Ford Center renovations update

[HOT ROD]

Larry, could it be that OKC doesn't need a 20,000 seat NBA arena to be profitable? Maybe 18,500 will do it.

Seattle's seating (I live there) is horrible by comparison to most NBA cities, so there is NO WAY they could ever make up the revenue. And the building could not be expanded again. So the only thing to do in Seattle was rebuild or build new. And in Seattle, things cost a bit more than OKC.

Now, back to OKC - I think it is awesome that Bennett and Co can make their due with less, but focus on quality. This will surely put OKC among the top luxury NBA arenas and that's where it counts.

Sure, there are larger luxury NBA arenas but they are in Chicago and Detroit - both cities with very large populations (Chicago anyways) and great bball tradition. I like OKC's focus on quality as opposed to quantity.

besides, this will eliminate the butts in the seats complaints that many Ford Center patrons have been complaining about!

[bombermwc]

I'd definitely take the quality over the quantity. The fact that the team is onboard with this is great for the city as well. The Ford Center was built and will continue to serve as a stepping stone. It's the arena the city built to attract the jewel....the castle will come next go around. I liken it to buying your first car. You buy the cheaper model, then you spend the next few years adding things like nicer wheels, a spiffy paint job, stereo, etc.

One thing OKC has that most of the league's cities don't is a debt free building. Many places like Seattle build in a really stupid fashion. They don't raise the funds first and build later...they do it in a opposite manner. MAPS type programs have allowed us to make these improvements without being in debt because of them. Seattle is STILL paying off the debt from the last remodel of Key. And that remodel didn't last through the usability of the arena. While they are still paying, we'll be looking at the FC's replacement (to be built bigger and better on the Cox lot).

The scoreboard is AWESOME! The fact that it's all digital opens up so many more possibilties for what can be put on it. And the wedge isn't something most people would think about, but it will make a big difference for those that pay the highest prices for tickets. Sometimes they even have a hard time seeing a score...how funny is that? Problem solved.

[betts]

In the video, they state new seating is being installed, and talk about more room for each person. One of the big complaints about the Ford Center was the tight seating, so perhaps this is improving that and they're losing capacity as a result. Perhaps they decided it's better to have a thousand less fans in the building, if the ones who are there are happier. Don't know.

[metro]

Not to mention the addition of opera boxes, loge suites, bunker suites and other amenities it didn't have before. Sure, they give up a few seats for these luxury seats, but these luxury seats probably generate more money than more of just plain seats. Don't forget there are standing only rooms in the building (at least 2 I know of) so they do have the ability to flex the capacity if need be. Larry, you're just a Debbie Downer always looking for something wrong to gripe about. You're not going to find much agreement on this website, so move on over to Tulsa Now.

[Kerry]

It isn't about how many seat you have, it is the revenue they can generate. An arena could only have 1 seat if they could sell it for $10 million per game. A smaller venue increase demand, that in turn drive up the price. Of course, the exact opposite is true. If an arena is too large, it decrease demand, which in turn drives down the price. You only have to look at the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium to realize that. It seats 30,000 too many. The fact that the Ford Center sold out half its games indicates that there might be too many seats.

[SouthsideSooner]

Larry, you're just a Debbie Downer always looking for something wrong to gripe about. You're not going to find much agreement on this website, so move on over to Tulsa Now.

Yea Larry, if you're not going to follow in lockstep, you're not welcome around here. Independent thinking and desenting opinions will not be tolerated!

The whole "free speech" thing can really be a pain in the ass sometimes...

Get over yourself, Metro...

[betts]

Just found this in USA Today:

Levy Restaurants to operate Ford Center dining areas - USATODAY.com

And this is what Wikipedia says about the company (sorry for using them as a source, but it was the most informative:

The company was founded by Larry Levy, originally from St. Louis. In 1978, Levy founded his company in Chicago, and serves as the Chairman of the Board. The first property was D.B. Kaplan's Delicatessen in Chicago's Water Tower Place. In 1982, the company pioneered the concept of fine dining in stadiums and arenas with award-winning restaurants and foodservice locations at Chicago's Comiskey Park (home of the Chicago White Sox) and again in 1985 in Chicago's Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs.) In 1989, the company was selected by The Walt Disney Company to own and operate two locations inside their world famous Walt Disney World Resort, Portobello Yacht Club and Fulton's Crab House. Levy was also a partner in the former Wildhorse Saloon location at Walt Disney World. The Portobello Yacht Club's has consistently been voted best Italian restaurant in Orlando. Fulton's Crab House has achieved one of the top ten sales volumes of any restaurant in the United States. In 1994 they added their first location outside Chicago. The company also created and implemented the WOCAAT training philosophy.

Locations
Their sports and entertainment division manages convention facilities, concert and performance venues and arenas for all major sports leagues. They currently manage food service operations inside the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN, STAPLES Center and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL, Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, The USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY, Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Chase Field in Phoenix, and the Rogers Centre in Toronto, among many others nationwide. They also manage all food service operations inside McCormick Place in Chicago, the nation's largest convention center, the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois and multiple establishments inside Disney World in Orlando. Levy manages all food service operations for Churchill Downs in Louisville, the home of the Kentucky Derby.

[icecold]

That sounds good. I have always thought the food at the Ford Center was way below par.

[metro]

Yea Larry, if you're not going to follow in lockstep, you're not welcome around here. Independent thinking and desenting opinions will not be tolerated!

The whole "free speech" thing can really be a pain in the ass sometimes...

Get over yourself, Metro...

right back at you. I'm all for freedom of speech, but Larry is just looking to get a rise out of people, there IS a difference between the "independent thinking/desenting opinions" and just trying to be a nuisance.

[SouthsideSooner]

right back at you. I'm all for freedom of speech, but Larry is just looking to get a rise out of people, there IS a difference between the "independent thinking/desenting opinions" and just trying to be a nuisance.

Wow...and just who appointed you judge and jury as to whether or not Larry's thoughts and opinions are sincere and genuine or not?

[metro]

No one, who appointed he and you judge over my comments? it goes both ways, and if you read Larry's posts in other threads, he seems to piss a lot of people off and keep going at it just to get a rise out of them.

[SouthsideSooner]

No one, who appointed he and you judge over my comments? it goes both ways, and if you read Larry's posts in other threads, he seems to piss a lot of people off and keep going at it just to get a rise out of them.

Although Larry is new to this board, I've read his comments for years on the Newsok comment boards and he has always been very consistent in his opinions.

I may not agree with most of what he believes or opines but he always presents links and other sources to back up his opinions and they are generally well thought out even if I disagree with his conclusions.

I believe he is very sincere in his opinions and he has every right to express them.

[BDP]

Just found this in USA Today:

Levy Restaurants to operate Ford Center dining areas - USATODAY.com

Anyone know if this is for this year... as in, next week? Also, is it just the bar and restaurants in the terrace area or is it the entire club level? Article sounds like it's the whole club level, but I'm not sure...

[Matt]

Although Larry is new to this board, I've read his comments for years on the Newsok comment boards and he has always been very consistent in his opinions.

I may not agree with most of what he believes or opines but he always presents links and other sources to back up his opinions and they are generally well thought out even if I disagree with his conclusions.

I believe he is very sincere in his opinions and he has every right to express them.

No, he doesn't. To quote "metro" from another recent thread (which I happen to agree with wholeheartedly):

If you think OKC has problems, visit somewhere else or move to a small town so you don't have to deal with it.

Welcome to Oklahoma City, where negative opinions are not to be expressed at any time, by anyone.

Thank you for your cooperation and enjoy your stay.

The Thought Police

[onthestrip]

Thank god for the new food operator. The food that has previously been offered there has been awful.

[Doug Loudenback]

right back at you. I'm all for freedom of speech, but Larry is just looking to get a rise out of people, there IS a difference between the "independent thinking/desenting opinions" and just trying to be a nuisance.

Un, Metro, not that you ever mean to be, but, sometimes, don't you get the idea that members here sometime think that about YOU? Who's to judge? You. Me? Neither.

On edit ... uh,, oh. I see that Southside Sooner beat me to. Not a problem, take a double whammy!

[Urbanized]

I agree with you guys, Larry's been on NewsOK and Steve's blog for a long time with the same opinions. I disagree with most of them (he's especially rough on the canal), but at least he's consistent.

[ssandedoc]

I went to the Kings of Leon concert this past Saturday. I could not tell much had changed. The scoreboard was raised. The lighting around the ring looked brighter, but not much else.

[Doug Loudenback]

in answer to the various posts about how many seat are being removed for the renovations. The number keeps changing. First it was "about 300", then 500, 600, 900 and the latest article has said "nearly 1,000" (actual net reduction of 960). Know it doesn't sound like a lot, but last season, the Ford was #14 in NBA seating capacity, after the improvements, it drops all the way down to #28. Others have posted (haven't verified) that those arenas that are still lower than the Ford are opening larger arenas in the near future. The same article pointed out, that even if every game is a sell out, the avg attendance for the Thunder will never be any higher than it was last season (because of the decreased seating capacity). Can only claim a higher percentage of seats sold (as some Seattle people did with numbers on Key Arena, the smallest NBA arena).

Larry, I'm sure that the number of seats wouldn't have been reduced but for economic analysis, i.e., even with a reduced number of seats more profit, at least potential for profits, will occur. Sure, I miss the top 5 originally-announced floors of the Devon Tower ... I like ego boosts for my city as much as anyone. Reality is that the 5 floors really don't matter, and I'm sure the Ford Center improvements, particularly after next year, they will be just fine.

On another matter, supplementing the earlier renderings of the south side next year, the one below is included in the Season Ticket Members booklet which I think is some different (though I didn't study the others and maybe my off the top of head comment is wrong). I don't know how accurate any of them are, of course.

[nighttrain12]

I went to the Kings of Leon concert this past Saturday. I could not tell much had changed. The scoreboard was raised. The lighting around the ring looked brighter, but not much else.

They probably didn't use the scoreboard at all during the concert and the lighting around the arena was probably different than it will be for the Thunder games. Opening night for the Thunder will be the true test.

[Patrick]

A lot of the improvements too have been more behind the scenes, like the press box, locker rooms, etc. But, the main floors should have flooring on them now instead of exposed concrete and the club level was completely renovated.

[HOT ROD]

Guys, I don't think the Ford Center was built to big to sell out or anything. It was our first year with a permanent team, this ONE YEAR after OKC's adopted team in the Hornets had left but been in OKC for two years. That's how I see it, the Thunder was new and even though it was ours - there are still a LOT of OKC that really are Hornets fans or want the Hornets.

In fact, I wish there was some way where OKC could just get the Hornets and trade away the current franchise. But I digress.

I dont think they are reducing Ford Center's size because they couldn't put butts in the seats. I think the exact is opposite, they are reducing the available seats to ATTRACT more butts. Overall, sure capacity will be lower than 20,000 (or 19,150 or whatever the Hornets was), but I think they will make more money because there IS demand for high end seating.

In fact, this just disproves all of the nay-sayers who had been doubting whether OKC could support a team long term. The fact that seats are being removed in favor of better seating and more luxury - shows that OKC can not only support the team long term but also the owners see pent-up demand for high end amenities that before now no person imagined existed in OKC. I myself thought the original 48 suites might be too much for OKC, now - we're going to have even more than that. ....

Go figure.

[HOT ROD]

I love that they've gone with the 'at&t' version of the main entrance, but didn't it also have a large video board? I hope that will be included (or added later), as it would truly put OKC into the top 5 arenas in the NBA for quality and amenities. .....

and to think all of this ONLY costs $100M (total of $189M). wow.

and debt free. even more wow!!!!

[HOT ROD]

I'd definitely take the quality over the quantity. The fact that the team is onboard with this is great for the city as well. The Ford Center was built and will continue to serve as a stepping stone. It's the arena the city built to attract the jewel....the castle will come next go around. I liken it to buying your first car. You buy the cheaper model, then you spend the next few years adding things like nicer wheels, a spiffy paint job, stereo, etc.

One thing OKC has that most of the league's cities don't is a debt free building. Many places like Seattle build in a really stupid fashion. They don't raise the funds first and build later...they do it in a opposite manner. MAPS type programs have allowed us to make these improvements without being in debt because of them. Seattle is STILL paying off the debt from the last remodel of Key. And that remodel didn't last through the usability of the arena. While they are still paying, we'll be looking at the FC's replacement (to be built bigger and better on the Cox lot).

The scoreboard is AWESOME! The fact that it's all digital opens up so many more possibilties for what can be put on it. And the wedge isn't something most people would think about, but it will make a big difference for those that pay the highest prices for tickets. Sometimes they even have a hard time seeing a score...how funny is that? Problem solved.

Bomber, I agree. and I can add that we (Seattle) are in fact still paying for the long demolished KingDome! (haha).

Yep, big bad rich supposedly better Seattle has so much debt despite being a larger metro and market than OKC. Now, who is doing this big city thing better?

To me, the ONLY thing Seattle did well to differentiate itself as a big city was the Space Needle observation tower and restaurant. To my knowledge, it is self sustaining and had truly made Seattle become a well known city in the ranks of much larger cities.

Nothing else matches the space needle for image and sustainability in Seattle. Even the Pike Place market, needs funding from the city and really is just a tourist attraction now (in fact, we had a vote recently of whether to discontinue the public market or not).

OKC doesn't yet have a well known icon yet but all of OKC's infrastructure is paid off, and now OKC is focusing on luxury and quality (not just quantity).

Soon, we'll have the Skydance bridge, the ferris wheel, and maybe an observation tower somewhere in Central Park of our own; that could define Oklahoma City. But I know it will be done/financed right, if OKC has anything to do with it.

[Larry OKC]

Not to mention the addition of opera boxes, loge suites, bunker suites and other amenities it didn't have before. Sure, they give up a few seats for these luxury seats, but these luxury seats probably generate more money than more of just plain seats. Don't forget there are standing only rooms in the building (at least 2 I know of) so they do have the ability to flex the capacity if need be. Larry, you're just a Debbie Downer always looking for something wrong to gripe about. You're not going to find much agreement on this website, so move on over to Tulsa Now.

Hmmm, was there anything factually incorrect in the post? Where did I complain about anything in that post? The numbers are the numbers (good or bad, you decide).