Convention - 2008

[Karried]

City selected for convention

"The Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau announced Thursday that the city has been chosen to host a convention in 2008 that's estimated to have an economic effect of $11.9 million.



Oklahoma City will be host to the Central States Shrine Association's regional convention, said Steve Collier, the bureau's executive director."

Yeah Baby..... rah, rah! ( Cheerleading again for OK!)

[Keith]

City selected for convention

"The Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau announced Thursday that the city has been chosen to host a convention in 2008 that's estimated to have an economic effect of $11.9 million.



Oklahoma City will be host to the Central States Shrine Association's regional convention, said Steve Collier, the bureau's executive director."

Yeah Baby..... rah, rah! ( Cheerleading again for OK!)

I heard about that yesterday. That is going to be excellent for OKC. Now, if we can get some more conventions moved to OKC, it will really give our economy a boost.

[workman45]

Well if you're going to land one, this is the one to catch. I can very easily believe that figure. Those people don't stint on having a good time and still do great things for charity.

[Midtowner]

Very exciting.

We are becoming a real convention city!

I was at my fraternity's biannual international convention last summer, and I was hanging out with our "Grand Poobah" (not his real title). He gets to decide where the next convention will be. We were talking about places like Hilton Head, and he just happened to be sitting at a table with myself and some other Okies. One of us did say that OKC should be a real consideration. He didn't seem to take us seriously, but we told him to seriously look into it.

People don't tend to think of us as a real convention destination until they really look into us. We told him that he'd be surprised on how good a place for a convention that this would be. So who knows?

He's from the South though, we'll probably end up in Atlanta..

[xrayman]

It all depends. Do they want a place to hold a convention - or a vacation spot while the "convention" is going on. For those that look at "destination cities", OKC will not be high on the list. That's not being negative, that's being realistic. We can't expect someone from L.A. to be excited when they hear that their next vacation spot (err....convention) is going to be in......Oklahoma City! We have to accept that we are a GROWING city but not yet a DESTINATION city. We must remember that L.A. has 50+ Bricktown-like districts for entertainment, so that is not going to excite them, and our "attractions" simply don't rank with other cities that are options for a vacation (err...convention). But if someone is wanting a true-blue convention site, OKC can be excellent for all the same reasons others cross us off the list. Fairly low on attractions so they actually attend the convention for a few hours, geographically centered, cosmopolitan enough that they're not bored, friendly hosts, and the basics are covered when it comes to hotel rooms, restaurants, etc. Please, don't call it a "negative" assessment. I like to deal in realism and that's just where we are right now - and that's fine! I don't want to live in L.A. or Chicago. But, I like vac.....uh....attending conventions there!

[downtownguy]

xray has a point. But that may be where our strength lies as a convention city. Truth is, businesses and the public sector can no longer justify the kind of junkets they used to. The world is getting too competitive. Can OKC top San Francisco, San Antonio as a tourist-oriented convention destination? Probably not. But with a few hundred more rooms, a lot of people believe we have everything it takes to be a real convention destination for those who are serious about remaining competitive in the world economic arena

[Patrick]

This is exceptionally great news. This is probably the largest announcement we've had since the Squaredancers coneventino came here a few years back. I think as more hotels get built downtown, more conventinos will come.

I agree with both xray and downtownguy......most people don't want to come here for a vacation desitnation, but if it's simply a business convention, and they're peopel to attend the convention, yet still have it in a central location with plenty close by to do, It hink OKC is a great location. It's a lot easier to get around OKC than many other larger cities close by.

OKC fills a niche, and I think we need to go after those conventions we serve best.