Convention Center

[Just the facts]

How come I don't see a huge convention center?

[Bellaboo]

How come I don't see a huge convention center?

The news tonight said they would have levels underground.

[Pete]

My understanding is that Larry Nichols is still driving hard to get the CC done and I believe he wants it on the site that has been chosen by the consultants.

I wonder if he is planning to have Devon help with some of the acquisition or even construction costs. I know this is a passion of his and he has all types of resources available to make it happen.

[UnFrSaKn]

MAPS 3 convention center hotel draws debate | KFOR.com

[OKCisOK4me]

This is a 1 2 punch that's suppose to be all built at the same time. That's how it was proposed in MAPS 3 (not that anything in MAPS 3 has gone according to how it was delivered to the public before vote). If those are the only three options for the hotel location then it's gonna have to be north of the CC or along the boulevard, which is what I would go for. They also need to keep the Harvey Spine intact and not let it dead end into CC/hotel. Find a way to integrate it into the center, like how they have the covered street in Vegas or have it like a very tame version of City Creek Center in Salt Lake City. See image below:

http://www.djc.com/stories/images/20...inside_big.jpg

[soonerguru]

Here is the one rendering from that article, although they said there were three concepts:

Perhaps Steve can explain why NewsOK posts like three pics at the most, regardless of the news story. There were lonly like three pics of the Pride Parade. Why? Is bandwidth limited? News organizations are struggling to survive yet the Oklahoman acts as if there's a photo ration for every story.

Wonder why people are using "new media" to get information?

What are they teaching now in journalism schools? Should the gatekeepers limit the public's access to visuals?

Seriously, there should be image galleries with multiple images per story. My iPhone takes better quality pics than many newspapers publish. The goal is to draw people to your site and keep them on there. Give them more photos and they'll spend more time on the site.

As an aside, they should make it easy for site visitors to upload their own images as well.

[adaniel]

^
In their defense, they were having extreme difficulty in obtaining more detailed pics from the architecture firm that did these renderings.

From Steve: https://twitter.com/stevelackmeyer/s...55559363403776

[UnFrSaKn]

So those are actually stealth screenshots...

[Steve]

Perhaps Steve can explain why NewsOK posts like three pics at the most, regardless of the news story. There were lonly like three pics of the Pride Parade. Why? Is bandwidth limited? News organizations are struggling to survive yet the Oklahoman acts as if there's a photo ration for every story.

Wonder why people are using "new media" to get information?

What are they teaching now in journalism schools? Should the gatekeepers limit the public's access to visuals?

Seriously, there should be image galleries with multiple images per story. My iPhone takes better quality pics than many newspapers publish. The goal is to draw people to your site and keep them on there. Give them more photos and they'll spend more time on the site.

As an aside, they should make it easy for site visitors to upload their own images as well.

I worked 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. today, had to scramble to get the images I got (worked hard to get them without DRAFT being stamped all over), and quite frankly, this kind of crap gets really old. I often include large photo and rendering galleries whenever I can. And I see the renderings and photos I work hard to get copied and pasted all the time on this site, I see my work referred to constantly, yet this is the same refrain over and over...


This gets old. REALLY OLD

[Tier2City]

Convention center design awaits decision on conference hotel site | News OK

[Just the facts]

Good article Steve. Clearly the City is all over the map on this and the City Council needs to start making some real decisions because they are planning to put a convention center on a site they don't even own yet and requires the construction of a hotel that 1) They don't have funding for, and 2) Needs a site purchased so they can figure out how much it is going to cost. BTW - I love the "hotel will block the view from downtown" comment. Translation - it will block the view from (probably more likely 'of') Devon Tower. No word if Devon compensated Oklahoma Tower for blocking its view. Finally, I have been saying it for a couple of year now and it has been confirmed - the Cox will go just as soon as the new convention center opens.

[lasomeday]

No word if Devon compensated Oklahoma Tower for blocking its view. Finally, I have been saying it for a couple of year now and it has been confirmed - the Cox will go just as soon as the new convention center opens.

That is funny you mentioned that.... I used to work in the Oklahoma Tower and my boss tried to negotiate a cheaper lease because of the Devon Tower blocking the view from his office.

I also don't see them taking into consideration the shallow water table. Architects don't think of the natural environment most times when building. This low water table will add to the cost enough to be a deal braker!

[Bellaboo]

Perhaps Steve can explain why NewsOK posts like three pics at the most, regardless of the news story. There were lonly like three pics of the Pride Parade. Why? Is bandwidth limited? News organizations are struggling to survive yet the Oklahoman acts as if there's a photo ration for every story.

Wonder why people are using "new media" to get information?

What are they teaching now in journalism schools? Should the gatekeepers limit the public's access to visuals?

Seriously, there should be image galleries with multiple images per story. My iPhone takes better quality pics than many newspapers publish. The goal is to draw people to your site and keep them on there. Give them more photos and they'll spend more time on the site.

As an aside, they should make it easy for site visitors to upload their own images as well.

What does this have to do with the convention center and hotel ?

I'm not so sure Steve needs to explain anything here.

[betts]

I still don't understand why that site is SO important that they are willing to go to the expense of putting exhibit halls and loading docks underground. Where does the idea that we can build a Taj Mahal for $250 million come from? Because if the exterior is not stunning, we're going to have a bland or ugly convention center that the locals could care less about sitting between two of our biggest showpieces: the Myriad Gardens and Central Park. I continue to be gobsmacked by this concept, and not in a good way.

Put it in East Bricktown and have the loading docks face the Staybridge Suites

[G.Walker]

I think the best option would be for the hotel to be located on the Cox site. Having a 25-30 story upscale hotel in the heart of downtown will spur private development in that area. Moreover, it would give Populous more options for designing the convention center as they would have more room. Putting the hotel anywere else by boulevard or Myriad Gardens won't spur private development as there is no room for anything significant. South of the boulevard will be mostly taken up by the new park, and most of the north side is taken up by Myriad Gardens and potentionally a new tower in the Stage Center area.

City leaders already messed up by locating the Covention Center where it did, let's see if they can at least do this right.

[Anonymous.]

I still like the idea of putting the CC on the lumberyard and the hotel in the parking lot on the east side of E.K. Gaylord and West of U Haul building.


But it is pretty obvious they want it here, badly.

[Pete]

Here are the three options presented by Populous; image credit to the Oklahoman.

It looks like in all of them, the main exhibit hall(s) will be underground and extend under what is now Harvey, all the way to Hudson. At ground level between Harvey and Hudson there would be some sort of park / open space that attempts to bridge the Myriad Gardens and Central Park. Pink shown below would be possible future expansion.





#1 Convention Hotel on the Cox site:






#2 Hotel on the north end of the proposed CC site:








#3 Hotel on the south end of the proposed CC site:

[metro]

Of course city leaders pick the worst option, Murphy's Law. I really like Option #1.

[warreng88]

So, would they completely tear down the CCC to build the hotel on that site or just part of it and leave some of it as functioning space? I would love to see the hotel on the NE corner of the site with the smaller convention space to the west and the larger "contiguous" space on the southern part of the site. I don't like the hotel taking up full frontage facing the gardens or the new boulevard.

[Just the facts]

If the CC doesn't need the whole Ford site then that unused space should be used for private development - not more park land.

[Pete]

I like #1 as well and very glad to see it being considered.

It would create life on the eastern edge of the Myriad Gardens and bridge the CBD to points south.

However, if we are going to the expense of building on that site I think it's time to raze the entire Cox Center, return most of the street grid, and put out an RFP for private development. Proceeds could help with the hotel subsidy and a large parking structure could be incorporated as well.

[BoulderSooner]

Good article Steve. Clearly the City is all over the map on this and the City Council needs to start making some real decisions because they are planning to put a convention center on a site they don't even own yet and requires the construction of a hotel that 1) They don't have funding for, and 2) Needs a site purchased so they can figure out how much it is going to cost. BTW - I love the "hotel will block the view from downtown" comment. Translation - it will block the view from (probably more likely 'of') Devon Tower. No word if Devon compensated Oklahoma Tower for blocking its view. Finally, I have been saying it for a couple of year now and it has been confirmed - the Cox will go just as soon as the new convention center opens.

not close to "confirmed"

[Just the facts]

Of course city leaders pick the worst option, Murphy's Law. I really like Option #1.

I like option 1 best also - minus the addition of parkland.

[Just the facts]

not close to "confirmed"

Say what you want but we all know the ultimate outcome.

Convention center design awaits decision on conference hotel site | News OK

“The (Cox) arena is the one asset in that facility that may have a longer life span,” said Michael Carrier, president of the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau. “But once the new convention center is open, the majority of that old facility is obsolete.”

Heck, one plan (option 1) has them tearing down the meeting space at Cox before the new convention center is even open. Even the argument for keep the arena itself is on shaky ground because they are using old assumptions from the Big XII that no longer apply.

[HangryHippo]

What does this have to do with the convention center and hotel ?

I'm not so sure Steve needs to explain anything here.

Actually, I've often wondered the same thing. Steve is pretty great about including photos, but others are not and it's annoying. When the Dallas Morning News redid their site, additional photos of everything were a large part of their revamp process and readers love it. Of course, the NewsOK site really needs some tweaking, but this is all for another thread.