Leadership Square chosen for NBA team offices

[betts]

Seattle SuperSonics

Pamela Grady
7/25/2008
OKCBusiness.com

Oklahoma City’s National Basketball Association team has made a commitment to lease 25,000 square feet of Class A office space at Downtown Oklahoma City’s Leadership Square, 211 N Robinson Ave.
Mark Beffort, managing member of Grubb & Ellis|Levy Beffort, said the franchise will begin moving to its new home within the next 10 days. The club will eventually retain a regular office at the Ford Center after renovations are complete. Beffort said while the team was looking at three office buildings in the Downtown area, he believes Leadership Square is the right fit.

“They are absorbing 25,000 square feet of office space that has just been given back by Bank of America which is nice,” Beffort said. “It’s all around positive. We own all three properties (Leadership Square, Corporate Tower and Oklahoma Tower) and it’s just that we talked to the NBA about all the different options we had and this was the best fit for them.”

The high-profile organization will have street-level presence on the first floor as well as additional space in the building. “The public will be able to visually see the NBA in Leadership Square. They’re not going to be tucked away on another floor, only part of their operations will be,” Beffort said. “The building itself I think was the best fit. Leadership Square is kind of really the central point to Downtown Oklahoma City — central public point — and I think it poses a lot of different options for the NBA to have different functions in the lobby.”

During a July 2 press conference in which a settlement between the City of Seattle and the team’s ownership group was announced, Professional Basketball Club’s Clay Bennett said there would eventually be 125 staff members located in Oklahoma City.

[Pete]

It's pretty cool to envision the coaches and management (maybe even some players) cruising around Leadership Square and downtown in general.

Sounds like they'll be in there pretty soon, too.

[actionman]

They are going to be moving into two/south tower taking over the space of a web advertising company that a friend of mine works at. Basically they will be overlooking the Buzz corner.

[hipsterdoofus]

They are going to be moving into two/south tower taking over the space of a web advertising company that a friend of mine works at. Basically they will be overlooking the Buzz corner.

But the Bank of America branch is right on that corner, yes? I was just in there last week.

[actionman]

Hipster - you are correct. They are going to be up a couple of floors. BOA has the first couple of floors in that same cornder.

[metro]

From the article I read, it said they are taking over the first two floors from the Bank of America. I'm wondering if they are getting rid of that street walkup location on the corner?

[zuluwarrior0760]

The team will have an marketing office NE of the BOA branch
on the 1st floor. This space will be dedicated to receiving
corporate sponsors and giving them presentations....

They are also taking vacant space just to the west of the BOA branch
entrance, formerly an interior design firm, and that space will be
the Team Store.

These two spaces will be up and running in two or three weeks tops,
with people moving into them starting this Friday.

This is in addition to the entire third floor of the South Tower they
will occupy. They are also leasing space in OK Tower right now.....

[CCOKC]

Wow, I met my husband in that space (albeit 20 something years ago).

[actionman]

Ahhh. So that means the first floor space on the other side of the red sculpture probably (next to Ground Floor Cafe). That is where the Tronox IT group was for awhile. Then the Tronox Toastmasters group was using for lunch on Wednesday for a little bit. Had not see any construction in there but I will have to keep my eye peeled. If that is the space it will be great for PR. Big giant 1st floor windows.

[jbrown84]

I was thinking he meant the space west of the BOA branch, in the SW corner of the complex.

[OKCMallen]

jbrown is right; they were wheeling thigns in and out of that space this morning actually. No merch of course, but work had commenced.

[jbrown84]

Yes I went by today after getting a Crave smoothie and they are working on that space in the SW corner, as well as the space next to Ground Floor Cafe in the NE corner.

[actionman]

OKCMallen & Jbrown - where do you guys/gals work? I am in the IRS building alot. But my company leases space on the 8th floor north LSQ tower?

At Crave get one of the frequent diner cards and ask them to keep it at the register for you! I told the owner the other day she needs to get a small plastic box like the Buzz has and just offer to keep the cards there
(non-sequitor to the NBA)

[jbrown84]

I wasn't down there for work, just passing through. I do have one of their punch cards. LOVE Crave, but wish they had longer hours.