Good for Oklahoma!

[circuitboard]

News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | Oklahoma real estate boosted by Thunder

This is great news!!!

[jbrown84]

Very interesting. It's very clear that Coyote Ugly is coming largely because of the NBA attention. I wonder what's next?

[donbroncho]

Sweet news. Bricktown may yet be saved from falling into obscurity.

Now the guessing game begins on who is interested in locating there...

[OKC4me]

Cool.

Bring on Hard Rock Cafe, that would be sweet!

[SOONER8693]

I believe that Hard Rock has seen it's best days.

[betts]

I believe that Hard Rock has seen it's best days.

Which is probably why that's what's coming.....

"I'm not at liberty to say, but you will be very pleasantly surprised with what is out there and who is interested in coming," Clifton said." I suspect that means well-known franchises.
Personally, I'd like to see better unique concepts from local owners, but I guess franchises are what they think will get us excited. Better than empty buildings, though.

[jbrown84]

I'm sure we'll see plenty of both.

[tuck]

I don't think Hard Rock is in a growth stage at all.
IMO, locals aren't going to Bricktown because of bars like Hooters, Coyote Ugly or any other heavily themed concepts. I hope we see the top-notch national restaurants and retailers fill in downtown instead.

[shane453]

Please let it be an OLIVE GARDEN!

(/joke)

[rondvu]

I personaly would like to see a BoBo's chicken move to the area. The food won't kill you but, the customers will. j/k

[metro]

Cool.

Bring on Hard Rock Cafe, that would be sweet!

As others said, HRC has seen it's better days. Maybe if we could have got one 15 years ago. Dallas even lost their HRC. Here are the locations left:

Hard Rock Cafe - Cafes -

[Kerry]

I would love to see a Hard Rock Cafe in Bricktown. I looked at the list Metro linked to and that is a pretty exclusive list of cities around the world. I am not sure what Dallas losing their HRC has to do with one in OKC.

[circuitboard]

I agree. I mean just because Dallas lost HRC, does not mean it would not do well in OKC. Dallas also lost D&G store and Prada in Highland Park village. Maybe Dallas is on a decline right now.

[progressiveboy]

I agree. I mean just because Dallas lost HRC, does not mean it would not do well in OKC. Dallas also lost D&G store and Prada in Highland Park village. Maybe Dallas is on a decline right now.

Hardly the case. Barneys of New York opened in Dallas last year doing great!! Dallas has landed AT&T World Headquarters and the Bank holding company Comerica moved their headquarters from Detroit to Dallas. I think OKC will be the first to decline rather than Dallas because Dallas has so many Fortune 500 companies and OKC does not. Can you name one Fortune 500 company that has relocated to OKC? When oil and gas plummets like it did in the 80's then OKC will be right back where it was in that era with no lessons learned. HRC will not make it in OKC, I know OKC is my former hometown born and raised there.

[animeGhost]

bobo's chicken is delicious though!

[Rover]

Love these smug Dallasites who believe only good things happen in Dallas and continue to disrespect OKC. Just stupid they can't understand both can do well. Why do they always feel threatened when OKC does well?

[BFizzy]

Hardly the case. Barneys of New York opened in Dallas last year doing great!! Dallas has landed AT&T World Headquarters and the Bank holding company Comerica moved their headquarters from Detroit to Dallas. I think OKC will be the first to decline rather than Dallas because Dallas has so many Fortune 500 companies and OKC does not. Can you name one Fortune 500 company that has relocated to OKC? When oil and gas plummets like it did in the 80's then OKC will be right back where it was in that era with no lessons learned. HRC will not make it in OKC, I know OKC is my former hometown born and raised there.

Thanks for your insight, but I think I'll trust Forbes over a bitter troll from Dallas.

America's Recession-Proof Cities - Forbes.com

[Insider]

HRC is still opening restaurants. They are opening one in 2009 in Seattle. They are opening very slowly, but they are opening. We just have to attract them. Landing the NBA team, building the new Devon building, fixing up the myriad gardens, the C2S project, expanding the canal... All of this will help attract new interest in Bricktown. It may take time, but it will happen.

[Saberman]

Love these smug Dallasites who believe only good things happen in Dallas and continue to disrespect OKC. Just stupid they can't understand both can do well. Why do they always feel threatened when OKC does well?

Because Dallas has become such a pit. The traffic is terrible, as well as being hard to find anything. Over populated, people are moving out of Dallas to the burbs.

My niece lives in Frisco, they have a pro soccer team, brother said the build youth soccer fields that extend for about a mile. One of the fastest growing towns in the US.

OKC has not been growing as fast, but it has been steady. We had a 4% growth in real estate value this last year, while the rest of the country is falling apart.

As long as OKC continues it's moderate and steady growth, reasoned community planning(MAPS), and family friendly development we could become more attractive to businesses and families then Dallas.

[circuitboard]

Hardly the case. Barneys of New York opened in Dallas last year doing great!! Dallas has landed AT&T World Headquarters and the Bank holding company Comerica moved their headquarters from Detroit to Dallas. I think OKC will be the first to decline rather than Dallas because Dallas has so many Fortune 500 companies and OKC does not. Can you name one Fortune 500 company that has relocated to OKC? When oil and gas plummets like it did in the 80's then OKC will be right back where it was in that era with no lessons learned. HRC will not make it in OKC, I know OKC is my former hometown born and raised there.

My bestfriend is a manager at the Barney's in Dallas, and sales have been slow. I am fully aware of the corporate world in Dallas, and yes it is strong. But retail is a different story in Dallas. It has declined in recent years. I am not sure where you are getting your facts.

[tulsooner]

I just hope that Bricktown gets a sports bar. We drive down from Tulsa and usually come early to eat and drink. Something like Dave and Buster's would be great, they are building one in Tulsa as we speak. Coach's is about the only sports bar around and it is weak.

[traxx]

I would hardly call D&B a sports bar, it's more like Chuck E Cheese for adults.

As for Hard Rock, we don't want it here. Maybe if the year were 1988, but it's not. In the 90s when Hard Rock expanded like crazy and everybody and their dog had a Hard Rock it lost it's appeal and cache. When Hard Rock was located in just London, NY and Chicago you would be happy to be the next city included on that list but when they have one in Biloxi, Mississippi, then it's hardly the cool place it once was.

[Richard at Remax]

dave and busters average floor plan is way too big for any building in bricktown proper.

[Kerry]

When Hard Rock was located in just London, NY and Chicago you would be happy to be the next city included on that list but when they have one in Biloxi, Mississippi, then it's hardly the cool place it once was.

Before you go running down Biloxi just be aware that the Hard Rock Cafe in Biloxi is located in their new Hard Rock Hotel/Casino. Just because you can't afford the food at HRC doesn't mean you have to hate the concept.

[BDP]

I'm not sure I can get that fired up about many national chains, but I think this is what the landlords have been holding out for and if that's what it takes to fill up bricktown, then so be it, I guess. I do worry about Bricktown being just like every other touristy entertainment district in the country, but, again, it's better than all the emptiness there is down there now.

Hopefully, it will help the emerging areas downtown like Mid-Town, Automobile Alley, and the Triangle as well, which seem to be more about creating something unqique, more urban, and more local than the BT guys.