Convention Center

[Pete]

[dcsooner]

No other way to say it, that area turned out great.

[Pete]

[5alive]

Beautiful pictures Pete...love the angle on the last pic

[Pete]

The other day I was down there when it was relatively dark with the lights on inside...

You could see they have made a lot of progress on the interior and have a completion date set for 9/19/20, although that may have slipped a bit.

[Pete]

You can see they have now closed Robison between I-40 and the boulevard for that improvement project.

The completion date is set for December.

[Pete]

A look inside OKC's new convention center

Construction on the new $288 million Oklahoma City Convention Center is set to be substantially complete on October 7, 2020.

A new addition, the 4th Street Experience, will create a semi-covered pedestrian street between the center and the Omni Hotel. The Omni is scheduled to open in February 2021. 4th Street will finish in April of next year.

At the same time, Robinson Avenue between I-40 and the Oklahoma City Boulevard is currently closed to be completely revamped and will include a roundabout at SW 7th and a signaled, pedestrian walkway between the main entrance to the convention center and Scissortail Park. Robinson will reopen in December.

A new parking garage is under construction directly eat of the Omni and will serve both the convention center and the hotel when complete later this year.


Convention Center renderings

Convention Center construction photos

4th Street Experience

Omni Hotel

Parking Garage

Robinson Avenue

[dcsooner]

Despite the specter of COVID, I am convinced this construction will usher in a new era in Leisure and Hospitality business in OKC. Given time, it will help to boost image, tourism, conventions and also economic development. A great addition to a changing DT.

[SoonersFan12]

No bathtub or jacuzzi tub in hotel, I am not interested, it is a very nice hotel though

[BoulderSooner]

No bathtub or jacuzzi tub in hotel, I am not interested, it is a very nice hotel though

i'm sure the suites will

[Laramie]

To think that this was the project that many thought would end MAPS. The most expensive of any single project initiative our city has ever put before its voters.

Of the $777 million approved in MAPS 3; the $288 million convention center accounted for 37% of the eight projects funded.

[SoonersFan12]

i'm sure the suites will

I hope you are right

[bhawes]

No bathtub or jacuzzi tub in hotel, I am not interested, it is a very nice hotel though

When everything is finish Oklahoma City downtown area is going be really nice and comparable to over cities I wish all this could have been done 20 years ago. Now Oklahoma City metro area needs to update the roads and highway system for the growth that will take place in the city I have always said Oklahoma City had the potential to be like Dallas as far as entertainment. Now the City needs to go after big companies that are paying good salaries.

[bombermwc]

Ugh, so much grey. Personally, i hate this trend and im glad it's starting to go away. I hope we can get in front of that and change the color pallet before the CC goes institutional gray. Too often, places stop at the cold blank gray and fail to add the color pop that can easily stand out. Wanna use that damned logo, do some artwork with it on the walls at least.

[Pete]

The city is planning to rename SW 4th Street between Robinson and EK Gaylord/Shields after Mick Cornett.

This is effectively the 4th Street Experience plus the vehicle portion south of the parking garage and north of the convention center and Fairfield Inn.

Would be Mick Cornett Drive.

[Pete]

You can see that Robinson is now completely ripped up.

The stretch between the boulevard and I-40 won't reopen until December.

[Southsider2]

You can see the color changing interior lights are now on.

[5alive]

I'm not a builder, but I think we got our money's worth with this beautiful new facility...

[jonny d]

Only God knows when the facility will get used. But it looks awesome, and OKC did well with this and Scissortail Park!

[Anonymous.]

Only God knows when the facility will get used. But it looks awesome, and OKC did well with this and Scissortail Park!

Why does it feel like a lot of the big projects in MAPS3 got really screwed with timing? We get a shiny new toy and as soon as it is finished, some outside force makes it less shiny?

Riversports/Boathouse gets footing -> District philanthropist McClendon dies
The Streetcar finishes -> Scooters and rideshare become extremely popular
The Convention Center finishes -> Pandemic preventing gatherings of groups

[Pete]

Why does it feel like a lot of the big projects in MAPS3 got really screwed with timing? We get a shiny new toy and as soon as it is finished, some outside force makes it less shiny?

Riversports/Boathouse gets footing -> District philanthropist McClendon dies

It was Chesapeake's money, not Aubreys and that well ran dry when they showed him the door, several years before he died.

When a project only works when someone is siphoning millions from a public company, it was doomed from the outset, not unlucky.

[Pete]

Why does it feel like a lot of the big projects in MAPS3 got really screwed with timing? We get a shiny new toy and as soon as it is finished, some outside force makes it less shiny?

Riversports/Boathouse gets footing -> District philanthropist McClendon dies

It was Chesapeake's money, not Aubrey's and that well ran dry when they showed him the door, several years before he died.

When a project only works when someone is siphoning millions from a public company, it was doomed from the outset, not unlucky.

[Pete]

And it has to be said that there were a lot of people who pointed out what could be a greatly diminished future for both the streetcar and convention center.

[HOT ROD]

RiverSports now just needs a(some) hotel(s) and perhaps an urban residential enclave or two (like L3V3L or EDGE) to liven up the area with folks who will consistently patronize the venues. Then there wouldn't need to be much/as much public funding.

In all honesty, I'd rather chose for the city to boost Riversports since it still is a startup than for the city to constantly be pouring money into the failure that is the State Fairgrounds (which is NOT a startup, was stripped of its revenue attractions on purpose, is therefore no longer viable for anything other than horse/farm shows; that supposedly have a huge revenue stream - so why is the State Fairgrounds always asking the city/MAPS for $$?????). But I digress. ...

I'd expect a huge boost to Riversports if/when they finish the First American's Museum and tie it to the district (but even again, the FAM grounds also will need hotel/residential infill to make it truly lively). Once everything is finished and some hotel(s) come online (and residential is at least u/c) then the city can really start advertising the area as yet another tourist hot spot. I hope that will also eventually include the OKC Zoo Aquarium, with all 3 venues making Riversports District world class esp if the hospitality is also done right.

The key here is, with Riversports Yes Aubrey had a vision and enacted on it but now it is the city's responsibility to realize it and carry the torch. In finance we call this sunk costs, so the city will continue to have more (and as I said before, I'm largely OK with that). At least it has an upside if the master planning + implementation (+ Aquarium) is done right that could make Riversports/FAM the city's premier tourist/recreation area.

[3nglnd]

You can see the color changing interior lights are now on.

These lights are pretty neat. Saw them for myself this morning for the first time. They pop out really well in the dark