Omni Hotel

[OKCRT]

The more you think about it, the Cox Convention Center could be used as a backup for convention overflow of the new convention center; this is already being discussed.

Do you think the City will be in any hurry to demolish the Cox Convention Center...

I bet the Cox is still there 10 years from now. Same with the Old Ford Dealership site.

[Pete]

I just can't imagine them demoing the Cox Center any time soon. Not only is it still used, but it also has 1,000 parking spaces.

Until there is enough demand for large-scale development, I'm sure it will stay put. There is still all the property on the west side of the Myriad Gardens, the huge tract to the south and then the Producers Coop and Strawberry Fields.

It will take decades for any of that to begin to fill out.

[SoonerDave]

I think it will stay for some time, and for an even more practical reason - OKC spent a non-trivial amount of money rehabbing/remodeling/rebuilding the north side of the place (sorry, it will always be the Myriad to a long-timer like me), so the place isn't *all* five-decades old. It would be a shame to plow down that space that still has some good utility and has some fairly recent money put into it.

[OKC Guy]

I just can't imagine them demoing the Cox Center any time soon. Not only is it still used, but it also has 1,000 parking spaces.

Until there is enough demand for large-scale development, I'm sure it will stay put. There is still all the property on the west side of the Myriad Gardens, the huge tract to the south and then the Producers Coop and Strawberry Fields.

It will take decades for any of that to begin to fill out.

Plus it does a ton of HS graduations. I doubt those would move to new CC

[Pete]

I just wonder if the city and CVB will book anything there after the new facility opens.

I guess we'll find out at the end of the year.

[jn1780]

My thinking is that it will all come down to long term maintenance. If it needs a new roof and starts leaking 5 to 10 years down the road, I don't see the city wanting to pay for that if the only ones who use it are high schools and some over flow events every now and then.

[Pete]

The Blue (Thunder development team) still plays there.

I just can't see anyone stepping up to develop that parcel anytime soon. Until then, at least it provides parking and other utility.

Or maybe we can tear it down, leave a huge pit for quite a while, then years later install a basketball court.

[amocore]

The Blue (Thunder development team) still plays there.

I just can't see anyone stepping up to develop that parcel anytime soon. Until then, at least it provides parking and other utility.

Or maybe we can tear it down, leave a huge pit for quite a while, then years later install a basketball court.

I think the arena is a good reason to keep it around longer. At least until the new one at the state fair is up and running.

[shawnw]

IMO it would be worth doing a land swap between the city and the Bob Howard site. The city then rents the Cox Center back from them to make up for loss of parking revenue, until they're ready to do something amazing on that site (maybe we can have some provisions about that... e.g. no standalone parking garages, no plazas, etc). Then the city can RFP the Bob Howard site to create some continuity between MBG and Scissortail. Apologies if this has been suggested before, probably has, 92 pages and all.

[BoulderSooner]

I think the arena is a good reason to keep it around longer. At least until the new one at the state fair is up and running.

i think this will be the tipping point for when the cox use conversation starts

[G.Walker]

https://journalrecord.com/2020/02/21...kc-omni-hotel/

[Laramie]

i think this will be the tipping point for when the cox use conversation starts

True, it will generate conversation; however the City will continue to use the Cox Convention Center as a potential backup and evaluate its future.

[Teo9969]

IMO it would be worth doing a land swap between the city and the Bob Howard site. The city then rents the Cox Center back from them to make up for loss of parking revenue, until they're ready to do something amazing on that site (maybe we can have some provisions about that... e.g. no standalone parking garages, no plazas, etc). Then the city can RFP the Bob Howard site to create some continuity between MBG and Scissortail. Apologies if this has been suggested before, probably has, 92 pages and all.

I think the players that have the Bob Howard site are strong enough that there's no reason for the city to risk this. The Cox Site is substantially more valuable in the long-run because of it's relationship to the inter modal hub. Neither site needs to develop until OKC obtains a few more major corporations who can help drive the type of development necessary for that site.

The only thing that I would say REHCO could/should definitely go ahead and develop is a hotel facing CHK Arena/Boulevard and readily usable by convention goers (along with them realistically needing a garage). I'd think you'd be able to do a pretty swank hotel there. So I'd think in the 2-3 years after the convention center is online they'll assess how many rooms they should strive for, and develop the hotel and garage in such a a way that they can both create a temporary use for the rest of the land while also having everything oriented such that there would be minimal interruption to the hotel's service when they finally develop the rest of the property.

I'm with Pete though that this is going to be a decade's long process. Unfortunately, Oil and Gas is probably never going to rebound to the point of printing money the way that it used to, so we'll have to capture some other market segments over time in order to bring in the investment dollars necessary to build out the area surrounding MBG the way we need to.

[mugofbeer]

<wrong thread>

[Laramie]

Well aware we've veered off topic:

SMG, OKC Chamber of Commerce, State Fair Board Trust & the OKC Convention & Visitors Bureau, does these groups work together or do they have separate functions where one respects the other's territory; also are there any over ruling (1)...

Example: Say for instance ice hockey planned to return to Oklahoma City in the form of an East Coast Hockey League franchise where neighboring Tulsa & Wichita have teams; (2) Thunder objected to an ice plant being used The Peake--how would this get resolved; (3) you think the City would invest in any upgrades (seats, restrooms) to Cox Convention Center to make it more hockey friendly if the team played there...

OFF TOPIC: Directed question to East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) Sports Thread.

[mugofbeer]

Nm

[mugofbeer]

Nm

[Pete]

Only one crane left.

[JDSooners]

Only one crane left.

That went by really quick!

[Pete]

[rte66man]

I know that ship has sailed but I still think they made a mistake by not having a skyway connection to the Convention Center. I know why they did what they did but when it's 40 degrees with our typical 20-30 mph winds, people are going to really complain.

[dankrutka]

I know that ship has sailed but I still think they made a mistake by not having a skyway connection to the Convention Center. I know why they did what they did but when it's 40 degrees with our typical 20-30 mph winds, people are going to really complain.

I go to tons of conferences with short walks between buildings and I can't remember ever hearing someone really complain. They complained about the weather, but the building. I really don't think it'll be a problem.

[warreng88]

I go to tons of conferences with short walks between buildings and I can't remember ever hearing someone really complain. They complained about the weather, but the building. I really don't think it'll be a problem.

My wife asked me why there wasn't a skywalk from the CC to the hotel. i said, "Cause it's 50 feet..."

[Plutonic Panda]

It is a mistake they didn’t connect the skywalk. Some might not see it as a big deal and other cities do and have these amenities offered.

[jonny d]

It is a mistake they didn’t connect the skywalk. Some might not see it as a big deal and other cities do and have these amenities offered.

Meh, I can guarantee you that no convention worth anything to OKC will not pick OKC because of it.