Bricktown attracting tourists?

[Patrick]

Good news for the Bricktown area.

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"Bricktown attracts auto tags from afar
By Tricia Pemberton
Business Writer

At 3 p.m. on a recent Saturday, with a temperature of 93 and a heat index of 95 degrees, Bricktown Association Director Frank Sims received a count of 34 out-of-state license tags in the entertainment district.
"And I'm not sure we got them all," he said.

That's 68 percent of the states represented, from Arizona to Wyoming. States with the most tags represented were Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Colorado, and Iowa, Sims said.

The informal survey helps Sims argue his point that Bricktown has become a destination in its own right.

"I think people are coming to Oklahoma City, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the Memorial, the Museum of Art. Those types of attractions are helping to build us as a destination, but we also are feeding those venues, as well. People are recognizing Bricktown as a destination. We're part of a well-rounded city experience," Sims said.

Lt. Greg Johnston, with the Oklahoma City Police Department's Bricktown substation, said he daily sees visitors from out of state.

"Part of Bricktown is the riverwalk. We rode it this morning (Thursday) from Meridian down to the skate park and counted 53 people.

"One guy was from California and said they don't have anything like this where he's from.

"People in Bricktown and along the canal all say they enjoy all the new buildings, the attractions, the theater and the new restaurants," Johnston said.

Sims said there's still work to be done.

"We still have issues with directional signage. We've got to do a better job to direct our visitors to easy access points in the city," he said.

Bricktown developer Jim Brewer said signage will be taken care of when the Interstate 40 relocation project is complete.

"That will really, really help us. We're pretty well-satisfied with the plan," Brewer said. He said his biggest concern is building the city's convention business.

"We've now got the facilities, but I think the few hotels we've got are priced too high for the convention market," he said.

"We've got all the business we can handle Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but we need business Sunday through Wednesday so the restaurants can survive," he said.

Brewer said he is seeing a lot more business from other areas of the state.

"We're getting more well-known, and people are starting to stop off, spending the night downtown and in Bricktown.

"Everything looks swell in Bricktown, and we're really not even halfway there," Brewer said. "The Indian Cultural Center will help and the Me- morial brings a lot of people off the road." "

[Dungeon Master]

Hey Patrick,

I think they were referring to 34 states out of the lower 48. Not 34 cars from out of town.

[Patrick]

Hey Patrick,

I think they were referring to 34 states out of the lower 48. Not 34 cars from out of town.

Whoops, my bad! Thanks for the correction.

[Dungeon Master]

Hey, no prob.
I hope you do the same for me sometime.

By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, even though it is sorta late.

[Patrick]

Hey, no prob.
I hope you do the same for me sometime.

By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, even though it is sorta late.

Thanks Dungeon Master...I appreciate it. I think it's interesting that Keith, Todd, and I have birthdays in the same month.

[HOT ROD]

Thanks Dungeon Master...I appreciate it. I think it's interesting that Keith, Todd, and I have birthdays in the same month.

Go LEO!!! (and Cancer - me)

Happy Birthday (to all of us).

[Dungeon Master]

That is really neat how it turned out like that. How did you guys hook up anyway?

[jbrown84]

Yeah I read that article in the paper and it is a little confusing. If it weren't for the part about 68 percent it sounds like they're saying 34 out of state cars, which isn't anything to jump around about. But thirty four states represented just in one afternoon is pretty impressive really. My family used to count how many states we saw in the parking lot at ski areas in New Mexico and Colorado but it looks like we could actually do that in Bricktown now.

[Pete]

I-40 and I-35 are two of the main arteries carrying people across the country and it's high time we gave people an excuse to stop and stay a while.


I really think we've only begun to scratch the surface of what that area could become.

[PUGalicious]

You're absolutely correct, MalibuSooner. With some visionary investment, OKC could become more than just a stop along the way and more of a destination.

I, for one, have spent alot more time in the downtown/Bricktown area since the MAPS project revitalized that area. My dollars are now (gladly) spent in that area.

[terrared]

There will be several KS cars down there on Saturday and a bus with over 50 people on it coming to Toby's (me included)!!

[okcpulse]

We welcome you back to Oklahoma City, terrared, and are honored to be a return destination for you.

[Patrick]

terrared, I'd be curious to hear your honest opinions of your first trip to Bricktown a few weeks ago.

[terrared]

terrared, I'd be curious to hear your honest opinions of your first trip to Bricktown a few weeks ago.

In all honesty, we had a really great time. We enjoyed the water taxi ride; I wish it could have been longer. I really liked the statues that are being placed at the far end. I think it will really be cool when they are all put in.

The only negative thing I came away with was that I wished there was more to it. What that "more" is, I don't know. I would have enjoyed some street musicians along the canal after dark. It would have been cool to just grab a bench and listen. I don't know what you are trying to embrace down there or stay away from, but I couldn't help think how much I would have liked to see someone set up with a potter's wheel making an amazing piece of art. Or an artist doing charactures. I would hate to see it become a strip of "crap for sale", but something that embraces the art culture would be cool. JMO.

We enjoyed every place we stopped at. I really liked Maker's. The decor and the feel and smell of the place was so soothing. We went early in the afternoon just to check it out and get out of the heat. We then went back around 10 at night and the vibe was way different. I didn't really like the girl singing and playing piano. Her voice was pretty annoying, but it was fun to just hang there.

Toby' place was a lot of fun. I wish they had a dedicated dance floor. When we were there back in July, people had to move tables back just to have places to dance. When my husband's band plays, people WANT to dance! The long waiting for a table didn't really bother me. We went straight to one of the bars and were taken care of immediately. I'm sure once the "new" wears off, things will calm down a little. But all in all, it was a great experience too.

We will be down there again on Saturday for the gig at Toby's. I will be more attentive this time and see what I come away with.

[mranderson]

I may have had a bad water taxi pilot. He acted like a stereotypical hick asking people to say "yee-haw" under every bridge and other hick things. My first thought was "how boring. This guy si suppose to give a positive image of Oklahoma City?" He did just the opposite. I hated every inch of that ride.

Other than that, I enjoy Bricktown. And yes. Although that taxi pilot was not the ambassador to Oklahoma City that I expect, it and all of Bricktown does a good job of attracting tourists.

See my video in my photo gallery for a real comprehensive look at Bricktown.

[Patrick]

Hey terrared, thanks for the info. It's always interesting to hear what out-of-towners have to say about Bricktown. Although I enjoy hearing the positive comments, I also enjoy hearing the critical comments, as it lets us know what we need to work on.

I completely agree with all of your assessments. We need more street entertainers. floater has been crying that tune for years now.

One thing I also hear from out of town guests is that we need more retail in Bricktown. Currently, Bricktown is mostly a restaurant, night club, and entertainment district. We're very limited in the retail area.

Personally, I think adding an arts and crafts village, and a retail square would really help Bricktown mature.

[floater]

I completely agree with all of your assessments. We need more street entertainers. floater has been crying that tune for years now.

Yeah. But it has been improving. There are more entertainers in Bricktown than Lower Bricktown. For the past few Redhawks games, I've seen the firebreather on the canal overlook. I've passed by some musicians on Oklahoma Ave and in front of Makers. For July the Fourth, you had the Will Rogers "statue" and some performers in front of Harkins and at the United Way plaza. And there's always that funky guitarist in front of Spaghetti Warehouse. If only he played something that was worth listening to.

A wacky idea would be to work with the Arts Council to train street performers. They had stiltwalking lessons during July the Fourth - why not hold some trainees to their new skill? Acting students at OU/OCU could practice their craft as mimes in Bricktown too.

But terrared, we are lacking in the use of visual artists. There are a lot out there. Maybe they just don't want to look like the kitschy artists you're referring to.

In terms of retail and craft, whatever happened to that Bricktown Marketplace concept that was going to go inside the Oklahoma Restaurant Supply building -- where IHOP is sharing some space? That would have been cool.

Finally, I always thought that buffalo corral building on Main would be nice as a small farmer's market, but that glass display idea sounds good too!!

[terrared]

I would have enjoyed some more retail shops. I like the handmade, unique types of things. What is in that building behind the two buffalos or cows or whatever they are? The glass front would be great for art displays of local artists. The big stairway out front would be a cool place for street musicians. It just seemed like a big void in that area.

[mranderson]

Yes. Retail. One I would LOVE to open (no way to raise the capitol) is a Bricktown gift shop. We need medium end to high end shops.

I would like to see specialty shops like Viking and other shops not currently located in Oklahoma City. Plus some local shops.

[terrared]

I have a question for you. Does the trolley go up to the Memorial? If so, where do you catch it?

[brianinok]

The trolley stays downtown and Airport/Meridian areas. There was a line that used to go NE to the zoo, Omniplex, etc. but I don't see it on the website anymore.

http://www.gometro.org

[mranderson]

The trolley stays downtown and Airport/Meridian areas. There was a line that used to go NE to the zoo, Omniplex, etc. but I don't see it on the website anymore.

http://www.gometro.org

I have seen the trolleys in other parts of the city. Example. I saw one at NW 50 and Pennsylvania earlier today.

[floater]

You'll find in that website that MetroTransit's Route 5 does go to Quail Springs Mall. You might be able to walk to some restaurants and stores there. The Transit Center is at Fourth and Hudson. You can take a trolley from the Bricktown Ballpark stop to the Transit Center, and take Route 5 from there.

[workman45]

Terrered, you can catch the blue line trolley in front of the ballpark and it will take you to the memorial. The schedule shows a 20 minute cycle time.

[floater]

Oh man, totally misread that one.