New Bells Location

[Bat Bat]

Any ideas?

Since the Drillers are going downtown, it wouldn't surprise me to see Bell's go to the new development in Jenks (where the Driller's were supposed to go).

[Ibanez]

Turley.

No wait...that's Disneyworld.

[rwarn17588]

I'll believe it when I see it. There's been talks for months about Bell's coming back in a suburb, but absolutely nothing substantive.

It's much more likely that Robby Bell will sell off the equipment he has in storage (if he already hasn't). Bell's management was bad enough in the last few years of its existence that few municipalities or developers are going to want to take a chance at an amusement park -- especially with Robby Bell running it.

[Bat Bat]

There has always been talk of one of the Indian Tribes wanting to build an Indian themed amusement park.  The Tribes are plush with cash these days and might back Robby Bell.  Then again maybe the Tribes purchase the equipment.

How about an Indian themed amusement park at the new Jenks development?

[breitee]

quote:Originally posted by Bat Bat

There has always been talk of one of the Indian Tribes wanting to build an Indian themed amusement park.  The Tribes are plush with cash these days and might back Robby Bell.  Then again maybe the Tribes purchase the equipment.

How about an Indian themed amusement park at the new Jenks development?


How about NOT!

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by rwarn17588

I'll believe it when I see it. There's been talks for months about Bell's coming back in a suburb, but absolutely nothing substantive.

It's much more likely that Robby Bell will sell off the equipment he has in storage (if he already hasn't). Bell's management was bad enough in the last few years of its existence that few municipalities or developers are going to want to take a chance at an amusement park -- especially with Robby Bell running it.

I really don't agree with the characterization that Bell's management was "bad".  I think there were some simple solutions to keep the rif-raff out.  A higher, all-inclusive gate fee would have likely send gang-bangers elsewhere to look for trouble.  You can't profile people coming in the gate, so gang problems really were not the Bell's fault.

They had been doing clean up and renovations of rides and had approval finally for a spectacular new roller coaster.  It's a costly proposition to keep up a seasonal business like that.  They weathered some rough times and were gaining on it.

Main reason I don't see it reopening is the cost to re-assemble everything.  It's going to take a small fortune to re-build Zingo.

[MDepr2007]

I was thinking SS or across the river at the old Hissom property. They could use the kids at Rader to work for a discounted rate and get a tax break....

[SDTULSA]

That is the place Im wishing for and the news about Robbie Bell signing a agreement with someone on a new location is good news as I was thinking that Bells would never get rebuilt.

[BierGarten]

The fact that a new Bells is being discussed as a good idea makes me sick.  What are you guys thinking?  It is completely backward to me.  Bells has a track record of being a way sub-par amusement park.  WAY sub-par.  Dirty and old and worse.  Why would anyone want that again?

Tulsa, now without the unfortunate piece o' that was Bells, has the opportunity to court a real owner/operator.  It does not seem to me that it would be that hard of a sell, as a nice new Tulsa amusement park would have a quite large north-eastern Oklahoma market all to themselves.  Of course, our city government would actually have to do something other than look for ways to stock downtown full of our tax dollars in order to get such a thing done, so who am I kidding.

[Red Arrow]

quote:Originally posted by BierGarten

The fact that a new Bells is being discussed as a good idea makes me sick.  What are you guys thinking?  It is completely backward to me.  Bells has a track record of being a way sub-par amusement park.  WAY sub-par.  Dirty and old and worse.  Why would anyone want that again?

Tulsa, now without the unfortunate piece o' that was Bells, has the opportunity to court a real owner/operator.  It does not seem to me that it would be that hard of a sell, as a nice new Tulsa amusement park would have a quite large north-eastern Oklahoma market all to themselves.  Of course, our city government would actually have to do something other than look for ways to stock downtown full of our tax dollars in order to get such a thing done, so who am I kidding.

Are you suggesting that if Bell's were rebuilt that it would be intentionally dirty, old, and worse?

[JoeMommaBlake]

Here's my idea:

I went to Seattle not long ago and was fascinated by The Seattle Center. For those of you who have never been to the Emerald City, The Seattle Center is home to shopping, park-like attractions, their arena, museums, the space needle, multiple public transit stops, and.... an amusement park. http://www.funforest.com/

I'm not suggesting that Tulsa attempt to duplicate the Seattle Center here, but I love the idea of having a deliberate mix of retail, restaurants, amusement park, theaters, etc all in one walkable cluster and in an urban setting. This may get some hard-core TulsaNowers riled up, but I'd really like to see some outlet style stores all grouped in a center. Stores like Nike store, Puma, Virgin Superstore, Barnes and Noble (or just go to http://www.tangeroutlet.com/brands) would, in many instances, be unique the downtown/midtown area if not to Tulsa altogether.

I think we could create a fine downtown attraction in the East part of downtown or south of the arena towards the BA on Denver.

Bear with me. I know I just suggested that we put box stores in downtown, but if it's as a part of a large, walkable center, I think it can be cool and appealing to visitors to our city and to mid-towners who now travel out south. As long as we don't adulterate the parts of downtown where local business is growing and prevalent, I think some appropriate chains could be great for the area. Some outlet style stores could really create a draw for the area.

Remember that these stores are on 16th Street in Denver, CO. http://www.downtowndenver.com/BID/BID16thStreetMall.htm Nobody has accused Denver of selling out and every time I'm there, 16th St. seems like the place to be. It's a nice mix of many different things. We have to start thinking of a downtown that appeals to the metro area, not just mid-towners. Large cities make their livings appealing to the visiting suburbanites as well as to the urbanites.

If you put a revitalized Bells in a center with stores and restaurants, parks and a theatre, along with a cool museum (seattle has a sci-fi museum and an interactive music center as a part of their center.) http://www.funforest.com/ I think we'd preserve our historic amusement park name, without attracting the thug-holes (http://usversusthem.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/thug_life.jpg) that hung out there. I'd take my family there, ride a ferris wheel, buy some Nike gear, and eat some hot-dogs from street vendors.

You would too.

Also, in Seattle there is a massive fountain...I mean big. It was full of kids playing in it and had steps up from it in the round. Several couples hung out on the steps watching the kids play. It was cool. http://www.seattlecenter.com/events/location/detail.asp?VE_VenueNum=244

[Shavethewhales]

^^^Is that you, Bjorkland? Oh waaaaaaaaa, Bell's wasn't the fanciest place in town. Get real - it was a small amusement park. It was much better than the fair. Besides, as was stated, they were doing all they could to re-invent themselves and replace most of their attractions.

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

quote:Originally posted by rwarn17588

I'll believe it when I see it. There's been talks for months about Bell's coming back in a suburb, but absolutely nothing substantive.

It's much more likely that Robby Bell will sell off the equipment he has in storage (if he already hasn't). Bell's management was bad enough in the last few years of its existence that few municipalities or developers are going to want to take a chance at an amusement park -- especially with Robby Bell running it.

I really don't agree with the characterization that Bell's management was "bad".  I think there were some simple solutions to keep the rif-raff out.  A higher, all-inclusive gate fee would have likely send gang-bangers elsewhere to look for trouble.  You can't profile people coming in the gate, so gang problems really were not the Bell's fault.

They had been doing clean up and renovations of rides and had approval finally for a spectacular new roller coaster.  It's a costly proposition to keep up a seasonal business like that.  They weathered some rough times and were gaining on it.

Main reason I don't see it reopening is the cost to re-assemble everything.  It's going to take a small fortune to re-build Zingo.

Re-building the Zingo won't be that big of a deal. Larger wooden coasters have been torn down and re-built before with great results.

Bell's hasn't sold anything major yet - I've been watching the ride trading sites for months, and I would have seen it. I recall robby saying all the rides were still around anyway. At this point the only thing slowing him down is himself. He's just a different kind of business man - not necessarily bad all around, just kind of slow and archaic in his ways. I'm expecting a 2010 re-opening of Bell's, complete with a new star attraction along the lines of a vekoma SLC. (See the gauntlet at Magic Springs in Arkansas)

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by JoeMommaBlake

Here's my idea:

I went to Seattle not long ago and was fascinated by The Seattle Center. For those of you who have never been to the Emerald City, The Seattle Center is home to shopping, park-like attractions, their arena, museums, the space needle, multiple public transit stops, and.... an amusement park. http://www.funforest.com/

I'm not suggesting that Tulsa attempt to duplicate the Seattle Center here, but I love the idea of having a deliberate mix of retail, restaurants, amusement park, theaters, etc all in one walkable cluster and in an urban setting. This may get some hard-core TulsaNowers riled up, but I'd really like to see some outlet style stores all grouped in a center. Stores like Nike store, Puma, Virgin Superstore, Barnes and Noble (or just go to http://www.tangeroutlet.com/brands) would, in many instances, be unique the downtown/midtown area if not to Tulsa altogether.

I think we could create a fine downtown attraction in the East part of downtown or south of the arena towards the BA on Denver.

Bear with me. I know I just suggested that we put box stores in downtown, but if it's as a part of a large, walkable center, I think it can be cool and appealing to visitors to our city and to mid-towners who now travel out south. As long as we don't adulterate the parts of downtown where local business is growing and prevalent, I think some appropriate chains could be great for the area. Some outlet style stores could really create a draw for the area.

Remember that these stores are on 16th Street in Denver, CO. http://www.downtowndenver.com/BID/BID16thStreetMall.htm Nobody has accused Denver of selling out and every time I'm there, 16th St. seems like the place to be. It's a nice mix of many different things. We have to start thinking of a downtown that appeals to the metro area, not just mid-towners. Large cities make their livings appealing to the visiting suburbanites as well as to the urbanites.

If you put a revitalized Bells in a center with stores and restaurants, parks and a theatre, along with a cool museum (seattle has a sci-fi museum and an interactive music center as a part of their center.) http://www.funforest.com/ I think we'd preserve our historic amusement park name, without attracting the thug-holes (http://usversusthem.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/thug_life.jpg) that hung out there. I'd take my family there, ride a ferris wheel, buy some Nike gear, and eat some hot-dogs from street vendors.

You would too.

Also, in Seattle there is a massive fountain...I mean big. It was full of kids playing in it and had steps up from it in the round. Several couples hung out on the steps watching the kids play. It was cool. http://www.seattlecenter.com/events/location/detail.asp?VE_VenueNum=244

Sounds very similar to Navy Pier in Chicago.  Seems like the sort of thing that would be perfect for the West Bank.

[guido911]

quote:Originally posted by BierGarten

The fact that a new Bells is being discussed as a good idea makes me sick.  What are you guys thinking?  It is completely backward to me.  Bells has a track record of being a way sub-par amusement park.  WAY sub-par.  Dirty and old and worse.  Why would anyone want that again?

Tulsa, now without the unfortunate piece o' that was Bells, has the opportunity to court a real owner/operator.  It does not seem to me that it would be that hard of a sell, as a nice new Tulsa amusement park would have a quite large north-eastern Oklahoma market all to themselves.  Of course, our city government would actually have to do something other than look for ways to stock downtown full of our tax dollars in order to get such a thing done, so who am I kidding.

Remember that well kept miniature golf course at Bell's? Other than nostalgic value, the place was a mess.

[BierGarten]

quote:Originally posted by Red Arrow

quote:Originally posted by BierGarten

The fact that a new Bells is being discussed as a good idea makes me sick.  What are you guys thinking?  It is completely backward to me.  Bells has a track record of being a way sub-par amusement park.  WAY sub-par.  Dirty and old and worse.  Why would anyone want that again?

Tulsa, now without the unfortunate piece o' that was Bells, has the opportunity to court a real owner/operator.  It does not seem to me that it would be that hard of a sell, as a nice new Tulsa amusement park would have a quite large north-eastern Oklahoma market all to themselves.  Of course, our city government would actually have to do something other than look for ways to stock downtown full of our tax dollars in order to get such a thing done, so who am I kidding.

Are you suggesting that if Bell's were rebuilt that it would be intentionally dirty, old, and worse?

No.  I suggest no intent merely that Bells track record indicates that that is exactly what we would get.

Should the city hire the fiber optic lighting company that did the fairgrounds system that didn't work to do lighting on the BOK Center?

Should the city work with Great Plains airline and its supporters to start a new airline with service to the coasts?

No!  Same logic leads me to the ridiculous nature of the notion that the city should work with Bells to reopen a new amusement park.