I just came back from a road trip to PCB, FL, and it got me thinking...what does OKC need to do in order to bring more tourists in?

If I knew very little about OKC, I'd want to visit the OKC National Memorial, but after that, what else can I do in OKC, and how and where can I easily pick up useful (time, place, etc.) information about things to do or recommendations of places to eat in OKC?

For ex., in PCB, whether you eat at a restaurant, visit a museum, or rent a boat, within that place, there are numerous booklets full of advertisements and ideas on what you can do or places to eat in PCB. Does OKC have anything like this or do you know if they will implement anything like this in the near future?

Those racks of booklets are typically found in the more touristy places. Welcome stations etc. Not sure how prevalent they are in OKC though. Seems like I have seen them at Cracker Barrel and such

Pcb?

An medium sized aquarium would be nice.

1st class downtown riverfront casino / hotel resort.

Really pretty simple. That would bring a huge boost to downtown OKC.

Casino in Bricktown area... awesome !!!

A casino anywhere near dt okc would bring in big bucks

Casino in Downtown/Bricktown, not only no, but hell no. We have enough casinos within a Short driving distance.

casino yes....

There are a number of magazines targeted at visitors that are distributed in hotels and elsewhere in the city. You probably don't see them because, well, they're targeted at visitors.

The racks of booklets (actually mostly rack CARDS), are found all over the metro, in pretty much every hotel. Most are filled by a company called Certified Folder (http://www.certifiedfolder.com/). Attractions pay for placement in the racks and specify locations. I believe the current hotel count for certified in the OKC metro is well over 100.

Rack cards are also in all of the welcome centers statewide, run by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation (http://www.travelok.com/). The welcome centers distribute attraction rack cards free of charge to the attractions, if provided.

There are other ways rack cards get to visitors, including through the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau (http://www.okccvb.org/). They have them in their entry, plus at the Cox Center during conferences and conventions. They actually have a mini welcome center at Cox Center, and also have a similar one at the airport. They have a cool little rack card truck that goes all over the city to events like the Women's College World Series, Big 12 hoop and baseball, rowing events, horse shows and the like. The CVB has staff that travel all over the country, attending group and consumer travel shows to promote group and leisure travel to OKC.

Other organizations have rack card distribution. In addition to the ones on the interstates, the state Tourism and Recreation department has a welcome-center-type setup inside the First National center arcade downtown. Like the CVB, they also distribute at travel shows and events, traveling nationally to do so.

Another group that promotes travel and tourism in central Oklahoma is the Frontier Country Marketing Association (http://www.oktourism.com/), tasked with promoting the 12 central counties in Oklahoma. More focused on this area than the state tourism office, but covering a broader area than the CVB; from Norman to Stillwater, and from El Reno to Shawnee.

Also, most if not all of the attractions in Oklahoma City's Adventure District (http://www.okcadventure.com/) have rack card racks and reciprocal agreements with each other and selected other attractions in the metro.

I would encourage you to click on those links and click through to the actual websites of the attractions listed. I think you may be shocked by just how much OKC ALREADY has to offer to visitors. Most people in OKC have no earthly idea how many visitors the metro attracts. It is a massive economic engine for Oklahoma City, thoroughly under-appreciated by locals as such. But that is par for the course; most cities' residents have no real appreciation for the attractions in their own hometowns. It is human nature to overlook them, and disbelieve when told that other people are fascinated with their respective cities.

You have to think like a visitor. For instance, visitors are blown away by a National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/) that has undergone tens of millions in expansion and renovation and houses the finest collection of Western art in the world. Locals, on the other hand, typically dismiss the same museum, remembering visiting a much more modest version as a schoolchild 30 years ago. Visitors are FASCINATED by Route 66, and old west, and Indian stuff. They are blown away by the museums in the metro. From what I have heard, we have more AAM (http://www.aam-us.org/) accredited museums per capita than any city in America.

They usually comment that it is one of the cleanest they've ever seen. They comment that it is incredibly easy to get around in. They are amazed that they barely need a car when they visit, provided they stay downtown (I'm being totally serious here). They love Bricktown and the canal. They're floored by our zoo. The Memorial (http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/). The Chihuly at the Art museum (http://www.okcmoa.com/). The huge, important collection of French Impressionist work the Fred Jones Jr. Art Museum (http://www.ou.edu/fjjma/home.html) in Norman. The world-class Sam Noble Museum (http://www.snomnh.ou.edu/) in Norman. The Oklahoma History Center (http://www.okhistorycenter.org/) and Oklahoma Heritage Museum (http://www.oklahomaheritage.com/) in OKC, both basically brand new.

"Interesting" is all in your perspective. You have to look at it through a different set of eyes to truly appreciate what a great visitor destination OKC ALREADY is. And if you don't, that's OK, because again it is VISITORS that are being targeted here. And they love it. Seriously.

Definitely no on the Casino. I don't want a Riverwind in Bricktown. I don't think we need that kind of tourism downtown. Now if it was like the Wynn in Vegas that would be different, but we all know that will never happen.

I think that an aquarium would be awesome. Maybe a place that had buffalos that would be a good exhibit. The Wichita Mountains may be too far away, but that is a great destination.

Stockyard City is almost a destination. I think people from out of town would like to go there. Especially if they are from the East Coast. The Paseo is great too.

I think OKC needs another 2 major employers with local roots to help Devon and Chesapeake fund philanthropic projects, 10-20 years of maturity and continued improvements on the OK River and the Myriad Gardens, 10-20 more years of redevelopment of the older parts of town, the completion of the central park and significant residential development around it. More people downtown will create more organic development nearby. Some method of discouraging rampant suburban sprawl and focus on growing inward. MAPS2forKIDS to focus on the acedemics of OKC public schools so people will be attracted into town and not as much to the suburbs.

Mug: We were supposed to have gotten vastly improved performance with MAPS 4 Kids, but it hasn't happened yet. Are you suggesting pouring even more money into it?

The only way I see urban sprawl reversing itself is if the City were to deannex (but surrounding communities would probably annex and the sprawl would still be there, just not part of OKC city limits)

Or making the core of the city more like the areas people moved out to. Unfortunately, that would mean more suburbanization of the urban areas and we all know how well that would go over with most on these threads.

I just came back from a road trip to PCB, FL, and it got me thinking...what does OKC need to do in order to bring more tourists in?

If I knew very little about OKC, I'd want to visit the OKC National Memorial, but after that, what else can I do in OKC, and how and where can I easily pick up useful (time, place, etc.) information about things to do or recommendations of places to eat in OKC?

For ex., in PCB, whether you eat at a restaurant, visit a museum, or rent a boat, within that place, there are numerous booklets full of advertisements and ideas on what you can do or places to eat in PCB. Does OKC have anything like this or do you know if they will implement anything like this in the near future?

the main problem with okc is that much of its flair is dependant on the imagery of the state of oklahoma as a whole. that is, when people from other places who have never been here try to imagine what oklahoma city is like, they automatically tend to falsely incorporate other images that are known to the state overall as a whole, since they lack knowledge to any imagery of what oklahoma city itself is like.

most of these images are rural depictions of agricultural lifestyles and farming. typical of rural midwestern america.

in the eyes of the outside world, the only thing oklahoma city specifically is known for is the oklahoma city bombing, and prior to that tragedy, many people in other parts of the country honestly thought we still commuted on horse drawn covered wagons.

san francisco has its golden gate bridge, new york has lady liberty. chicago has the sears tower, so i guess in addition to being known for a great tragedy, we also need a recognizable icon and perhaps that may come with the oversized Devon Tower, which will tower high above the rest of our skyline. A definitive beacon echoing for many miles down opposite stretches of I-40.

perhaps that will be enough to strike up the curiosity of transient tourists to exit off of I-40 and spend their time (and money) in Bricktown.

Definitely no on the Casino. I don't want a Riverwind in Bricktown. I don't think we need that kind of tourism downtown. Now if it was like the Wynn in Vegas that would be different, but we all know that will never happen.

I think that an aquarium would be awesome. Maybe a place that had buffalos that would be a good exhibit. The Wichita Mountains may be too far away, but that is a great destination.

Stockyard City is almost a destination. I think people from out of town would like to go there. Especially if they are from the East Coast. The Paseo is great too.

having a vegas wynn-style/class casino in downtown okc would be worse than having riverwind downtown. debaucheries arent always desirable.

Pcb? Panama City Beach, FL

the main problem with okc is that much of its flair is dependant on the imagery of the state of oklahoma as a whole. that is, when people from other places who have never been here try to imagine what oklahoma city is like, they automatically tend to falsely incorporate other images that are known to the state overall as a whole, since they lack knowledge to any imagery of what oklahoma city itself is like.

most of these images are rural depictions of agricultural lifestyles and farming. typical of rural midwestern america.

in the eyes of the outside world, the only thing oklahoma city specifically is known for is the oklahoma city bombing, and prior to that tragedy, many people in other parts of the country honestly thought we still commuted on horse drawn covered wagons.

san francisco has its golden gate bridge, new york has lady liberty. chicago has the sears tower, so i guess in addition to being known for a great tragedy, we also need a recognizable icon and perhaps that may come with the oversized Devon Tower, which will tower high above the rest of our skyline. A definitive beacon echoing for many miles down opposite stretches of I-40.

perhaps that will be enough to strike up the curiosity of transient tourists to exit off of I-40 and spend their time (and money) in Bricktown.

Unfortunately the relocated I-40 is partially below grade (was supposed to be completely below grade) and I read where there are going to be retaining walls/bearms along it, effectively making it below grade so about the only thing they will be able to see is the Devon Tower. But don't forget the impressive and unique Skydancer Bridge.

While more aesthetically pleasing to look at from the residents point of view, it takes away people passing thru from seeing your City like they could with the elevated crosstown.

in the eyes of the outside world, the only thing oklahoma city specifically is known for is the oklahoma city bombing, and prior to that tragedy, many people in other parts of the country honestly thought we still commuted on horse drawn covered wagons.


I highly doubt they still think this.. If they do then they are very closed minded and highly uneducated. Makes you wonder if they think the same about cities in Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, etc.

They probably do...the State Chamber did a study before the Centennial and discovered that most had NO opinion about Oklahoma. A blank slate. There were some that had negative preconceived notions (Grapes of Wrath type stuff and weather related) but again, most had NO opinion. That creates a tremendous opportunity, you can make it whatever you want (without having to overcome many of the negatives, actual or perceived).

Even the Mayor and Kevin Durant alluded to OKC being known for the bombing tragedy and little on the positive side.

Mug: We were supposed to have gotten vastly improved performance with MAPS 4 Kids, but it hasn't happened yet. Are you suggesting pouring even more money into it?

The only way I see urban sprawl reversing itself is if the City were to deannex (but surrounding communities would probably annex and the sprawl would still be there, just not part of OKC city limits)

Or making the core of the city more like the areas people moved out to. Unfortunately, that would mean more suburbanization of the urban areas and we all know how well that would go over with most on these threads.

Larry, MAPS4KIDS wasn't to directly improve the acedemics and performance of the school children but was to provide money for a large-scale program to improve and replace the schools themselves. Having a better learning environment can go a long way to indirectly helping but the schools are still short on supplies, modern equipment, security, sports quality and top quality teaching. OKC public schools had not had significant money for capital improvements in 40 years and this was an overdue program.

Yes, I am talking about more money for OKC public schools and yes, I am sure there are significant efficiencies that could be made at the schools so in a perfect world you would see both happen. OKC will never be a great city until and unless people want to move here and live here. I'll remind you of the 3 laws of real estate, location, location, location. Quality schools are part of rules 1-3. Before people will "desire" to live in the older parts of OKC, the schools have to be improved - especially at the Middle and HIgh school levels.

Deannex? I'd certainly be open to it in areas that likely won't see development for decades such as far southwest and far southeast OKC as well as far NE. If Edmond wanted to annex more land or Shawnee or Mustang then fine, let them. In the meantime it would mean better services for those people and OKC would be better able to provide services.

Your third paragraph didn't make sense to me - how redevelopment and renovations of the older parts of the city equal "suburbanization." In areas such as Crown Heights or Mesta Park, no, you don't want people coming in and tearing down houses and building suburban homes. In many other areas, sure, let them. The city can outline areas to be preserved and areas where they can be renovated within specific guidelines.

I don't think a lot of people get off the highway based on what they see from their cars. First of all, the majority of people from other places who are in moving vehicles are truckers. I don't think they'll care whether they can see anything iconic or not. The majority of people who visit a city fly there or drive there deliberately, rather than stopping on a whim based on what they see from their cars. It's far better to have people planning to stop based on things they've read or heard about Oklahoma City, with it a scheduled stop on a cross-country trip.

What we need, really, is to have Oklahoma City and its attractions featured in magazines, be it Southern Living, which does a lot of articles featuring a city, it's attractions and restaurants, travel magazines or airline magazines. The airline magazines are read by people all over the country, and a spread in one of them would go a long way. I think a lot of this is going to happen, as we finish the Native American Cultural Center and the boathouses along the river. We will then have multiple things for people to do if they come to visit. The National Cowboy Museum and the Native American Cultural Center will feed off each other, and will have huge appeal for people interested in the American West. It's an era that still has a surprising amount of appeal for people, and I have no problem using it as a draw. Then, Stockyards City becomes a natural segue from those two attractions. For people who are simply interested in entertainment of any sort, the river, the zoo, our golf courses, they myriad types of sports you will be able to see in OKC will be a draw.

The more restaurants of different types for different price ranges we have in concentrated parts of town like Bricktown and downtown, coupled with a range of hotels, the easier it will be for people to visit.

And, the final key to it all is the streetcar. Perhaps once it is complete, we can use our trolleys to frequently and reliably be at the end of the line to take people to the river, or Stockyards City or the Adventure District. This is where I could see them being really useful: instead of a way to move around downtown, with confusing routes, they would do very well as a shuttle to a known destination like one of the above.

Casino downtown definitely. It's certainly not any worse than all the drunks on a Saturday night. And done right, it COULD be like the Wynn. (Not nearly as nice, of course, but with special attention to Vegas-style amenities.)

Pcb?

Panama City Beach.

Also I have to echo what Urbanized said. I've seen them all over the metro, mainly at touristy places, hotels, Tener's, Bricktown canal (just outside Mickey Mantles by that little kiosk). Don't forget there is also the OKCCVB and Frontier Country office fronts downtown as well. I think we do an OK job at this, but of course we could continue to do better and place these in more DT and Adventure District businesses.

A really good way to boost tourism in this area would be to make improvements to Frontier City. With Bell's in Tulsa in limbo, and the closing of a theme park up in Wichita, Froniter City is really the only place between Amarillo and Little Rock, and Kansas City and Dallas you can ride a roller coaster. Based on that fact alone it could be made into something really special. Its a shame the owners of it (whoever that might be) can't see that.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I would cringe at casinos in downtown OKC. For one, it will probably never happen due to no claims in Central OK. But even if one of the tribes could get come land put in trust near downtown it would be a disaster. Remember casinos owned by tribes pay no property tax and except in a few instances no sales tax. Yet they weigh heavily on city services. Sure some of the tribes have paid for some infrastructure improvements around their casinos but its more a "make nice" move rather than anything they are required to do. Plus all of the clubs and restaraunts that could open up inside a casino would probably be the end of Bricktown as an entertainment district. I've heard a lot of grumbling from some Tulsans that the casinos have been a curse because of how $$ goes into these casinos and never really gets recycled into the local economy, either through taxes or businesses with the casinos (most of them do business with tribal companies, which often times are nowhere near the casino itself).

A casino done up really nice could be a big draw. But all of the BS that would come with it would not be worth it. There's a reason that cities only in the most desparate straights (Biloxi, Shreveport, Atlantic City, even Detroit) will turn to casinos. OKC may have its issues but I wouldn't call us desparate. Personally, the new Native American Museum going up on the river will be a much better momument to our indian population than some gaudy casino.

Definitely no on the Casino. I don't want a Riverwind in Bricktown. I don't think we need that kind of tourism downtown. Now if it was like the Wynn in Vegas that would be different, but we all know that will never happen.

I think that an aquarium would be awesome. Maybe a place that had buffalos that would be a good exhibit. The Wichita Mountains may be too far away, but that is a great destination.

Stockyard City is almost a destination. I think people from out of town would like to go there. Especially if they are from the East Coast. The Paseo is great too.

Something like the $500 mil. project that was proposed out by Remington would be nice downtown. It doesn't have to be in bricktown but somewhere along the riverfront would do it.People are taking their money to Shawnee , Norman , El Reno and other areas and OKC is being left out. Seems pretty foolish to me NOT to put a nice casino in downtown.

National Finals Rodeo. Still pisses me off that Vegas stole it from us 20+ years ago.

Something like the $500 mil. project that was proposed out by Remington would be nice downtown. It doesn't have to be in bricktown but somewhere along the riverfront would do it.People are taking their money to Shawnee , Norman , El Reno and other areas and OKC is being left out. Seems pretty foolish to me NOT to put a nice casino in downtown.

Exactly.

And if you like to drink a beer or three, as many do, S. Norman, Shawnee, etc are NOT close to OKC, as some others have said.

Pcb?

Panama City Beach, Florida

And, the final key to it all is the streetcar. Perhaps once it is complete, we can use our trolleys to frequently and reliably be at the end of the line to take people to the river, or Stockyards City or the Adventure District. This is where I could see them being really useful: instead of a way to move around downtown, with confusing routes, they would do very well as a shuttle to a known destination like one of the above.

http://www.okctalk.com/members/fuzzytoad-albums-old-picture296-1275418515074.jpg

Casino in Downtown/Bricktown, not only no, but hell no. We have enough casinos within a Short driving distance.

Agree, Besides who is making the money off of Oklahoma casinos? We need more family friendly places.

I'd like to see a resort/casino in the downtown area...as long as it put more emphasis on the "resort", than "casino" part of the equation.

Agree, Besides who is making the money off of Oklahoma casinos? We need more family friendly places.

A nice resort/casino would bring the people to downtown and once there,they will spend money. Not only at the resort but other places in the downtown area. It's a win win situation and would be an instant hit with thousands of people in OKC and other areas. Look at how these other casinos are bringing in shows that bring in people that don't even care to gamble. A resort/casino if done right could be one of the biggest attractions in the downtown area. I know there have been many times that I had wanted to go to a casino but didn't want to take the long drive to Shawnee or Norman or El Reno so I decided not to go.

Pcb?

I'm really kind of surprised that no one has bothered to answer this yet, but PCB stands for "Panama City Beach," Florida.

Hope this helps.

LOL thats tough, their are very few places in america that can call themselves national tourists attractions. Las Vegas, Orlando, San Antonio, New York, Washington DC, DisneyLand in la etc etc. I can see okc being a big player for tourism in the state, but come on how many people in america could ever tell a group of friends with a straight face, "hey we are headed to oklahoma city for our family vacation". I mean i love this city and its amazing what okc has done, especially now that we have some more exposure with the thunder. But step outside oklahoma and most people still think we okies, go to the local dennys or drive around sonic in our pick up trucks on the weekends. I dont see that perception changing anytime soon, especially not enough to make okc a major player in national tourism

Something like the $500 mil. project that was proposed out by Remington would be nice downtown. It doesn't have to be in bricktown but somewhere along the riverfront would do it.People are taking their money to Shawnee , Norman , El Reno and other areas and OKC is being left out. Seems pretty foolish to me NOT to put a nice casino in downtown.

The money they are taking is basically just going to the casinos. The vast majority are drive in people who aren't really spending any significant amounts of money in the surrounding areas except maybe to get gas or a fast food meal. Oklahoma City simply isn't going to become a casino destination for people from out of state because there are already so many older and more developed places available.

maybe OKC will never be a major player in national tourism, but it doesn't mean OKC should sit back and accept NOT being a player at all.

There is a place for OKC, and we need to figure out what it is - then go 'all beans' on it.

I like the idea of a 'destination' resort/casino located downtown near the river. In fact, it could somehow integrate the new Indian Cultural Center with the nearby downtown districts (say, Bricktown ... ...) and Core 2 Shore.

The idea would be, the destination would be the MAIN spokesperson for downtown OKC - then, when people came to the destination, they would be pleasantly surprised by the rest of downtown and the inner city - and they would visit/patronize other places.

Im sure this is how Orlando started out, Disney was the destination but OTHER orlando things spun off of it so that now, Orlando is synonymous (sp?) with fun/happy/tourism. We could do something similar (but much smaller scale) here, maybe making a 'destination' attraction like a resort/casino near the Indian Center OR making Stockyard's City more of a destination (something I have been suggesting over and over, due to OKC's western heritage yet NO TRUE western district). .....

With a major attraction being the spokesperson, OKC could net in people and then when they get here they either visit the rest of the city OR come back later and specifically make time for other attractions.

Also, I second the recommendation of Frontier City and in fact - I think we should combine White Water with it and/or at least move Frontier City to the river somewhere.

Frontier City is really outside of the 'Adventure District' core area and really isn't as much of a destination as it should be, particularly given the aformentioned information. Yet, FC is Oklahoma's (and the near region's) ONLY theme park. To me, making it better could simply be done by adding in White Water or moving the park downtown near the river somewhere. The BEST scenario would be moving to the river AND having white water, but I recall something about Delmar Garden's demise due to the N Canadian River and mosquitos of that time - Im not sure if that would be an issue now.

But certainly, FC needs to step up it's game and go all out now. Provide at least some candid competition to Six Flags, or at least for people wanting a cheaper more family oriented yet still 'destination' theme park (like World's of Fun in KC is or Elitch's Garden in Denver). Then advertise at least in the region.

Again, OKC may NEVER become a national tourism destination BUT we do have tools available and if we improve upon and add to our attractions, we could capture a tertiary market and become a much better, more well rounded city - and THAT would improve OKC's (and therefore the state's) image much moreso than just having the Thunder and sitting on our butts (in the arena, of course. ....).

Pcb?

Panama City Beach, Florida.

Seriously, how many times do we have to say Panama City Beach, Florida?

Larry, MAPS4KIDS wasn't to directly improve the acedemics and performance of the school children but was to provide money for a large-scale program to improve and replace the schools themselves.
Actually it was supposed to do BOTH. The new and renovated buildings were to dramatically improve test scores (according to the campaign leading up to the vote). Not directly of course but through some sort of warm-n-fuzzy, self-improvement effect of being in a new or renovated school. We got the new and renovated schools but the academic performance just didn't happen. The school district knows these promises were made and is aware of not living up to the academic promises. They are doing a study to see what can be done to improve things.


Having a better learning environment can go a long way to indirectly helping but the schools are still short on supplies, modern equipment, security, sports quality and top quality teaching. OKC public schools had not had significant money for capital improvements in 40 years and this was an overdue program.
The fact that the City schools were long overdue for capital improvements was never in doubt. The $700M MAPS for Kids was composed of 2 parts: $470M sales tax (OKC) + $180M bond issue. The remaining 30% of the sales tax money went to surrounding school districts that serve OKC residents. "$153 million in city sales tax will have been expended for over 400 approved projects in the 23 suburban school districts." Among other things, "(p)rogram budgets for Oklahoma City Public Schools include $52 million for technology projects and $9 million for bus fleet replacement."

They quickly burned thru the MAPS 4 Kids bond money and insisted they needed even more which lead to the successful passage of the $248M School Bond Issue in late 2007 (paying for many of the things we had supposedly paid for thru the MAPS for Kids tax/bond issue).

Since MAPS 4 Kids, OKC has poured nearly a BILLION into the schools ($898M). When you add in the $153M to get the surrounding district votes, the total is over a billion.



Your third paragraph didn't make sense to me - how redevelopment and renovations of the older parts of the city equal "suburbanization." ...

It depends on your definition of "redevelopment and renovations". What lifestyle led to the flight to the suburbs? Cheap land w/single family homes etc. etc. Those people that left for the subs, in order to get them back to the core, would seem that you have to offer them the same things, thus the suburbanization of the urban core (ala SandRidge, but on a residential scale). And yes, quality schools are definitely a part of that (yet we gave away 30% of the tax money to subsidize the very school districts those same people fled.

Ran across an article where then OKC chairman Humphreys was saying that today the OKC schools serve less than half of the students that were there when he was growing up. I don't know the answer to this, but if the school population is half, what about school buildings? Administration? Teachers? etc. etc.

As far as teacher salaries, that is primarily controlled at the State level, isn't it?

Since you advocate pouring even more money, the question is: "How much more?"

According to the MAPS for Kids newsletters, test scores have increased 2% to 6%. But according to those same newsletters MOST of the kids are still failing those tests. Almost a Billion for 2 to 6% improvement? Do the math yourself, but at that rate, how much more is it going to take where they are at a passing mark, much less "quality" schools.

Oklahoma fourth-graders lag behind in reading proficiency | NewsOK.com (http://www.newsok.com/feed/oklahoma-fourth-graders-lag-behind-in-reading-proficiency/article/3465207?custom_click=pod_headline_news)
An article in Tuesdays paper showed that Oklahoma scored badly in 4th grade reading proficiency. "Seventy-two percent of fourth-graders in Oklahoma are reading below their grade level proficiency, a new national study reports." Thing was it wasn't just an Oklahoma problem, even the best scoring state (Mass.) had a 53% less than proficient rate. That means not a single State had a passing rate. None. Nada. Zero.

what does pcb mean

Agree, about the only way to really improve Frontier City is to relocate it where they have plenty of land to expand the park as needed. Right now they are locked in and don't think they have any undeveloped park land. To put something new in, have to take something else out. Same thing with White Water. Am sure when built in their current locations they thought they had plenty of space for expansion. Would think it would be very expensive to find a spot with the available land for the current parks and expansion.

I don't think a lot of people get off the highway based on what they see from their cars. First of all, the majority of people from other places who are in moving vehicles are truckers. I don't think they'll care whether they can see anything iconic or not. The majority of people who visit a city fly there or drive there deliberately, rather than stopping on a whim based on what they see from their cars. It's far better to have people planning to stop based on things they've read or heard about Oklahoma City, with it a scheduled stop on a cross-country trip. ...

While advertising in the ways you mentioned can certainly never hurt, I think there is a significant amount of drive thru traffic. Before Oklahoma became a fly over state, we were a drive thru state. The Mayor even seems to think so (IIRC it was an article about the Land Run monument and the relocation of I-40) where he said the City does a terrible job of getting people to exit off the highway and hopefully seeing the Land Run monument might change that (but again, if the relocated is below grade, how are they going to see it?). But contrary to helping pull people off the highway the Council put a ban on billboards along the new I-40.

And you can bet the sites chosen for Bass Pro and Toby Keith's was the visibility from the interstate (among other things). That goes away in a couple of years.

On a road trip, have you never made an unscheduled stop based on a billboard or something you have seen from the road? My family certainly has, numerous times.

On a road trip, have you never made an unscheduled stop based on a billboard or something you have seen from the road? My family certainly has, numerous times.

Ah Larry, the luxury of randomness. You never traveled with my father, whose travel plans are the subject of many family jokes. He would study the route for months, and plan out every single attraction. We got to look at everything (and I've seen a lot) for about five minutes. His famous words: "You've seen it, now back in the car". We would beg to stop at things we saw on billboards, but he figured if he hadn't read about it, it was a tourist trap (also favorite words of his). So, for our family at least, it had to be in print to make the schedule. Perhaps that's why I think we should aim to be the subject of magazine articles: user bias.

We did that to to an extent (the plan was made) with a final destination (like Yelostone) but anything and everything between the 2 was fair game. We had to stop at every historical marker and scenic lookout and pile out of the car, take a look, take some pictures, pile back in the car and go 2 more blocks (or so it seemed when going thru canyon or mountain country). And if there was a suspicion of any wildlife (bears, elk, moose, etc) that was a mandatory stop and had to take pictures of that dark shadow off in the woods. Am sure we have a shot or two of Big Foot in those 100s of slide trays somewhere. LOL

Did not want to visit us after a vacation trip, it was the obligatory stereotypical scene from many a sitcom and movie...the dreaded home movies. Fortunately my dad only had the still camera, so we had slide shows.

To get the folks form your bias, definitely go for the magazine ads etc. For those from my bias, the billboards and icons work too.

I'm really kind of surprised that no one has bothered to answer this yet, but PCB stands for "Panama City Beach," Florida.

Hope this helps.

I hope that was tongue and cheek, although I don't think it was. You realize like 3 people answered it right?

.... You never traveled with my father, whose travel plans are the subject of many family jokes. He would study the route for months, and plan out every single attraction. We got to look at everything (and I've seen a lot) for about five minutes. His famous words: "You've seen it, now back in the car". ...

OMG, I never realized I had a SISTER! I am SOOOOO Happy!
Let's do lunch and catch up. Remember the great Mexico visit?

Quick poll:

How many here had Betts' father?

How many had Larry OKC's dad?

I hope that was tongue and cheek, although I don't think it was. You realize like 3 people answered it right?

I realize that deceptireaux answered it first but apparently that wasn't good enough so you had to make sure you got your answer in too. Yes, that's what I realize.

Quick poll:

How many here had Betts' father?

How many had Larry OKC's dad?

Mine was definitely Betts' father, I had the privilege of visiting the Worlds largest ball of twin, the Worlds largest pecan tree, a house made completely of glass, the Worlds largest tree house, just to name a few.

Pcb?

Sorry...Panama City Beach.

Ubanized, that is really interesting and great to know.
Thank you. =)

Mine was definitely Betts' father, I had the privilege of visiting the Worlds largest ball of twin, the Worlds largest pecan tree, a house made completely of glass, the Worlds largest tree house, just to name a few.

We saw all of that stuff too but it wasn't planned at all...purely spur of the moment type stuff. again, not based on ads or magazines etc but billboards and what we could see from the roads. Anybody remember the numerous signs painted on sides of barns and roofs for "Rock City" at Lookout Mountain
AOL Search (http://aim.search.aol.com/aol/imageDetails?s_it=imageDetails&q=Rock+City&img=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.knoxkoupons.com%2Fktown_photo s%2Fphoto_gallery%2Fimages%2FRockCity-1.jpg&host=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.knoxkoupons.com%2Fktown_phot os%2Fphoto_gallery%2FScenic_Beauty%2Frockcity1.htm l&width=130&height=98&thumbUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages-partners-tbn.google.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AiKH8Vu3GwrRahM %3A%3Awww.knoxkoupons.com%2Fktown_photos%2Fphoto_g allery%2Fimages%2FRockCity-1.jpg&b=image%3Fq%3DRock%2BCity%26page%3D2%26oreq%3D90e0 e21980e49028bbcb480514ab256%26count_override%3D20&imgHeight=378&imgWidth=504&imgTitle=%26quot%3BSee+%3Cb%3ERock%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb% 3ECity%3C%2Fb%3E%26quot%3B+Barn&imgSize=30735&hostName=www.knoxkoupons.com)

Reptile Gardens? We finally prevailed on my father on that one, but it took quite a few years. And then, while we were visiting said "gardens", someone put a bumper sticker on my dad's car, which made him furious. We discovered why we saw so many bumper stickers advertising it.

Quick poll:

How many here had Betts' father?

How many had Larry OKC's dad?

I think I may be their father. lol

I went to PCB last year in August. Talk about fun, until after dark and everything was closed... we just sat in our hotel the whole time except for when we visited the tiniest Coyote Ugly ever. We were trying to go to Club LaVida but apparently it's not open during this time, and for all the hype it had, it was really a tiny place too. We did happen to catch the Ripley's Believe it or not museum and that was awesome. We checked out the brochures in our hotel lobby and not one of them showed anything appealing to us. Pier Park was probably one of the coolest outdoor malls right next to Pinnacle Hills Promenade in Rogers, AR. We wanted to catch the pirate cruise, but no success either day we went to get tickets. We need a pirate ship on the river, HA! There was even a small park on the end of the main road along the beach front in PCB, I forget the name, but it was a nice small park to relax at. Anyways... i'm getting away from the thread.

A Star Trek based theme park would bring people here. Oklahoma is the home of a disproportionate number of astronauts so that could be used as a tie-in. I imagine an huge park of several hundred acres. It would be called The Worlds of the Federation. It would be an expensive project. There would be rides and science exhibits. It could trace the history of human space exploration from its factual beginings up through the ficional accounts based on the television shows. There could be life-size models of the ships and space stations. Some of the more interesting planet environments could be created. There could even be hotels run by delegations from other planets. Imagine staying in a hotel run by Klingons or shopping in a store run by Ferengi.

Star Trek the Experience is looking for a new home (closed at the Hilton over a year ago now) was supposed to reopen in Downtown Las Vegas in time for the Star Trek film opening, but last I heard they haven't even started construction and they had a tag sale of everything that had been in storage from the Hilton attraction (hopefully not the Museum of the Future stuff that had props, costumes etc from the various incarnations). Found out about the sale 4 days after it happened. Was bummed out for a couple of weeks.

Would love to see something like what you described, but even the Experience required a Tier I convention city / tourist destination and we are hoping to get our foot in the door as a Tier II