Driller's Stadium Construction Progress

[SXSW]

Very cool.  Now we just need to see the area around the ballpark infill with some mixed-use buildings and that could be a lively area.  Fixing up Elgin from OSU-Tulsa south to 11th with new sidewalks, landscaping, and lighting would go a long way in tying the whole east end of downtown together, especially the ballpark and Blue Dome.

[Cats Cats Cats]

They are going to have to be very innovative in how they keep those stadium lights out of the eyes of IDL traffic.

Nice catch!  Yeah that might be the new traffic accident spot in Tulsa.

[restored2x]

Wow. Very nice! Haven't been on here in a while and sgrizzle told me at lunch that the drawings were on here - so here I am. I cannot wait for next year when I can take my daughter (and her friends) to the NEW Ballpark!

(Hey sgrizzle - update your Joe Momma Count - it's driving me crazy!)

[Renaissance]

I think they did a pretty decent job of updating the design to make it more palatable.  It's more traditional looking now and captures a bit more that idea of "Plains Deco" that was used at the Pavillion and many other spots. 

Still could have handled a design that was a little more inspiring, but this, while somewhat bland, at least won't be an eyesore.

[cannon_fodder]

Much improved.  I look forward to seeing more detailed renderings and hearing about the details.

[Hoss]

Wow. Very nice! Haven't been on here in a while and sgrizzle told me at lunch that the drawings were on here - so here I am. I cannot wait for next year when I can take my daughter (and her friends) to the NEW Ballpark!

(Hey sgrizzle - update your Joe Momma Count - it's driving me crazy!)

He did.  Last week I remember seeing it at 30; now it's 32.

[restored2x]

He did.  Last week I remember seeing it at 30; now it's 32.

I had lunch with him at Joe Momma's today. He wrote #33 on the table - I asked him what it meant and he said it was his "Joe Momma" count, which here still stands at #32.

[TheArtist]

Well, they did a pretty good job of blending a lot of things together. It can be hard to make this crowd happy,,, I want deco, I want brick, I want contemporary, etc. lol. I personally would have liked to have seen just a hint more drama and flair, some more entertainment factor, in the design...all in all its a very good "handsome" design and I give it a "B". (The arena was an A-, I am stingy with A's lol) Course its always hard to judge when you dont know how costs come into play. But anyway, Good job  .

[Gaspar]

Well, they did a pretty good job of blending a lot of things together. It can be hard to make this crowd happy,,, I want deco, I want brick, I want contemporary, etc. lol. I personally would have liked to have seen just a hint more drama and flair, some more entertainment factor, in the design...all in all its a very good "handsome" design and I give it a "B". (The arena was an A-, I am stingy with A's lol) Course its always hard to judge when you dont know how costs come into play. But anyway, Good job  .

+1  "What he said."

[sgrizzle]

To the news agencies that took the stadium pictures off of my flickr page.. YOU'RE WELCOME

I never hated the old design, but I do consider the new one an improvement. I'm more anxious to see the plans for the neighboring buildings. Musuem(s), hotel, parking garage, sports bar are all a must.

P.S. Joe Momma count now accurate.

[SXSW]

I'm more anxious to see the plans for the neighboring buildings. Musuem(s), hotel, parking garage, sports bar are all a must.

Me too.  I like what they have shown in the renderings.  There are prime development opportunities on the two parking lots on Elgin between Archer and Brady, the old Curly's building on Brady, the old warehouses on Archer east of Elgin, and the two buildings on the west side of Elgin just north of the tracks.  I really hope that employment office can be either relocated or renovated, as it is right now it really presents an obstacle for people walking on the sidewalk from Archer to 1st.  Any idea if a streetscape on Elgin and Archer is part of the ballpark plans?

Now that John Hope Franklin has died I hope we start to see a push to get his park finished.  Is it even fully funded?   

[Oil Capital]

Also noteworthy: the stadium now will have 22 suites instead of 30.  The party decks are considerably smaller since they brought some of the suites from the 3rd level to the second level.  The suite level club is also smaller.  The 3rd level is now only press. There are no suites up there. 

Are you serious?   Do you have a source?   Sounds like a bit of bait and switch.  How does that work out with the fixed-price contract, I wonder?   

FWIW, I liked the original design better, standing alone.  But I think you guys are right.  This will look better in the neighborhood.

[RecycleMichael]

Are you serious?   Do you have a source?   

Everything else "stymied" has said about the ballpark has been correct, so I will choose to believe him on this information.

I think he is the guy who wears the Driller mascot costume...Hornsby.

[Renaissance]

Yeah stymied has had inside info throughout this process.

I don't know how I feel about the decrease in suites--I mean, in my mind I'm certain they're underestimating the draw of a downtown ballpark and building too small.  I made this complaint to one of the principals in this deal and his response was something along the lines of, "Sometimes it's better to have high demand than high availability."  This didn't strike me as incredibly populist, although nothing about the project has been incredibly populist.

But from a design point of view, it looks like moving the suites gave them the ability to create a more vertical element with the press box behind home plate.  From the limited renderings this seems to be an improvement.  I definitely want to see an updated site plan and get new capacity numbers.  If they can't jam 8000 people in there including the grass berms and party decks it'll be a shame.  I went to Drillers Stadium on the 4th of July this year with 11,000 other people to watch fireworks.  A downtown stadium could draw even more for the big games. 

[Renaissance]

Oh also, does anyone (stymied?) have updated information on the status of the Mickey Mantle museum?  The last word so far was had by Steve Lackmeyer of the Daily Jokelahoman, who got quotes from the Oklahoma Redhawks that they were still interested and wrote a story saying it was going to OKC without talking to the Mantle family.  Is the museum still moving forward, and if so, have they figured out where they're putting it?