Long ago prediction
'Music man' impressed how prophecy came true
By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman
Rick Horrow was the “music man” who told Oklahoma City residents 13 years ago that if they invested in their city with MAPS, development would follow.
He even dared to suggest to a doubting public that Oklahoma City would attain major-league status. Tuesday night the city did, with the Hornets’ NBA season opener at The Ford Center.
Horrow - a Florida attorney, frequent lecturer at Harvard Law School and broadcast sports commentator - returned to the city and became one of more than 19,000 people attending the game between the Hornets and Sacramento Kings.
Horrow’s first impression? Stunned. Amazed by the development that exceeded his own expectations.
Touring downtown before the game, he saw new hotels, housing, restaurants and shops. What a perfect message to send out to the rest of the world, he concluded. Horrow alone has spent the last week trumpeting Oklahoma City’s entry into the major leagues on Fox News, Fox Sports Radio and CNN.
“It’s an international story,” Horrow said. “A lot of people don’t believe it. They can’t believe it happened. Everybody I talk to around the world - and I just talked to Mexico City leaders two weeks ago - I say, ‘If you don’t believe it can happen, come to Oklahoma City.’”
Downtown promoters were exuberant over their good fortune Tuesday: An expected sell-out at Ford Center just happened to coincide with clear skies, mild temperatures and just a slight breeze.
Frank Sims, director of the Bricktown Association, was among those confident that Oklahoma City will find its image will change as the result of Tuesday’s festivities.
“We have an opportunity to be in the spotlight, and it’s certainly a chamber of commerce day in Oklahoma City,” Sims said.
Chad Huntington, operator of the Bricktown Water Taxis, wasn’t expecting a big boost to his business. But he expanded the hours of operation an extra two hours anyway to close at 11 p.m.
Huntington noted reports that all three downtown hotels were full for game night - and thinks it’s important that visitors see everything that Bricktown has to offer.
“It’s a marketing opportunity,” Huntington said. “We’ll be getting extra exposure. (People) will be visiting Bricktown who hadn’t before or hadn’t for a long time. We’ll be making an impression on a whole new set of consumers.”
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