Trula, in the Mayo Hotel

[heironymouspasparagus]

Having said all that nice stuff about Tulsa just above, here is the blast;

What kind of ignorance would lead the so-called "city leaders" to come up with the idea that there is a need for a new center (crashed UFO) when they can't even be bothered to take care of the civic center they have???  Last time I was there (early 2009) the ceiling was falling down in the main auditorium, there was that endemic need for a coat of paint, and the mirrored tubes hanging from the ceiling not only should go, but should never have been put there in the first place!!

I guess the voters just got tired of hearing the same crap over and over again and figured it was worth a couple hundred million just to get them to shut up and leave us alone!

[Patrick]

What kind of ignorance would lead the so-called "city leaders" to come up with the idea that there is a need for a new center (crashed UFO) when they can't even be bothered to take care of the civic center they have???

I guess you missed this Tulsa World article.

Convention Center wows both young, old

by: KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
Sunday, January 17, 2010
1/17/2010 4:41:59 AM

In a way, the image didn't seem quite right — a young person taken aback by a public building.

But there was Brad Thurman, 17, walking through the Tulsa Convention Center's new ballroom Saturday morning with real excitement in his eyes.

"I just have to find out how much it costs to rent it for an after-graduation party," said Thurman, a high school junior from Broken Arrow. "That would be pretty cool."

Thurman, it turns out, wasn't the only one impressed.

Bill Wilke, 77, hadn't even made it into the ballroom when he began singing the praises of the newly renovated Convention Center downtown.

"Tremendous, what I saw, absolutely tremendous," he said as he stepped out the building's exhibit hall.

Wilke then walked down the hallway with its pearl-colored terrazzo flooring and into the 30,000-square-foot ballroom.

Inside, a band played, strobe lights swirled around the room, and wait staff dressed in red shirts and black pants served cheesecake, punch and a mix of raspberries, blackberries and melon served on toothpicks.

"Holy cow," Wilke said as he entered the ballroom.

Thurman and Wilke were just two of the estimated 4,600 people who attended Saturday's open house showcasing the Convention Center renovation and expansion.

"I was really happy" with the turnout, said John Bolton, who manages both the Convention Center and the BOK Center. "So many people saw it for the first time and the positive reaction really was gratifying to see."

The $50.5 million project was paid for with Vision 2025 funds and marks the second major renovation of the building since it was constructed in 1964.

The ballroom is the centerpiece of an addition built north of the existing convention center where a surface parking lot used to be.

The addition features a 250-panel glass curtain wall entrance along Third Street that is much simpler in design but meant to echo the nearby BOK Center's signature glass wall.

Also, a new plaza-style entrance on the south side of the building is home to the sculpture Amity, which used to be outside the former City Hall.

Repairs and upgrades have also been made to the 8,900-seat convention center arena, which is where Brenda Craft and Royce Stalter stopped on their way to the ballroom.

Stalter said he used to come to the arena when the University of Tulsa basketball team played its home games there. On Saturday, he stood inside the renovated structure and watched the Tulsa 66ers basketball team practice.

"We just wanted to see what they were doing," Stalter said. "I like it so far, the improvements look nice."

Jennifer Thomas-Ardt was one of the first people to stop by the open house, which ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. She was looking for a place to celebrate her recent wedding.

"I'm trying to see if it will be the best place for a reception," Thomas-Ardt said.

The 47-year-old Tulsan was married to Army Command Sgt. Major Dervyn Ardt on Jan. 7 in Eureka Springs, Ark. The two have known each other for 28 years.

"I called and they told me come down today and see if I like it," she said. And she does. "It's beautiful," Thomas-Ardt said. "But we didn't get all the pricing yet."

Tulsa Convention Center by the numbers
1964 — The year it opened

10 — Number of new meeting rooms

8,900 — Number of seats in renovated arena

20,000 — Events held at center since it opened

30,000 — Square feet of the new ballroom

102,600 — Number of square feet in Exhibit Hall

$50.5 million — Cost of renovations and expansion

2010 — renovation and expansion completed

[TURobY]

...and the mirrored tubes hanging from the ceiling not only should go, but should never have been put there in the first place!!

I love that artwork! I guess that's why it is why they say that art appreciation is a subjective thing...

[Conan71]

I was in the Cox Convention Center in OKC (formerly the Myriad) yesterday, and can't see that it's maintained any better or worse than the Maxwell House was prior to it's major overhaul.

[RecycleMichael]

I love that artwork! I guess that's why it is why they say that art appreciation is a subjective thing...

I love the mirrored tubes in the convention center as well. It is art I can understand.

There are some times of day when the sun hits them just right and the prism effct is stunning.

[Hoss]

I was in the Cox Convention Center in OKC (formerly the Myriad) yesterday, and can't see that it's maintained any better or worse than the Maxwell House was prior to it's major overhaul.

what, other than the fact that the ceiling wasn't falling out of it?  I went to the CC no less than 32 times a year for 10 years prior to 2009 for hockey.  Shallow ceiling for hockey and arena football, pieces of the ceiling falling out during games, lights not working and other things screamed 'new venue', to me anyway.

If this city was smaller, I would have said renovate it.  But our metro area, in my eyes, called for a new, larger scale arena.  9000 is just too small for a metro area creeping up on a million people, and in actuality the base it draws from is much more than that.  And for those of you who have told me 'what about the Mabee Center', that's a privately owned facility.  The Roberts' had control over who appeared at that venue.

I'm glad we build 'the crashed UFO'.  It's unique.  It makes people talk, even if it's for both opinions.  People I know still talk about it.

If nothing else, I don't have to drive to Dallas or OKC or KC to take in a decent big-act concert for a change.

[Conan71]

Hoss, my comment on the  Cox in OKC was simply they don't seem to take any better or worse care of their assets.  I'm a fan of the BOK center, not a hater.

[SXSW]

My original comment has nothing to do with the Convention Center.  I made the comment that compared to OKC's Civic Center Music Hall the PAC looks a bit "dated" and in need of a renovation.

[Hoss]

Hoss, my comment on the  Cox in OKC was simply they don't seem to take any better or worse care of their assets.  I'm a fan of the BOK center, not a hater.

I never said you were a hater Co; I know you were one of the quiet skeptics who were going to take a wait and see attitude.  I am talking about those people who find fault in it regardless of what the numbers say.  I'm glad it's here.  I'm glad I can pump money into the economy in which I live instead of going to the Metroplex or DT KCMO or God forbid, Bricktown.

Oh, I forgot to mention I HATE Oklahoma City.

[Conan71]

I never said you were a hater Co; I know you were one of the quiet skeptics who were going to take a wait and see attitude.  I am talking about those people who find fault in it regardless of what the numbers say.  I'm glad it's here.  I'm glad I can pump money into the economy in which I live instead of going to the Metroplex or DT KCMO or God forbid, Bricktown.

Oh, I forgot to mention I HATE Oklahoma City.

We'd have never gotten Sir Paul, EC, Elton/Billy, and countless others to come without BOK.

[Hoss]

We'd have never gotten Sir Paul, EC, Elton/Billy, and countless others to come without BOK.

Now I'm waiting for Dave Grohl/Foo Fighters.  I haven't been to many down there, but I'd dish the dough to see those guys.

[Conan71]

Now I'm waiting for Dave Grohl/Foo Fighters.  I haven't been to many down there, but I'd dish the dough to see those guys.

I'd go see the Foo if I could get first generation tix and not have to deal with the thieving re-sellers.

[Townsend]

Now I'm waiting for Dave Grohl/Foo Fighters.  I haven't been to many down there, but I'd dish the dough to see those guys.

Saw them at Caines before the overhaul on a summer night (no AC and a packed house).  Grohl changed the words to one of the songs and sang about how hot it was.  I appreciated the band much more after that show.

On topic, I'm a regular at Trula and now that one of my friends lives at the Mayo, I assume I'll be there more often.  Adam, James, and Travis are all good bartenders and now they have a bar menu and a new sommelier.

[Conan71]

Saw them at Caines before the overhaul on a summer night (no AC and a packed house).  Grohl changed the words to one of the songs and sang about how hot it was.  I appreciated the band much more after that show.

On topic, I'm a regular at Trula and now that one of my friends lives at the Mayo, I assume I'll be there more often.  Adam, James, and Travis are all good bartenders and now they have a bar menu and a new sommelier.

As in Travis from Arnies?

[Townsend]

As in Travis from Arnies?

I don't believe so.  At least I don't remember him from Arnies