Overheard on the Web...

[jbrown84]

Some stuff I get when searching Oklahoma on forums and Google:


a response regarding the Tallahassee area:

Are there cities that the region should emulate in order to improve the local quality of life? Why those cities?
Austin, Texas, Sacramento, Ca., Little Rock, Ark, Oklahoma City, OK. These are very successful Capital Cities who have leveraged there natural assets to create vibrant growing communities that truly represent their states.

regarding Shreveport getting Cantina Laredo:

Just look at the cities they are in. They are in Scottsdale AZ, Plantation and Ft Meyers FL, Branson MO, Oklahoma City OK, then of course Austin, Dallas and Houston TX. I think adding Shreveport to that list is pretty cool.

discussing "the South's next rising stars":

In my opinion, the 2nd tier of Southern cities consists of Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Richmond, Tampa, and San Antonio. Raleigh and Tulsa are on the verge of being included in this group.

on whether OKC is a southern city:

Oklahoma City is much more a Southwestern city, like Dallas, San Antonio or Denver. It has the same scrape and build new, bigger is better ethos and a can do no matter what spirit. It's a massively sprawling city sparkling new 'burbs, a huge rotting center of older areas and a nice new downtown party district. There are few trees but lots of wide open spaces.

guess who said that last one...

[Karried]

a huge rotting center of older areas

Mr Monday?

[jbrown84]

No, but you're not far off.

[Karried]

Not Tramel??

[jbrown84]

No. Someone from Tulsa...

[TStheThird]

My good friend Swake!

[jbrown84]

ding ding ding

[Spartan]

Ahh Swake. Me and Swake go far back. In fact, he hates me on a total of 5 websites. OKC Talk, two other Oklahoma-related websites, SSC, Urban Planet. Beat that, if you can. All of them except Tulsa Now, I was at first. Funny, huh? Anyway...

Some stuff I get when searching Oklahoma on forums and Google:


a response regarding the Tallahassee area:




regarding Shreveport getting Cantina Laredo:




discussing "the South's next rising stars":




on whether OKC is a southern city:



guess who said that last one...

That last completely misrepresents OKC, in fact, even puts OKC down. No doubt that OKC is a southern city, and one of the South's next rising stars. The real question is how far ahead of those other rising stars that we are.

The first two is a result of great PR I can see.

[bombermwc]

So what does he think that larger cities don't have dead areas? Um, should we look to Dallas for dead areas? Or maybe Houston, or Denver, or any other place. I think our "dead" areas are much more alive than anywhere else since pretty much every one of the older areas are attempting to revive themselves from the inside out. If you don't think so, then look at Councilwoman Johnson's attempt to being a revival on 23rd east of 35. Or what about the revitalization that's been going on in Capital Hill for years?

[jbrown84]

That's what I was just thinking last night. I don't know any area of the city that is "rotting". Even the worst areas are getting better.

[Pete]

Oklahoma City is increasingly viewed as a model by other towns wanting to have some of the same sort of success.

Most negative comments now come from jealousy... About 15 years ago they would have come from many residents.

Every time I visit I am knocked over by how much the citizens are excited about what is going on and there is a definite optimism. That's possibly the most valuable asset of all.

[jbrown84]

I think what's exciting about the first comment is that it's not coming from a city planner or a mayor. It's just some regular dude.

[mranderson]

Oklahoma City is increasingly viewed as a model by other towns wanting to have some of the same sort of success.

Most negative comments now come from jealousy... About 15 years ago they would have come from many residents.

Every time I visit I am knocked over by how much the citizens are excited about what is going on and there is a definite optimism. That's possibly the most valuable asset of all.

Here is something indirectly related because of the first paragraph of Malibu's quote.

Last night, Keith and I completed our certification for the Oklahoma City fire department safety trailer. One of the firefighters said the new trailer, which was recently placed into service, was custom designed by our fire department. After seeing the design, the manufaturer called and asked if they could use some design aspects partly because another city around our size liked what they saw. They apparantly want to pattern future trailers after ours. (A side note. He did not name the city)

A good example of how Oklahoma City is becoming a model for other cities.

[jbrown84]

from a newsok article:

Rena and Dick Hall, of Ames, Iowa, said she didn't know what to expect on what is her first visit. The pair wandered into Bricktown from their downtown hotel, and liked the proximity between the various venues.

"I enjoy areas like this,” Rena Hall said. "I like the preservation that's been done here.”

Kevin Drury, enjoying drinks on the canal patio outside Al Eschbach's with fellow Iowa State alums, said Oklahoma City outshines Kansas City with the variety of restaurants, hotels and clubs within walking distance of its arenas.

The group also gave high marks for ease of traffic and ability to get around downtown without using a car.

[jbrown84]

from the Wichita Eagle:

Big 12 makes OKC debut
Men's tournament begins today in its third city in 11 years.
BY JEFFREY MARTIN
The Wichita Eagle


Roy Williams insists he's kidding.

He's the CEO and president of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, one of the organizations that helped land this week's Big 12 men's and women's basketball tournaments. The task ahead of Williams is making sure the events run smoothly and memorably, enough so that the Big 12 considers returning in future years.

So when Williams -- not to be confused, he says, with the Dallas Cowboys safety, the Detroit Lions wide receiver and the former Kansas coach -- is asked Wednesday how everything has gone thus far, he highlights the weather.

Mid-70s, blue skies with no end in sight.

"When it's 70 degrees and sunny, we take full credit," he says.

Jokes aside, Oklahoma City just might be the perfect site for the Big 12 Tournament, and Williams knows it -- hence his good mood. And that might sadden or relieve the men and women in similar positions in Dallas and Kansas City, which are the only two cities where the tournament has been held in the 10 previous years.

Oklahoma City, of course, is banking on changes occurring.

Thanks to a revamped downtown district and the Ford Center, Oklahoma City didn't have to do anything unusual. According to Big 12 associate commissioner Tim Allen, the usual bid process was adhered to, and the only reason why Oklahoma City -- which Williams points out is more or less geographically in the middle of all 12 conference schools -- hadn't hosted the championship before was because the Ford Center, which opened June 8, 2002 at a cost of $89 million and is currently the temporary home for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets, didn't exist.

And Wichitans, don't get your hopes up. Allen says the Big 12 doesn't have a steadfast minimum figure for stadium capacity, but generally anything accommodating more than 18,000; the new downtown arena in Wichita should hold 15,000.

In 2008, it's back to Kansas City and the new Sprint Center.

No decision has been made on 2009.

"Right now, we're working on a short clock," Allen acknowledged.

Normally, there is a three-year window on these matters. Allen says the process will pick up over the next month. The conference will send notification to cities that might have interest, and it will proceed from there. Something should be resolved by the summer.

It will be hard to ignore Oklahoma City, which will host the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Ford Center in 2010. Already, there were 3,000 more fans than the Big 12 has ever had at the opening game of the women's tournament at the Cox Convention Center on Tuesday, a clear signal the city is embracing the event.

And this is only the beginning in Oklahoma City. Already a home for sports with a somewhat limited appeal -- softball, gymnastics, rowing and more -- the area has undergone a renaissance of sorts.

The number of hotels has doubled.

There is a trolley system, but most destinations can be walked.

There is a vibrant nightlife scene.

"Anyone who hasn't been here in the last 10 years doesn't have a clue," Williams said.

Maybe he's exaggerating, but he's on a roll.

He continues, revealing the city is in the market for a larger convention center.

The Cox Convention Center can't be renovated because it's landlocked. So if another NBA franchise was to relocate to Oklahoma City, such as the Seattle SuperSonics (whose owners live in Oklahoma City), the city might build a new facility/convention center to house the new team.

The Ford Center, not quite five years old, would be upgraded.

That, Williams says, is the power of sports.

"The public is extremely excited," he said.

And it makes his job easier, no question.

No wonder he's so giddy.