The seem to be very similar in size and layout.
The seem to be very similar in size and layout.
I'm very ignorant when it comes to these venues as I've never really been to one. Looking at the pictures, it looks great and seems to have a decent amount of size, but would seem to suit a prom more than a concert.
Is this a typical size for a concert? About how many people should it be able to fit? Is it on par with comparable city event centers?
I'm excited to see something like this in downtown!
It's very typical these days. Most major markets have at least 2 or 3 venues in the 1200 - 2500 range. Many cities have more. The live performance market is very saturated right now and mid size venues are kind of the sweet spot for "established" touring acts. Even the biggest tours have trouble selling out arenas these days. Other than the Frozen soundtrack, I don't think there's even been an album that has been certified platinum (1 million in sales) this year. Music is very fragmented right now and there's not as much of a mass market as there once was. So, yeah, most touring shows now draw about as much as a large prom.
They have been able to book this venue for concerts and sell it out in the past and it was not a good room. This should help attract more acts and, maybe more importantly, make the shows there much more enjoyable.
With the Criterion being proposed to be almost the same size and layout, do you think there is enough demand for both? I know it will depend on the respective promoters, but due to the close proximity it would seem like the competition might be too much. I hope I'm wrong though.... If they both can bring in good acts I'd go to either one of these any day over an arena show.
I'm not sure what the new capacity is of this venue, but I don't see how it would be the 4k the criterion plans on, so I think they'd still be in different classes in terms of size.
As for demand, it's hard to say. That is can be very cyclical and, of course, depends on who's on tour and what promoters are interested. I would imagine that the BEC will book well for a variety of events. These changes have made it much more versatile and even after adding capacity, it probably made itself a better venue for smaller events, too, because there's more division of space.
Really hard to guess at the Criterion. We haven't had a venue that size and don't know if we'll see more action from promoters because of it.
That girl needs to have a steak or 2,with all the trimmings.
Alt-J announced for April 8, tix on sale to public this Friday:
ProTix: Event Details
By the way, not my cup of tea but I saw Slayer there the other night at the invite of the venue's owner, and I am completely impressed with the upgrades. It is a FAR better venue. Ample bars, ample restrooms, balcony is nice, finishes are great, sound is MUCH improved (and they still have to hang some curtains, etc.). Overall I am very excited about what this adds to the music scene in OKC. Here's hoping we can get more great shows like Alt-J.
Very interesting to consider. I discussed that very topic during the show. It is not really very similar to Brady; Cain's is a much closer comparison. I don't think I am being unkind to the Chevy Event Center in saying it will never have the history and charm of Cain's; only a very few venues in the country have as much. The Chevy is quite obviously a modern building. BUT, that isn't to say that it is sterile, and modern has some advantages. Quite the opposite. Facilities are great, bar availability great, sight lines MUCH improved, sound MUCH improved, lights great. It has a very, very nice vibe. I'll put it this way; it will surely be enough to keep most local people in OKC rather than driving up the turnpike if a show is booked in both towns.
Thanks for the report!
Sounds like a big improvement.
I heard the same thing from a friend who went. When I asked him about it, he said "good place to see a show" and I had never heard that about BEC before. He'd never been to BEC, but has been to many many venues in large markets, so it was a good endorsement and not one made from a "at least it's better than before" perspective. I'm going to check out the Alt-J show, but hopefully there's another chance to go before April.
I had a friend at the show as well who had never been to the venue. she was impressed and had no idea how bad it was before.
I noticed when purchasing my tickets for Alt-j that the tickets were GA and VIP for balcony so it gives them some ticket price options so that is good.
I purchased the VIP option and am looking forward to seeing the remodel and Alt-J
I don't think their really needs to be any stealing. There are so many tours in this segment that don't come to either market every year that I think the BEC could carry the same number of shows and not affect Cain's bookings. Some of the heavy hitters may rotate more between the markets like what happens between the arenas and there may be some behind the scenes wrestling for specific acts, but I don't think there has to be any net negative affect on the Tulsa market volume for the BEC to offer the same. I'm sure a lot of acts won't want to split the two markets back to back, as Cain's and the Brady do depend a lot on the OKC market for sales.
Primus is playing The Chevy on 5/5/2015. It's starting to happen.
From https://twitter.com/OKCMOA:
This space is so much nicer after the renovation.
The two areas in the back with the bright lights and red walls are full-service bars, both on ground and mezzanine levels.
From travisstephens_ on Instagram
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