No Entertainment Value

[Richard at Remax]

I could give two craps if you do or don't live here. Sorry that you ran across people who think their self worth is higher than it should be. happen in every city in America

[BBatesokc]

Snotty attitudes towards all that don't live there?

Which is total B.S. and is every bit as arrogant as the stereotype you'd project onto those who do live in Edmond.

[jerrywall]

Hey there Mr Highhorse. You know Edmond Santa Fe has more students on free/reduced lunches than MCHS?

Umm, cite? Because every bit on information I can find puts MCHS at twice the percentage of students on the lunch program.

[Stew]

If us east siders all agree that Edmond is the greatest city in the history of mankind and Edmondite poop doesn't stink then can we shift the discussion on this Midwest City thread back to entertainment options in Midwest City?

You're beautful Edmond and I was insane to think I ever had a chance with you. My bad.

[Tylerwilliams16]

Agreed.

[Tylerwilliams16]

If us east siders all agree that Edmond is the greatest city in the history of mankind and Edmondite poop doesn't stink then can we shift the discussion on this Midwest City thread back to entertainment options in Midwest City?

You're beautful Edmond and I was insane to think I ever had a chance with you. My bad.

Agreed.

[jerrywall]

With all this agreement, I think MWC should pay a greatness proximity tax, which will benefit Edmond and help continue the greatness.

[warreng88]

I worked as a loan officer at a bank in Spencer about ten years ago and many of our customers were MWC/DC residents. I never had a problem with any of the people in that area and have quite a few friends who still live out there. I think the movement has changed from people moving out to the burbs to people moving more back to the central core of OKC because that is where the action/entertainment is. There are obviously still people living in MWC/DC, but as school districts start to get better in other burbs and even the core, people (mostly young families) also tend to flock to where the best schools are. That would be my best guess as to why the entertainment isn't as good as it used to be.

[Plutonic Panda]

Let me say this as someone who lives in Edmond, compared to other major cities with upscale suburbs, some might call Edmond ghetto. While Edmond is certainly a nice place to live, it has nowhere near the amount of wealth that other upscale suburbs do in a lot of other cities.

I still like Edmond, as it is my hometown, and think it has a bunch of potential, but I always laugh when people talk about how upscale it is.

[bombermwc]

Stew - agreed. Circling back to MWC now......

So lets throw some random ideas around and see what we can come up with here as things to DO in MWC as potential development.

* LASER TAG! Hey there are still a ton of kids (and kids at heart) on the east side. Who else would love to be able to play some laser tag in MWC. Um hello...Heritage Park could be a massively awesome one. HAHAHAHA.

* Movie Theater - Well we lost two of them (Heritage 3 and Heritage Plaza 5) but they were both pretty pathetic and from the old school theater world. IF one was built, I would bet that Crossroads 16 or whatever would fold. If you haven't been to the old Crossroads 8 lately, it's actually an awesome deal. Freaking THX sound with digital projectors...for a few bucks with no crowds. It's definitely not your grandmas dollar theater. I don't know that EOC could support something like a 16 screen, but a 10 screen seems like it would be easily supported if it were placed in the right location. Heritage is NOT that location. It would really need to be positioned near a highway (40) and probably more on the east side of MWC so that it can pull more from the Choctaw crowd. The hard part there is putting it somewhere that has the potential for other development. Past Douglas going east, there really isn't anything on 40 until you get near Choctaw Rd...and that's simply too far out. Not enough population concentration there to do it. Totally talking out of my rear here, but the RV sales location on 29th/40 seems like a perfect location. The RV Sales place has been dozed for years, and I think it's actually an old mobile home community that was south of the plot, which I believe has been abandoned/closed (eastland hills park or something if googlemaps is right). But I haven't seen a For Sale sign up. Doesn't mean the owners wouldn't be interested if the right deal came by though. And THAT's proximity to the Douglas Corridor, with 29th just a mile away. https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4331.../data=!3m1!1e3

* Arcade - we used to have Aladin's Castle at Heritage but it's long since gone. With places like Dave and Busters showing how an arcade can still function (and be geared towards ADULTS, why not try again? Make use of some of that million square feet of strip center space in MWC. Or better yet, tie it in with some sort of food option like Dave and Busters. Any one else seem like this one and the laser tag together spell HeyDay in Norman? LOL. The thing is, places like this turn a HUGE number of customers in a day and those people often tend to return to those locations. Remember Peter Piper Pizza in the Mazzios building? I couldn't tell you how many birthdays I had there as a kid.

* Bounce Gym - if you haven't been to one yet, you should. There is at least one in Edmond, but it's not terribly exciting. The first one I went to was a Pump It Up in San Antonio...is some random suburb. It was fun for our group of families that were there on vacation together from 3 years old up to 8 in kids AND the adults. The difference between the one in Edmond and Pump It Up was that it was actually encouraged for the adults to get on the stuff and it was fun for them too. It was a great experience for my 3 year old twin boys (at the time) because they got to climb up these things on their own. Hard to explain, but the multiple rooms had some stuff that was crazy high for a 3 year old (20-25' ceiling in the place to accommodate the slides). Kids Birthday Party Place | Kids Activities and Events | Pump It Up of San Antonio NE, TX | Serving Northeast San Antonio

*Putt Putt - lets bring it back! Again, seems like HeyDay could cover quite a few of these in a single development. Again, appeals to all ages. That corridor on 29th could become an entertainment destination instead of an eyesore. And there is still room on Douglas to put this kind of stuff.


keep the thought train going....

[mmonroe]

This is the discussion I was waiting for!

I think the very first thing that should happen is an 'amusement' type center. Think Andy Alligator's, HeyDay, or Celebration Station. Incorporate a few things that those places don't have to draw a crowd, and standout from being just another amusement center. (i.e. Indoor Sky Diving!) And of course the standards; go-karts, bumper boats, batting cages, arcade, putt-putt golf, laser tag, etc.

A movie theater would be my next move, and again, different from the others; 3-plex IMAX or a 6-10 screen multiplex with a variety of dining options ($-$$$) .

I'd also propose adding either a new and separate pool or figure out a way to add onto Reno Swim and Slide. ( I know there were new renovations, but that was with maintenance and necessity, no real 'attraction' value was added.) Ohhh cool, neon lights... #sarcasm There are better slides and the like at closer municipal water parks and pools.

I'd also like to see a music venue, art studios/exhibits, museums, the 15th/Hudiburg/I-40 triangle turning into a true hospitality district with unique moderately upscale restaurants, gardens, and potentially more hotels.

We have a great view of Downtown OKC, why are we not capitalizing on that? (Not just skyscrapers, you can see the medical park and sometimes the Capitol.)

People like to talk about how transient military don't really invest in the communities they temporarily call home but I imagine they get bored and seek entertainment. Having ANYTHING local means more time not traveling and getting to enjoy the amusement/entertainment. Most military have family, and that means they need things to do as well.

///edit
Bomber, have you ever been to JumpZone on 104th and S. Western?


Anyone else know that we now have a brewery within city limits?
http://roughtailbeer.com

[Drake]

Drake - yeah i'm going to take it personal because that's where i grew up. If you played football at MCHS' field, then yes you went to the oldest and most depressed part of MWC. Congratulations for making a snap judgement from your 100 yard view of the area. Did you also miss the massive economic development going on around that same area? In fact, i think you made my very point for me about how misinformed the population of OKC is.

Do you have any reason to go to Yukon or Mustang? There's even LESS to do there than in MWC. If you judged Mustang on going to their football field, you should have similar views compared to MWC. And if you're basing your opinions off of your jr high and high school self, then i see no point in even discussing it.

Radical - there's a lot to that. The current Atkinsons are a shadow of WPBill. They can't develop to save their life..just look at all the flops North Star has come up with. Uptown is a joke in terms of what they finised with in so-called phase III, which actually LOST them tenants. Copper Creek on 240 didn't happen. And now those things are going in elsewhere...like the Neighborhood Market they were supposed to have in it. They have no vision and i personally feel are too comfy in the trust. At the same time, Atkinson came in when the place was a field of grass and could get land super cheap. With Tinker opening, he had a major advantage to boom the place, which it did. The oil bust caused a major hiccup in MWC and like a lot of placed, Edmond-flight sucked away a lot of potential buyers. But lets be clear to the skeptics, you have not seen a population decrease in MWC...ever. You have not seen an economic decrease in MWC either. It's a fiscally stronger city than it's ever been with the amount of tax revenue coming in.

MWC needs a movie theater back and other things to DO for sure though! If only we could doze Heritage and get the city to spur some entertainment development. It would be great to see incentives on that to get something going because it would be a win for the city for the returned tax money. Just dont do any of the ad-valorum bull crap like Home Depot.

Why did you address me with that response? Assuming you meant Filthy

[hoya]

I'm a proud Del City boy. And my neighborhood can beat up your neighborhood.

[bombermwc]

I've never been to that one mmonroe.

One thing that could be done at Reno is to bring it indoors. Enclose the whole thing so it can be used year-round. There are a handful of those around the state, but I'm not aware of any IN OKC. Think Clinton. Water Zoo - Oklahoma's first indoor water park. - YouTube We could take out the last softball field (cause they are an incredibly inefficient use of park space that has been declining for decades anyway) and turn it into something that actually MAKES money too. Places like Grey Wolf Lodge make money all year round because people actually do want to go to a water park in Feb. For those of us with winter birthdays, it would be an AMAZING place for a birthday party (or would have been for my kid days) since we could never do anything outside. And that doesn't require outside funding...it's all municipal and could be from a bond. Heck, they could doze the whole thing and start over for that matter to REALLY make it awesome. It would definitely be a metro-wide draw and I don't really know why it hasn't been done yet.

[Stew]

I'm a proud Del City boy. And my neighborhood can beat up your neighborhood.

That's amazing Hoya.... I can't imagine there's very many reform school kids who end up passing the bar. Good for you!

[kevinpate]

... I can't imagine there's very many reform school kids who end up passing the bar. Good for you!

You might be truly amazed at some of the folk who grew up to pass the bar.

[Bunty]

In fact, MWC is one of the strongest economies in the state. It's a top 10 in the list of the largest cities in the state by population. It has one of the best non-major city economic development groups working for it.

Not true, economy wise, since Midwest City has only grown 3.7% since 2000. Compare that with Moore, which is 40%.

[Roger S]

You might be truly amazed at some of the folk who grew up to pass the bar.

And then there are some people that can't seem to be able to pass a bar after they grow up. ;+)

[rezman]

There is hope for the area though. I read on another thread that Dairy Queen is coming to Del City. I used to love going there as a kid.

[Plutonic Panda]

Like I said, I'd you want entertainment, you know what to do. I even have a guy who can get you the bees(you didn't hear that from me) .

[bombermwc]

Not true, economy wise, since Midwest City has only grown 3.7% since 2000. Compare that with Moore, which is 40%.

In case you missed it, I said economic development GROUPS. I wasn't talking about the overall growth of the MWC economy. Without those people, the city would not be seeing increases at all. 19th in Moore is the #1 player for Moore still. Go back a few years to when Town Center in MWC was new and you would see massive growth numbers like that too. Once you finish building 19th out, that area will slow a bit. Moore's population is still booming too. I'd argue that increases in MWC mean even more because of the population in MWC not growing like it is in Moore. MWC has a higher percentage of elderly residents (they're still living in the same house they built here way back when). Population is still going up in MWC, just not at an insane level like in Moore....its' like apples and oranges.

And as a side note. Because of the draw in Moore, you don't exactly need a stellar development team to make it happen. It's more impressive to see someone work magic with less. I'm not going to say MWC is some amazing place, but it's not what people claim it is.

Here's a link to the CoC in MWC. It's not often that you see the amount of effort put into these things that MWC is doing. I'm sure Edmond and Moore and Norman are doing it. But I bet you didn't know MWC was and I bet there's a lot in the documents you didn't know.... Comprehensive Plan | City of Midwest City As I said, it's GROUPS, not just the city of MWC doing this. It's a partnership between all of the groups to help spur the development.

[bombermwc]

I recently saw this posted on Facebook. Interesting little blog from a MCHS alum. It's pretty good description of the ongoing frustration those of us that attended MCHS felt in comparison to CA. The inequality in how the districted treated the schools and their students is still present, although I would agree that the "awe" of CA has fallen from what it once was. Or shall I say, was corrected.

My high school was, ?pretty black.? | Michael Anthony Goodman

Id suggest reading some of the comments. The most interesting ones are those from the 70's alumni from when MCHS was a mostly white upper-middle class school with a lot of disposable income. Interesting how the take is how the speak as an adult on what they missed out on in that bubble....a bubble that I would argue exists is a great number of the communities that look down at MWC.

[adaniel]

^
Very interesting read. Thanks for sharing.

Just curious, what is the dividing line between MWCHS and Carl Albert?

[Mel]

^
Very interesting read. Thanks for sharing.

Just curious, what is the dividing line between MWCHS and Carl Albert?

An imaginary line.

[bombermwc]

LOL, the "district" line is Douglas Blvd. CA has a huge swatch of SE OKC as well...way out to Schwartz Elem. and beyond...I think like 104th and Hiwassee or something. It's just not very densely populated. If the population ever kicks into gear, you'll see CA become 6A, but it's been moving at a snails pace for quite some time. But as Mel says, the line is a somewhat imaginary one. MWC is MWC regardless of what high school you go to.

Pet Peeve though...there's no W in MCHS. :P