.

I'm not sure it's enough to say "casino". It might be enought to say Oklahoma casino, but there is a marked difference between the design of the bulk of the casinos one would find in Las Vegas as opposed to the bulk of the casinos one would find in Oklahoma.

I'm not sure it's enough to say "casino". It might be enought to say Oklahoma casino, but there is a marked difference between the design of the bulk of the casinos one would find in Las Vegas as opposed to the bulk of the casinos one would find in Oklahoma.

Yes....like most of the Las Vegas casinos aren't tacky. LOL

Yes....like most of the Las Vegas casinos aren't tacky. LOL

While I suppose that taste is subjective, you tell me which one is a Las Vegas Casino, and which one is an Oklahoma Casino.
28642865

The one on the left is in Vegas. The one on the right is in Oklahoma.

The one on the left is in Vegas. The one on the right is in Oklahoma.Well, the palm trees are pretty good indicators. lol :)

Yes....like most of the Las Vegas casinos aren't tacky. LOL

I just returned from Vegas and the casino's there are very nice. Especially the newer ones like The Cosmopolitan and the Aria (where we stayed). The Venetian, Caesars Palace, and the Bellagio also have really nice casino areas. Compared to Oklahoma casinos... Well, there really is no comparison. Maybe Oklahoma casinos have better games?

If history is any indication, there will be a new sponsor not long after the paint on the new signs dry.

Have any of you been to Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant? It's not half bad looking, it has great lighting at night, and the inside is quite stunning! (I used to work there a few years ago before transferring from Southeastern to OU.)
Anywho, the new signage, I think, isn't bad, but not great.

New signage is up:
3452
New 3rd base sign is backlit, which is nice.

3451
The blue letters in the new home plate signage are LED backlit and change colors every few seconds. It's a nice touch.

For reference, the old SBC signage (don't have the AT&T signage handy):
3450

Hmm. I actually like the new signage better than the old. Especially the blue-lit signs at the top of the ballpark. Looks good!

Same here. Not bad at all.

ADG Scores Ballpark Marketing and Feasibility Study

Oklahoma City, OK, July 25, 2013 — ADG is thrilled to continue its relationship with the City of Oklahoma City and the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with a new marketing and feasibility study.

“We are extremely proud to continue our 15-year relationship working with the Ballpark and the City on what we consider to be one of our firm’s flag-ship projects,” said Steven Matthews, manager of the project and firm principal. “We want to see the ballpark thrive and continue to be a fun, family destination.”

ADG and sports facility consultant, EwingCole, are kicking off the first phase of the marketing and feasibility study, which focuses on fan enhancements. This effort will include identifying the latest industry trends in order to make improvements to the Ballpark and increase revenue. Work will include a comparative analysis of recently constructed Class-AAA ballpark features and amenities. Some areas the study will focus on include new premium seating and hospitality areas, new family areas and kid fun zones, enhancing the outfield concourse and relocating the team store and administrative offices for better function and street presence.

Future phases of the study could include a focus on baseball team enhancements, such as improvements for the team clubhouse and other team facilities, and capital improvement needs of the Ballpark including roofing, electrical systems, field lighting and scoreboards.

I do wish the numbers on scoreboard were a little bit bigger

http://imageshack.us/scaled/large/18/cb8x.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/18/cb8x.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/scaled/large/577/9gi2.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/577/9gi2.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/scaled/large/713/jmmm.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/713/jmmm.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/scaled/large/21/v3al.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/21/v3al.jpg/)

Shameless Plug: We recently launched a new online print shop. If you're interested in purchasing prints of our Oklahoma City aerial photography please visit Cooper Ross - Fine Art (http://tinyurl.com/plfy7ya). Thanks.

I just wonder why they don't use the new strip advertising board as a scoreboard. Could easily punch in whatever between-innings advertising, promotion, etc they want, and just have the scoreboard as an alternate source. That would be a zero-cost option rather than tossing money at the existing light-bulb board (at least it was the last time I was there, I think).

We are extremely proud to continue our 15-year relationship working with the Ballpark and the City on what we consider to be one of our firm’s flag-ship projects.

Kinda crazy looking at those photos to think about how much is either new or redeveloped in just fifteen years

I hope their "feasibility study" doesn't include tarping off more seats. I think that looks crappy.....just my opinion.