Hey, Mayor Mick got the NBA here too, luring an IKEA should be easy in comparison.

Perfect location, replace Bass Pro with the IKEA. Make sure they leave the big fish tank though.

Yes, but OKC had basketball fans. What OKC doesn't have is a sufficient number of people living in 500 sq foot apartments.

Metro - you don't buy IKEA furniture to furnish a 1000 sq foot apartment. You go to IKEA to furnish a 500 sq foot box that has one window. There would be little to no demand in OKC in which to support a store the size of IKEA.

I disagree that there is no market here for IKEA. People would drive for hours to shop there if they would build one in OKC, as they do to the one in Dallas. IKEA has all kinds of wonderful, inexpensive toys and furniture for kid's rooms. They also have a lot of stuff that I think is geared toward people in their 20s moving out on their own for the first time, who don't have a lot of money to spend, but all of it has a much wider appeal as well. I lived in Germany and Southern California, where IKEA is huge and everybody shops there. It's like the Wal-Mart of home furnishing in many places.

Metro - you don't buy IKEA furniture to furnish a 1000 sq foot apartment. You go to IKEA to furnish a 500 sq foot box that has one window. There would be little to no demand in OKC in which to support a store the size of IKEA.
I totally disagree. I have a 1000 sq foot condo in MidTown furnished by mostly IKEA, mainly because of the STYLE, not size of my place. I have a very modern place and happen to like modern furniture. OKC really has no modern furniture stores except Suburban, and I can't afford a $5000 bed or $4000 couch. On top of that, their selection is narrow, IKEA is the Mathis Brothers and Target of modern furniture and accessories.

I'd also like to add I have friends in the burbs with houses furnished by IKEA, and know plenty of people from OKC that make regular runs to the one in Frisco.

Likewise, I live in a 1400 sq ft historic duplex in Heritage Hills and over half of our furniture is from IKEA. IKEA has lot more to do with price point than size of living space.

So why do you guys think there is no IKEA store in OKC yet?

Probably a myriad of reasons. Our relatively small population certainly has something to do with it. But not because we don't have enough small apartments.

I have an IKEA kitchen table in my 3500 square foot townhouse. It's one of my favorite pieces of furniture. I would love to do my son's room in IKEA, and I would use their accessories anywhere.

IKEA probably thinks we're not cool enough for them. But, if they're like other stores, they keep track of zip codes that order from them so maybe we're not doing our part.

I also strongly disagree with Kerry. I live in a 1400 sf house and have many pieces of furniture from Ikea in my bedroom and living room. They're not just a furniture store. They sell a great deal of textiles and bedding, kitchen accessories, art and lighting. Like Metro I shop at Ikea because of their modern style and not because my living arrangement forces me to.

Yes, but OKC had basketball fans.

That's not what was initially being told to Mayor Mick and the people of Okc.


So why do you guys think there is no IKEA store in OKC yet?

Same reason it took Okc to finally have it's own Whole Foods, Okc struggles to attract major retail you know that. Conversely there are only 20 states in the U.S. that have an Ikea store, also there are only 23 states that have an NBA team too.

I do like the idea of Okc offering up the Bass Pro building to be converted over as an Ikea. At the very lease Okc could offer up some of Bass Pro parking lot to build a new Ikea store.

Kerry, on top of that scroll back a few pages, the listed some criteria. They usually like a metro of 2 million or more, so right there that excludes us. Several of us have been told unofficially from the Frisco store that we're on the 3 year waiting list. Take it with a grain of salt. I am however confident OKC could support one.

For the record - I am not knocking IKEA. I have been to their Atlanta store several times and have purchased several items from there. My wife loves the place. However, if IKEA comes to OKC I would not want it in the Bass Pro building. I would prefer the Bass Pro building to be torn down. I would like to see them move into the top 4 floors of the Spaghetti Warehouse or the Bricktown Mercantile buildings. Even renovate the old Auto-Hotel as an IKEA would be cool.

For the record - I am not knocking IKEA. I have been to their Atlanta store several times and have purchased several items from there. My wife loves the place. However, if IKEA comes to OKC I would not want it in the Bass Pro building. I would prefer the Bass Pro building to be torn down. I would like to see them move into the top 4 floors of the Spaghetti Warehouse or the Bricktown Mercantile buildings. Even renovate the old Auto-Hotel as an IKEA would be cool.

What is your problem with Bass Pro and the building?!

What is your problem with Bass Pro and the building?!

He surely thinks an outdoor merchandise store like Bass Pro is highly inapporpriate for its urban location. Also the building looks too country or rural. But I reckon Bass Pro strongly disagrees to that feeling.

IKEA stores are big box retail generally located in the suburbs. So I don't think Bricktown would be a good fit....there's just not enough room. Have you seen how big their warehouses/showrooms/food courts are? Also, I don't think "shabby chic" is a good description of IKEA furniture. IKEA represents "scandinavian design". With regard to the price issue, an abiding principle of good design is affordability.

What is your problem with Bass Pro and the building?!

I have nothing against Bass Pro. They seem to be a quality retailer. My problem is the suburban building and big surface parking lot in the middle of what should be a true urban development.

So why do you guys think there is no IKEA store in OKC yet?
Denver is finally getting their own store in Centennial, it is opening in Fall 2011. That is the first store in the "middle of the country" between Chicago/Minneapolis and Northern California/Pacific Northwest. The Texas stores (Houston/Frisco/Round Rock) and Phoenix were the only ones between Atlanta and Southern California.


For the record - I am not knocking IKEA. I have been to their Atlanta store several times and have purchased several items from there. My wife loves the place. However, if IKEA comes to OKC I would not want it in the Bass Pro building. I would prefer the Bass Pro building to be torn down. I would like to see them move into the top 4 floors of the Spaghetti Warehouse or the Bricktown Mercantile buildings. Even renovate the old Auto-Hotel as an IKEA would be cool.
There isn't enough room in Bricktown for Ikea, in any current building, an out-of-the-ground tilt-wall building is pretty much all they are in. Houston was the first one in Texas and is 200,000 SF, Frisco is 312,000 SF and the Round Rock store is about 260,000 SF. If one was built, I would imagine it would be out by the new outlet mall (the Round Rock location is next to the Round Rock Premium Outlets), in the University Park area in Norman or maybe Kilpatrick/Memorial and Western. I could see Edmond or Norman offering an incentive, that is why the one here in Austin is in the Round Rock area.

Now personally, I'm still going to be dancing a jig if Ikea came here. The food products are some tastey stuff and the kitchen stuff is neat too.

When we lived in Germany there were 2 Ikeas that were a 45 min drive from our house. Sometimes we would go just to walk around and eat in the cafe. I would LOVE to have an Ikea here.

Denver is finally getting their own store in Centennial, it is opening in Fall 2011.
I was wondering why their map showed a huge void in the middle of the county and no location in Denver. But now I see they are opening one in Centennial.

I just don't see IKEA considering OKC for a new location since we are close enough to Frisco to be part of the regional draw that they like to have. There's plenty of land in Edmond along I-35 for them or developers to provide incentives to IKEA but would probably do better closer to Norman. I prefer the Frisco location over Round Rock but I definitely need to make a stop when I take a few days of vacation in Austin later this month.

I have nothing against Bass Pro. They seem to be a quality retailer. My problem is the suburban building and big surface parking lot in the middle of what should be a true urban development.

I don't know what make a building suburban and urban.... A building is just a building. This one is a nice building and a nice fit where its at. As for the parking lot, its a great addition for those wanting to park when other parking lots is full during major events. :-)

I don't know what make a building suburban and urban.... A building is just a building. This one is a nice building and a nice fit where its at. As for the parking lot, its a great addition for those wanting to park when other parking lots is full during major events. :-)

Go to the library (or bookstore) and pick up a copy of 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School and turn to page 7.

Let me quote: Suburban buildings are freestanding objects in space. Urban buildings are shapers of space.

Bass Pro is a free standing building in space. The buildings around SandRidge used to be a shaper of space, now the tower is a freestanding building in space. Hope that helps a little.

Thanks Kerry.

I have to admit I was confuzzled by the whole Urban/Suburban thing as a concept really. As by definition, any building built within a City is "Urban". But your post makes it clearer for me. It might be along the lines of a Tomorrowland building in the middle of Adventureland. They are all just buildings within the overall framework of Disneyland/World, but it just doesn't "fit" in its surroundings. A Bass Pro style building isn't out of place in OKC, just not a proper fit for the Bricktown area. In that context, what in "Lower Bricktown" is "Urban"?

I think the only somewhat urban part of lower bricktown is the east side of the Centennial on the Canal.

Lower Bricktown failed as an urban development from day 1. They didn't maintain the brick wall and let it open up. Is it a failed project, I would say no. But it's not urban by any means.

BUT - you find me a true urban area outside of the actual highrise CBD. Bricktown fits more with it's Deep Deuce neighbors than with the highrises. Even the upper area falls from urbanity about 2 blocks out. But that doesn't mean it all failed. We're not NYC or Chicago...nor should we try to be. We're not going to get a bunch of 6 story buildings (which most of those floors above street-level in bricktown are empty by the way) making a tunnel of brick here. There's not enough demand for it. If there were, you would have seen developments come into the current open space in the historic buildings in Bricktown rather than the Centennial's stucco crap being built.

It is interesting to contrast that density to something like Automobile Alley, which has a much higher occupancy rate on the non-streel-level floors. I'm betting the question here is, who wants to pay to live in the entertainment district and have a pain in the rear parking issue every day on the way home? Same goes for commercial non-entertainment business. The last ad agency I knew of down there moved out because of the higher rent and parking problems.

We are too small of a market for them, we are about 500,000 people shy of being on their radar...this is from the mouths of IKEA reps at an ULI lunch last year. While we are at it, we can forget about a Nieman Marcus or Saks as well. That was the message relayed at this same luncheon.

Thanks Kerry.

In that context, what in "Lower Bricktown" is "Urban"?

Nothing in Lower Bricktown is urban design.

Bomber, actually a lot of the upper floors have been filled by ad agencies, lawyers and other professionals, however, yes there are some empty upper floors in b town

We are too small of a market for them, we are about 500,000 people shy of being on their radar...this is from the mouths of IKEA reps at an ULI lunch last year. While we are at it, we can forget about a Nieman Marcus or Saks as well. That was the message relayed at this same luncheon.

That just shows how stupid they are. They can see how successful Walmart, Target, and other retailers is around here. Having certain population count in order to have a presence is just moronic.

That just shows how stupid they are. They can see how successful Walmart, Target, and other retailers is around here. Having certain population count in order to have a presence is just moronic.

While that is almost crazy talk, if they are using a demographic as generic as '2,000,000 metro population' then clearly IKEA either don't know who their target market is or it is hard to track their market target, thus a huge net of 2,000,000 will capture the fish they are looking for.

It is also possible that their target market is purely trend driven so there is no point trying to track them because IKEA plans to change with the trends. Their customers are also transient both geographically and socio-economically. They need a constant new source of customers to replace customer than leave the trendy or price conscience ranks. They have probably determined that a base population of 2 million provides that group on a steady basis.

Transients don't usually have money and are mostly homeless. They hitch rides on the road, so why would they shop at IKEA?

Population is only one thing that a "destination retailer" like IKEA would consider. There are cities way bigger than OKC like St. Louis and Denver that do not have them. There are cities that are only slightly bigger than OKC (Austin and Charlotte come to mind) where they are. Its all about demographics and what type of people live in a place and what kind of products they demand. There are a lot of college kids in places like Austin and Pittsburgh, and there's quite a few east-coasters working at all of the banks in Charlotte that may like edgy contemporary furniture.

Austin (Round Rock) store also has San Antonio to draw from, it is either Round Rock or Houston as a choice for people in San Antonio. Once of the ideas for locating on the far north end of the Austin metro (other than the Round Rock/Williamson County incentives) was the idea that San Antonio would eventually get their own store. Ikea had embarked on a pretty aggressive growth path but the economy slowed that growth some. I think once they are placed in more major markets, they will start hitting the next tier. That is when I would expect to see a San Antonio or OKC store but that is still quite a few years away.

Transients don't usually have money and are mostly homeless. They hitch rides on the road, so why would they shop at IKEA?

I didn't mean transient as in homeless. I meant in the sense that an individual person is only passing through IKEA's target market as the person grows older throughout their life. Here is an example.

Clair's Boutique caters to 14 to 16 year old girls. An individual girl only exists in the target market for two years. That means Clair’s has to attract a new group of customers every two years and extract as much money from them in those two years as they can. Ford on the other hand builds brand loyalty that sticks with a person for life - from their first car to their last cast. The only thing that changes is which model Ford tries to market to you.

Transient in this sense could also mean people moving from city to city every few years based upon their career, and usually they are geared towards the urban lifestyle, including style of furniture, such as IKEA.

Crazy idea but here you go: turn the old Tanger Outlet Mall next to the turnpike in Stroud (now a giant concrete slab) into an IKEA that serves both the OKC and Tulsa metros with a combined population of 2.3 million and nearly 3 million within a 100 mile drive. DT Tulsa to Stroud: 51 miles. DT OKC to Stroud: 58 miles. I can't think of any other retail format that would work at that location and be a huge draw from both metros.

Bad idea

Bad idea

How can it be a bad idea? Many people here drive to Texas for IKEA.

How can it be a bad idea? Many people here drive to Texas for IKEA.

Exactly. If population is such a hang up build in between OKC and Tulsa and suddenly the 2 million threshold is met at an equal distance between the two cities. There is also already a cleared site with plenty of parking available where Tanger was before the '99 tornado with excellent visibility on a busy interstate. The Round Rock IKEA, which serves Austin/San Antonio, is already 23 miles from DT Austin and 98 miles from DT San Antonio. IKEA would be within a 45 min. drive from Edmond/north OKC and just over an hour from south OKC/Norman. It's not like a grocery store where you go every week; you might go to IKEA only a few times a year so an hour drive is not a big deal while a 3 hour jaunt to Frisco is much worse...

Exactly. If population is such a hang up build in between OKC and Tulsa and suddenly the 2 million threshold is met at an equal distance between the two cities. There is also already a cleared site with plenty of parking available where Tanger was before the '99 tornado with excellent visibility on a busy interstate. The Round Rock IKEA, which serves Austin/San Antonio, is already 23 miles from DT Austin and 98 miles from DT San Antonio. IKEA would be within a 45 min. drive from Edmond/north OKC and just over an hour from south OKC/Norman. It's not like a grocery store where you go every week; you might go to IKEA only a few times a year so an hour drive is not a big deal while a 3 hour jaunt to Frisco is much worse...

But....one can justify the trip to IKEA in Frisco because there's other things to do once you get there.

If the idea of building in between population centers had any merit at all, then why don't we see things built in the middle of nowhere (but between two population centers)? Because it doesn't work.

Building at he old tanger outlet mall is a terrible idea. Ikea isnt going to depend on thousands of people to make the hour drive from Tulsa or okc. If it's such a good spot why didnt they rebuild the outlet mall? A huge big box retailer that depends on large volumes of shoppers doesn't build in the middle of nowhere. As I've said, all this talk is pointless. We will not be seeing an ikea within the next decade.

IKEA can move into Crossroads Mall and revive that place very easily. They just need to do it. A business doesn't succeed without taking risks. Furthermore, taking risks generally reap major positive benefits. They can do it and OKC can support them.

All of this talk is just wishful thinking. I'm pretty confident OKC is not on IKEA's radar. Can we at least get a mod to change the title of the thread? It's pretty misleading.

All of this talk is just wishful thinking. I'm pretty confident OKC is not on IKEA's radar. Can we at least get a mod to change the title of the thread? It's pretty misleading.

Change it to add a ? at the end? :-)

How about "What would it take to bring IKEA to OKC?"

I have it on good authority that the city council of Yukon has approved the sale of a plot of land for IKEA to build a store there. No word on a timeline but it definitely is going to happen. I can't wait.


Those of you familiar with the hip, economical, environmentally friendly home decór and furniture store will be pleased to hear what one of the Frisco IKEA customer representative told me on the phone today. I had to order a spare part for one of the products I purchased there last week and while talking with one of the service reps I said that I think IKEA should consider putting a location in Oklahoma City. She said that IKEA is planning to put one in OKC, but no time frame was set yet. I double checked and asked again to confirm. "So, they're going to put one here?" And she said yes, but that she didn't know when.

This is great news. As competitive as OKC's furniture market is, IKEA would fit right in out on Reno. If you get a chance to go to the one in Frisco (30-45 minutes north of Dallas) then go! Their stores are massive...I mean, huge. If you follow the walkway through the whole store, it's seriously close to a mile long. It's a ton of fun though.

Check out www.ikea.com to get an idea of what kind of cool stuff they have.

Sounds fishy but I hope you are correct. Yukon would be an odd suburb to put it in, but incentives are what matters. Any word on a formal announcement?

I think this would be the biggest retail land ever for the metro if true. Better than Whole Foods!

I have it on good authority that the city council of Yukon has approved the sale of a plot of land for IKEA to build a store there. No word on a timeline but it definitely is going to happen. I can't wait.

Who is good authority? Someone who works for the city?

I have it on good authority that the city council of Yukon has approved the sale of a plot of land for IKEA to build a store there. No word on a timeline but it definitely is going to happen. I can't wait.

Shouldn't that be in the minutes of the city council? Wouldn't the DOK be all over that? Not that I wouldn't be happy, but it seems a little too under the radar to be true.

I have it on good authority that the city council of Yukon has approved the sale of a plot of land for IKEA to build a store there. No word on a timeline but it definitely is going to happen. I can't wait.

I don't see any reason to give this an ounce of credibility. There would be a public record trail to follow and the city would be touting this to anyone who would listen. Also noticed the person posting this just joined and this is their only post.

I don't see any reason to give this an once of credibility. There would be a public record trail to follow and the city would be touting this to anyone who would listen. Also noticed the person posting this just joined and this is their only post.

^^^ That. We seem to have a recently run of people coming here and posting goundless claims or advertisements as their very first post, and then they vanish. Perhaps some further restriction against new posters need to be made...but that is for another thread.

Yukon seems like a very unlikely spot for an IKEA. If any suburb would land it, I would expect either Norman or Moore to be the ones.

^^^ That. We seem to have a recently run of people coming here and posting goundless claims or advertisements as their very first post, and then they vanish. Perhaps some further restriction against new posters need to be made...but that is for another thread.

Yukon seems like a very unlikely spot for an IKEA. If any suburb would land it, I would expect either Norman or Moore to be the ones.

I wouldn't be surprised if Yukon is landing a IKEA, this is one of the fastest growing areas of the metro, according to the 2010 census, not to mention the proximity to the new outlet mall, they didn't build new outlet mall out there for no reason. The Yukon/Mustang area is a hot area for retail right now...

Sounds fishy but I hope you are correct. Yukon would be an odd suburb to put it in, but incentives are what matters. Any word on a formal announcement?


Yukon seems like a very unlikely spot for an IKEA. If any suburb would land it, I would expect either Norman or Moore to be the ones.
They locate wherever they get the best incentive package, hence the reason why the one here is in Round Rock (next to the Round Rock Premium Outlets) and the new Denver location opening next weekend is in Centennial. If Yukon offered a better package than Norman, Moore, Midwest City or Edmond then that is more than likely where they would locate.

As far as public notice of the package, cities and states all put together incentive packages in backroom deals and once everything is agreed upon then it is publicly presented for council approval but the councilors have already indicated whether they approve of the deal or not, it happens all the time. I'm not saying that it is a done deal or not, just how things happen.

Venture, no way they'd put NE in Moore or NOrman, even wi incentives. It's too close to the one in Frisco (north Dallas) if anything, they will go west OKC or north OKC so they can pull from areas further away such as Wichita, Tulsa, Amarillo

Yawn. This goes into the "I'll believe it when I see it" category. St. Louis has 3 million people with another 2 million in Eastern MO and Southern IL, and 8 Fortune 500 HQ with all the requisite spin-off money and we don't have one because we're "only" 4 hours from Chicago. Strikes me as highly improbable that OKC is on the radar for an IKEA. I would lay down in traffic for my hometown, but you've got to be realistic.

Venture, no way they'd put NE in Moore or NOrman, even wi incentives. It's too close to the one in Frisco (north Dallas) if anything, they will go west OKC or north OKC so they can pull from areas further away such as Wichita, Tulsa, Amarillo

I really doubt people driving all the way from Wichita, Tulsa, and Amarillo really care what side of the metro area it is on - when they are already driving a few hours to get here. If anything, I would think the concentration of higher incomes would be a bigger factor than worrying about being too close to the Frisco store.

I really doubt people driving all the way from Wichita, Tulsa, and Amarillo really care what side of the metro area it is on - when they are already driving a few hours to get here. If anything, I would think the concentration of higher incomes would be a bigger factor than worrying about being too close to the Frisco store.

No but I guarantee you IKEA cares

Wouldn't this be pretty close to the new outlet mall?

with the Outlet Mall. . perhaps the next growth plate is "due West". . .being relatively close to I-40 and Meridian, I'd love it!! Everything shouldn't be ""north" (Edmond/Piedmont/Deer Creek), "south" (South OKC/Moore/Norman) or east (MWC/Choctaw). With everything taking place on "the river". . . "west" may be the new "best thing". We truly have room to grow in four directions!!

First off, this thread rips out my heart a little bit more with every new post that doesn't say they're actually coming, which is why I really thought about whether to respond......

But, Devil's Advocate real quick:
1. It's their only post, but they had the sense to use this existing thread, instead of creating a new one......a troll would've got more pleasure out of the latter.
2. They did take the time to create an account here, so maybe they were compelled by the info they're holding onto.....
3. a quick web search of the username "omaof2angels" turns up only 2 results: 1, of this post, and the other which does indicate a mother\grandmother that lives in MWC

Keep hope alive, is all I'm sayin

Personally I hope all the so called "places to shop" don't come here, I like going to Dallas for a weekend with the wife, It's a nice getaway, I like to visit Dallas' Harley Shops, Zoo, BBQ Resturants and Blues Clubs.