Criterion Concert Hall

[Pete]

I like it. I think it's the name "Criterion" that is turning people off to it. Criterion was an architectural treasure and this bares little resemblance to it. In itself though this looks like a great addition to Bricktown.

Criterion is a very common name for theaters; virtually every city had/has one.

I'm sure 99% of the people in OKC will not correlate this project with the old downtown movie theater.


And frankly, it's a great name -- I can see why they chose it.

[catch22]

I'm confused. Isn't bricktown basically a bunch of tall brick walls? I mean, you wouldn't expect them to put windows on it right? I guess they could because the concert hall doesn't have an outside wall, but still...

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just wondering what steps could be taken to make it better. Personally, I'd love some kick ass modern design, but I don't hate this and we already know what happens when our theaters get a little too innovative in design.

I love the a brick. It's just a really tall brick building with nothing to break it up. Even some faux industrial looking windows would be a huge improvement.

[Bullbear]

Criterion is a very common name for theaters; virtually every city had/has one.

I'm sure 99% of the people in OKC will not correlate this project with the old downtown movie theater.


And frankly, it's a great name -- I can see why they chose it.

Considering the definition I guess all this judgement goes right in line with the name

[soonerguru]

Thanks for talking me down. Hopefully we will have great promoters to attract a ton of decent acts. It sure beats Diamond Ballroom.

Great points, Pete.

[Plutonic Panda]

Is there still a chance another Criterion Theater could be built to honor the old one?

I love it! I love the name, I love the building, this will really add some excitement to Bricktown!!!

[bchris02]

I would like to see electronic screens or at least artwork painted onto this building. It might be a little plain jane but that can easily be fixed with minimal effort.

I hope this venue is promoted well and that it can help steal some of the big name shows from Tulsa.

[Plutonic Panda]

I would like to see electronic screens or at least artwork painted onto this building. It might be a little plain jane but that can easily be fixed with minimal effort.

I hope this venue is promoted well and that it can help steal some of the big name shows from Tulsa.

+1

[BDP]

I would like to see electronic screens or at least artwork painted onto this building. It might be a little plain jane but that can easily be fixed with minimal effort.

I hope this venue is promoted well and that it can help steal some of the big name shows from Tulsa.

I'm not sure it needs to steal anything. There are plenty of acts and plenty of dates to go around. Tulsa gets some good acts, but it's far from an "every tour" type market. It doesn't even come close to getting half the acts each year that are on the theater / ballroom circuit. You could probably book twice as many shows at this than the Brady does without stealing a single bill from Tulsa.

The problems in OKC are that it does not have a venue for the theater circuit and the only promoter really booking the theater circuit in OKC is more interested in Tulsa.

[bchris02]

I'm not sure it needs to steal anything. There are plenty of acts and plenty of dates to go around. Tulsa gets some good acts, but it's far from an "every tour" type market. It doesn't even come close to getting half the acts each year that are on the theater / ballroom circuit. You could probably book twice as many shows at this than the Brady does without stealing a single bill from Tulsa.

The problems in OKC are that it does not have a venue for the theater circuit and the only promoter really booking the theater circuit in OKC is more interested in Tulsa.

Maybe steal was the wrong word. Lets say I hope shows that today would only play in Tulsa will now also play in OKC. Likewise hopefully this can get some shows that previously wouldn't have played in Oklahoma period.

[BDP]

Maybe steal was the wrong word. Lets say I hope shows that today would only play in Tulsa will now also play in OKC. Likewise hopefully this can get some shows that previously wouldn't have played in Oklahoma period.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure, if done right, the end result will just be a net gain in live music in Oklahoma.

What will be interesting to watch is if the Wormy Dog group intends to be the sole promoters of shows at this theater, or if it will be made available for other promoters and, if so, what kind of mix there'll be.

[Plutonic Panda]

A TV screen or large mural on the outside of this building would be really cool one day. Seeing as there are going to be apartments straight across from this, a TV screen might be a no go...

[Pete]

This will be a multi-million dollar project so the developers must have a clear plan on how they plan to generate some serious revenue.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the Wormy Dog guys have other partners in this.

[BDP]

This will be a multi-million dollar project so the developers must have a clear plan on how they plan to generate some serious revenue.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the Wormy Dog guys have other partners in this.

Yeah, and they have been putting this together for awhile now.

[Eddie1]

How will the fact that it is so close to Bricktown Events Center play into its purpose, is there some overlap or do the two venues attract different acts?

[BDP]

How will the fact that it is so close to Bricktown Events Center play into its purpose, is there some overlap or do the two venues attract different acts?

This is about twice the capacity of BEC, so they're not really directly competing. Their proximity to each other will probably help more than hurt.

[bchris02]

A TV screen or large mural on the outside of this building would be really cool one day. Seeing as there are going to be apartments straight across from this, a TV screen might be a no go...

Completely agree. A mural would be awesome.

[Urbanized]

The Brady and Cain's are within walking distance of each other. Doesn't seem to be a problem for them.

[warreng88]

The Vanguard in Tulsa is getting a lot of smaller acts and I would say it is comparable in size to the BT Music Hall. The Chevy will be a hybrid Cain's-Brady (bigger than Cain's, not as big as Brady but the configuration is more Brady) and the Criterion is more like the Brady Theatre according to Pete. With the ACM performance venue just down the street from this, I think we could have quite a nice live music scene to build on. Then you also have to consider The Peake, Cox Convention Center (for now), Micheal Murphy's (different, but music centric) and JJ's Alley.

[HOT ROD]

I wonder if this is the 'jealous' thing that Steve has been hinting about? It is in Bricktown after all.

[warreng88]

I wonder if this is the 'jealous' thing that Steve has been hinting about? It is in Bricktown after all.

I don't know if a venue like this would make KC or Dallas jealous since Dallas has The Granada and House of Blues which are about the same size.

[Bullbear]

I don't know if a venue like this would make KC or Dallas jealous since Dallas has The Granada and House of Blues which are about the same size.

Love the Granada and HOB. I see far more shows at those two venues alone than anywhere in OKC. also the Moody theater in Austin i get to a lot as well. that is a FIRST RATE set up there!

[UnFrSaKn]

Will this building still be around in 50 years or just be another run down looking "ugly" building that will be torn down to build something else? That's kinda what I'm getting at. Nothing is really built to last a long time anymore.

[bchris02]

Will this building still be around in 50 years or just be another run down looking "ugly" building that will be torn down to build something else? That's kinda what I'm getting at. Nothing is really built to last a long time anymore.

What in particular makes you think this will be low-quality construction? It isn't ornate, but it fits in well with the existing building stock in Bricktown.

[BDP]

Will this building still be around in 50 years or just be another run down looking "ugly" building that will be torn down to build something else? That's kinda what I'm getting at. Nothing is really built to last a long time anymore.

I think it's pretty safe to say the design and aesthetics hasn't really been a consideration on whether something gets torn down or not. We've lost more ornate theaters than ugly ones.

Now, if the community does not support its function and it actually gets run down, then all bets are off.

[Decious]

Awesome! I'm looking forward to this opening. Gonna be a hit!

Also... when it comes to larger national tours in regard to Tulsa and OKC... you have to remember that when the Ford Center opened it had the same "smashing" success in regards to ratings and acts and gate. When Tulsa leaders were deciding on a management company for their arena, they specifically stated that a big reason for choosing SMG was that they didn't want to compete with OKC for shows. We have a LOT of dates taken up by the Thunder and SMG is trying to make both venues successful. They're aren't necessarily trying to improve the cultural scene in OKC.

I do love Cain's Ballroom though. Hopefully this project will eventually have the same type of name recognition that Cain's has developed over time.