State Fairgrounds

[amocore]

Well, who will take a risk on another Hockey team in this city ? We are past market study.

We had a good CHL team. It folded. We had a very god AHL team. It did not work either.

So, except if you really want Disney on Ice during the State Fair, we have no need for another Ice making facility.

[Miracle121]

We have no need for another horse barn.

[jn1780]

Well, who will take a risk on another Hockey team in this city ? We are past market study.

We had a good CHL team. It folded. We had a very god AHL team. It did not work either.

So, except if you really want Disney on Ice during the State Fair, we have no need for another Ice making facility.

Yeah, and Disney on Ice brings their own ice making equipment to my understanding. So what is currently there is just sitting around probably falling into disrepair.

That said it wouldn't be that hard to install that kind of equipment later if the need arose

[Laramie]

Yeah, and Disney on Ice brings their own ice making equipment to my understanding. So what is currently there is just sitting around probably falling into disrepair.

That said it wouldn't be that hard to install that kind of equipment later if the need arose

Thanks for reinforcing this point.

[Bill Robertson]

Well, who will take a risk on another Hockey team in this city ? We are past market study.

We had a good CHL team. It folded. We had a very god AHL team. It did not work either.

So, except if you really want Disney on Ice during the State Fair, we have no need for another Ice making facility.

We did have a good CHL team. And I think they were successful enough to have kept going if the CHL hadn’t folded. We did have a good AHL team. But it was hard not to drop over $100 for the game, dinner in Bricktown before the game and a couple drinks at the game. Not something we can do a lot of. I went to probably 90% of the Blazers/Stars games.

[Miracle121]

Refrigeration tubing must be installed in the floor of the arena for ice hockey, such as in Chesapeake arena and the Cox center. Disney on ice uses a portable ice rink which sits on top of the arena floor. If hockey is to be played in the arena it will need to be installed during construction.

[Bill Robertson]

Refrigeration tubing must be installed in the floor of the arena for ice hockey, such as in Chesapeake arena and the Cox center. Disney on ice uses a portable ice rink which sits on top of the arena floor. If hockey is to be played in the arena it will need to be installed during construction.

Ice is ice. I’m sure hockey could be done like Disney does ice. Biggest downside would be converting from not ice to ice and back to not ice would be a big pain.

[Miracle121]

The best thing to happen would be to move OKC Blue basketball team to the new fairgrounds arena and move a hockey team into the Cox (Myraid) arena, because the Cox center already has a state of the art ice making equipment already installed. The OKC Blue are lucky to get 500 fans on a good night.

[Laramie]

The best thing to happen would be to move OKC Blue basketball team to the new fairgrounds arena and move a hockey team into the Cox (Myraid) arena, because the Cox center already has a state of the art ice making equipment already installed. The OKC Blue are lucky to get 500 fans on a good night.

+1

[Dob Hooligan]

I'm old enough to remember hockey at Norick Arena and think State Fair Park is the best location for any minor league team.

I am also of the opinion that the minor league hockey landscape has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. I think the 1990s "dollar ticket-dollar beer" model of the Blazers, and the CHL overall, wasn't financially viable anymore. And they were on the way out, regardless of whether the NBA made us a "Big League City" that didn't want the competition.

I think the Funk family made a serious, multi-million dollar commitment to AAA hockey via the Barons of the AHL. They were losing money, but were committed to the long haul. Then the private equity fund owners and mentality came to minor league sports management. It was decided that minor league affiliates should be owned by the parent club and located as closely as could be arraigned. Access to quick player call-ups and team culture became more important than growing the game through live attendance in different markets. Also, the NHL has become more focused on the east and west coast. Moving away from the central United States at the NHL level trickled down to the minor league level and left Oklahoma City no longer attractive. Having the Edmonton Oilers AHL team 1000 miles away no longer made sense.

I think the only way forward for hockey in OKC is at the AA level, like the ECHL. I wasn't very confident about how the money would add up pre-pandemic. And now I fear it could be 5 years or more before the hockey business is secure enough to return to OKC at any level.

[Laramie]

I think the only way forward for hockey in OKC is at the AA level, like the ECHL. I wasn't very confident about how the money would add up pre-pandemic. And now I fear it could be 5 years or more before the hockey business is secure enough to return to OKC at any level.

More like five to seven years with the Covid-19 pandemic in sight.

My belief in keeping the Cox Center and its Great Arena (13,846 ice hockey capacity), do away with the ugly tarps; dim the upper level lights and use the lower bowl beginning with the lodge seats and below (5,400 ice hockey capacity) unless there are large promotional nights vs. Tulsa or Wichita where ticket sales exceed 5,400.

Ice hockey IMO could be a success if you have rivals like Tulsa and Wichita where you draw fans from the two opposing cities. I remember a Blazers-Ice Oilers game where 6 chartered buses arrived from T-Town; there was a good contention of at least 600 or more where many or their fans arrived on the chartered buses.

And the nights we drove to the 'Kansas Coliseum' the place was always packed near capacity 9,686-seat when Oklahoma City came to town.

Tulsa BOK Center, Ice hockey

Now Tulsa BOK Center (17,096) and Wichita Intrust Bank Arena (13,450) are first class arenas where they generally use the lower bowls, ECHL ice hockey is on display.

The G-League Oklahoma City Blue and an ECHL Oklahoma City AA franchise could share the Cox's Great Arena with the OKC Blue using the new coliseum when there's a conflict. Most of the fans the Blue attract are players' family members, fans and a few scouts.

[Swake]

Tulsa BOK Center, Ice hockey

That number 12 retired number in the rafters next to the Canadian flag in the BOK Center belongs to my grandfather. He started playing with the Oilers in 1929 when they were a major league team in the AHA. His number was retired in 1996. Yes the Oilers have almost a 100 year history.

[shawnw]

Bennett Event Center art going in

https://twitter.com/okstatefair/stat...86441853743105

I keep reading "viagra", no offense to the artist...

[Plutonic Panda]

Can we get more landscaping and trees in the parking lots?

[HangryHippo]

Can we get more landscaping and trees in the parking lots?

Please!

[Pete]

Can we get more landscaping and trees in the parking lots?

The city sought and received an exemption from their own landscaping ordinance for all those parking lots.

[PaddyShack]

I'm sure those trees and landscaping would just get in the way of all of those horse trailers and the state fair vendors...

[Miracle121]

Monorail, space needle, grand stands are all gone in the name of building a horse arena. The new arena should be a multi purpose arena for basketball, hockey and other sports, not just another horse barn.

[shawnw]

pretty sure everybody here agrees with you

[Pete]

I know the arena will be used for basketball and likely wrestling but don't think there are any current plans for hockey.

It can also be configured for concerts and other events.

[Plutonic Panda]

All these years I still get sick even thinking about everything that was taken from the fair. I messaged Scott Munz about it years ago who did respond and provided some decent points but still left me in disagreement about the decisions taken by the fair as I feel like they didn’t try hard enough.

I suppose at some point the reality needs to be clear OKC doesn’t have the philanthropic billionaires DFW has and a facility like the one built in Fort Worth isn’t realistic here though I’d much rather something like that be built. As it stands I wonder why the horse show would continue on in OKC even in the new arena rather than go to DFW which is superior to OKC in almost every way.

I wonder how well a MAPS for the fair or a 1/3 penny sales tax specifically for the fair that would have kept everything they tore down would have done at the polls. It would have to remind people if it doesn’t pass then they don’t have a choice and I’d be less upset about the loss as the city voted for it. Yet they didn’t even try anything other than say “it’s too expensive.”

Sorry about the rant but this issue really gets to me. It is a crying shame to think back on some of the structures OKC lost over the last couple decades. Most cities stopped doing that crap, urban renewal.

[Pete]

^

The fair has millions and millions and continues to get tens of millions from MAPS and other public sources.

They've just spent it ways lots of people don't like and if they had more, that wouldn't change.

The entire operation is run on public money but is quite secretive and the shots are called by the rich and powerful people on their board. I have no doubt they mean well, but they are caretakers of city-owned property and facilities and they are not spending their own money.

[Miracle121]

Why is there no one on the fairground board ever reply to these items. Mayor Holt are you listening? We would like to have an ECHL hockey team in here. The city rented out the Cox center to a movie studio. The Thunder don't want any compotistion for Chesapeake arena and the State fairgrounds new arena will not have ice making equipment in it. I myself would like to see a hockey game between
OKC and the Tulsa Oilers.

[HOT ROD]

^

The fair has millions and millions and continues to get tens of millions from MAPS and other public sources.

They've just spent it ways lots of people don't like and if they had more, that wouldn't change.

The entire operation is run on public money but is quite secretive and the shots are called by the rich and powerful people on their board. I have no doubt they mean well, but they are caretakers of city-owned property and facilities and they are not spending their own money.

I have said this over and over - and usually a crowd will come 'debunk' me.

They destroyed the fair icons in favor of a horse warehouse. I'm all in favor of new buildings and wouldn't be against this so much if SO MUCH wasn't lost from the fair that I (and you all) grew up with. Just makes me sick that OKC got rid of the auto racing grandstand, the monorail, the space needle, and other legendary attractions. I'm not saying we should keep them forever if there's no way to maintain them but that was NOT the case here - they purposefully allowed them to fall into disrepair.

I'm sure they could have applied for MAPS dollars to reconstruct the monorail, rebuild the grandstand, and retrofit the space needle. To me those were what MADE the state fair - the Oklahoma State Fair. Now, it's a shell of its former self (attendance reflects that as well) with hardly ANYBODY desiring to go beyond the fair food and some carnival enthusiasts (and even that's gone downhill significantly imo).

We could/should have kept our icons yet still built the Bennett Center and the new Arena and the fairgrounds would fulfill it's multipurpose-facility event mission while retaining it's status as one of OKC's top attractions. Is it even top 10 today?. ...

[Bill Robertson]

I have said this over and over - and usually a crowd will come 'debunk' me.

They destroyed the fair icons in favor of a horse warehouse. I'm all in favor of new buildings and wouldn't be against this so much if SO MUCH wasn't lost from the fair that I (and you all) grew up with. Just makes me sick that OKC got rid of the auto racing grandstand, the monorail, the space needle, and other legendary attractions. I'm not saying we should keep them forever if there's no way to maintain them but that was NOT the case here - they purposefully allowed them to fall into disrepair.

I'm sure they could have applied for MAPS dollars to reconstruct the monorail, rebuild the grandstand, and retrofit the space needle. To me those were what MADE the state fair - the Oklahoma State Fair. Now, it's a shell of its former self (attendance reflects that as well) with hardly ANYBODY desiring to go beyond the fair food and some carnival enthusiasts (and even that's gone downhill significantly imo).

We could/should have kept our icons yet still built the Bennett Center and the new Arena and the fairgrounds would fulfill it's multipurpose-facility event mission while retaining it's status as one of OKC's top attractions. Is it even top 10 today?. ...

My feelings about the icons has changed lately. I've said before that I was involved in electrical work at the time and knew the condition of the Space Needle, Monorail and Grandstands. All three needed major work that would have been extremely expensive. But now I think we, the public, the bill payers, should have had input as to whether we wanted to spend the money to save the icons. And anything can be saved if you spend the money. The race track I've always felt stronger about because I spent almost every Friday night and Fair there from the mid 60s to the last race night either watching, working for the track or driving. And the cities reason for closing it was electrical and ADA problems. While it needed a complete electrical redo we had the ability to do most of the work in house. And the ADA problem was access to the upper level. An external elevator, something similar to the food court elevator at Quail Springs, could have easily been done.
But. As much as I loved the track the last 10 to 15 years of operation the car counts were way down. They changed classes of cars a few times to try and attract more cars. And attendance was way down. For us die hard race fans the death of the track was devastating but to the general public I don't think many really cared.