Bricktown Events Center

[Pete]

Outside of being needlessly pessimistic, why would the lack of events in a venue run by a local company have any bearing on the future success of 2 venues run by one of the largest entertainment companies in the world?

Live Nation is going to kick tail when they hit town and if anything, the lack of competition from this facility will only help them.

[bchris02]

Outside of being needlessly pessimistic, why would the lack of events in a venue run by a local company have any bearing on the future success of 2 venues run by one of the largest entertainment companies in the world?

It shouldn't. If the Tower and Criterion are successful, it will basically prove that the promoter is everything and the venue itself is secondary. When the Bricktown Events Center renovation was first announced, people applauded the quality of work being done and speculated that it would be a huge success in terms of bringing better shows to OKC. So far, that has surprisingly not panned out. If it really is all about the promoter, then it does make sense.

[BDP]

The Ben Folds Show is reserved seating as well, which I haven't seen from this venue. Will be interesting to see the set up.

[Pete]

Huge new mural coming to the backside of this facility.

Ironically, the biggest benefactor will be the Criterion.

[Pete]

Huge new mural coming to the backside of this facility.

Ironically, the biggest beneficiary will be the Criterion.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^
Don't be so sure that the Criterion is the biggest beneficiary.

[LocoAko]

I love it. The more murals and public art, the better.

[Pete]

Elvis Costello booked for October 10th.

[Pete]

Their website is just a holding page and they seem to have deleted their Facebook page.

We have two big, relatively new venues back to back in east Bricktown and between the two of them they average about 2 bookings per month.

What on earth is going on here?

[sooner88]

Their website is just a holding page and they seem to have deleted their Facebook page.

We have two big, relatively new venues back to back in east Bricktown and between the two of them they average about 2 bookings per month.

What on earth is going on here?

They both had big events this weekend (Boots and Ballgowns for Infant Crisis Center at the Criterion and Taste of OKC at Bricktown Event Center). Do they make more money doing this vs. concerts or is it just easier?

[Pete]

Even with private events, between the two I count only about 2 bookings per MONTH.

That's absurd.

[PhiAlpha]

Even with private events, between the two I count only about 2 bookings per MONTH.

That's absurd.

Yeah the lack of action at both has been really surprising. I realize they both book smaller shows but The Tower and the Jones are whooping the Bricktown venues right now.

[Jersey Boss]

Diamond Ballroom consistenly out performs Bricktown as well.

[soonerguru]

Yeah the lack of action at both has been really surprising. I realize they both book smaller shows but The Tower and the Jones are whooping the Bricktown venues right now.

Clearly Levelland Productions is not the quality of promoter needed to even marginally provide use for the venue. It perturbs me they took TIF money and are doing such a poor job overall -- with a few exceptions.

Also, I thought Live Nation was going to keep the Criterion full? Clearly not.

I abhor going to Diamond Ballroom completely.

The music scene in this city is extremely disappointed. This is a wildly, ridiculously underserved market.

As for Bricktown Events Center, it doesn't even rate as a music venue.

[Pete]

New signage in the works:

[bchris02]

This is better than the Chevy but I miss the old Coca-Cola sign. I wish it could be displayed somewhere downtown. It was always very eye-catching.

[d-usa]

Yeah. I'm not a big fan of branded event venues, and I prefer if places are named after the location more than a corporate sponsor.

But Coca-Cola is just such an iconic brand and the classic "Coca-Cola" writing is such a timeless element, it feels more like nostalgia than just being a corporate shill.

[Pete]

Not sure what this means, but doesn't sound good; from their FB page:

Bricktown Events Center
2 hrs · Public
Due to the shutdown by The Mayor caused by the COVID-19 virus we have made the tough decision to close the Bricktown Events Center indefinitely. Thank you to OKC for a great 20 years!

[PhiAlpha]

Not sure what this means, but doesn't sound good; from their FB page:

Maybe this could be a good thing if a better management group gets ahold of it?

[Pete]

The point could be made it's been effectively shut for most of its life anyway.

[jccouger]

What a joke of an excuse. They werent doing anything before covid hit, its just convienent for them to blame somebody else for their failings.

[dankrutka]

What a joke of an excuse. They werent doing anything before covid hit, its just convienent for them to blame somebody else for their failings.

Passive aggressively blaming the mayor is both unprofessional and weak. Aside from the fact they weren't doing much before the pandemic, were they going to unsafely hold a bunch of indoor events over the last couple months? C'mon.