Game thoughts Oneok field

[we vs us]

I haven't been to a game yet, but have to say . . . I was driving downtown when the game let out on Sunday afternoon and lo and behold!  Suddenly I was awash in pedestrians!  There was a mob of folks walking up to 4 blocks to get to their automobiles!  And not a one of them looked cranky about it! 

It gave me hope for America, I have to say. 

[cynical]

I haven't been to a game yet, but have to say . . . I was driving downtown when the game let out on Sunday afternoon and lo and behold!  Suddenly I was awash in pedestrians!  There was a mob of folks walking up to 4 blocks to get to their automobiles!  And not a one of them looked cranky about it! 

It gave me hope for America, I have to say. 

I don't know how much farther people have to walk than at the old park.  We parked a few blocks away and walked to the stadium in about five-ten minutes.  I wasn't timing it because it didn't matter.  I've been to two games so far and had no trouble at all getting in or getting back out. 

What I do know is that the crowd disperses much more quickly because of having exits and parking areas in all directions.  I have been going to Driller Stadium for years, most recently with season tickets.  It was difficult to get through the stream of pedestrians leaving the stadium on fireworks nights because most of them left via the driveway behind the health department, especially if the bridge across the racetrack was closed. 

Having people downtown changes the vibe entirely.  I think this is a huge bonus for downtown, especially for the Blue Dome and Brady districts.

I would not suggest trying to drive east/west on Archer after a game.

[TheTed]

The bike rack's been full every game, too.

I saw lots of people paying $10 to park a block and a half west of the stadium. I'll never get that, paying $10 to park in a small city on a weekend. Makes no sense to me, not with free parking 3 or 4 blocks from the stadium. I'd rather spend that $10 on a couple of stadium beers.

[Red Arrow]

The bike rack's been full every game, too.

I saw lots of people paying $10 to park a block and a half west of the stadium. I'll never get that, paying $10 to park in a small city on a weekend. Makes no sense to me, not with free parking 3 or 4 blocks from the stadium. I'd rather spend that $10 on a couple of stadium beers.

I just wouldn't go if I had to pay $10 to park. 

It could be that the word needs to get out that the metered parking is free evenings and weekends.  A co-worker of mine did not know that and paid $8 to park at a recent event downtown, and of course complained.  His complaint was more for the amount of money to park rather than the fact that he had to pay to park.

[Townsend]

I just wouldn't go if I had to pay $10 to park. 

It could be that the word needs to get out that the metered parking is free evenings and weekends.  A co-worker of mine did not know that and paid $8 to park at a recent event downtown, and of course complained.  His complaint was more for the amount of money to park rather than the fact that he had to pay to park.

American parking needs to go the heck away.  Every time I see one of their signs on a pothole filled weed choked lot it ticks me off.

On a positive note, the park is great and I'm truly pleased with it and the development going on around it.

[we vs us]

Is it just me or are people much more positive about this field than they were about the BOK?  I feel like there're far more mixed feelings about the arena than there are about the ball field, and that includes the general enthusiasm for development nearby. 

[Conan71]

Is it just me or are people much more positive about this field than they were about the BOK?  I feel like there're far more mixed feelings about the arena than there are about the ball field, and that includes the general enthusiasm for development nearby. 

It's not just you.

I can't put my finger on it with 100% certainty, but it was brought up in the early phases of discusssion about the team going to Jenks or downtown.  Ballparks downtown are simply a draw.  They also put this in an area ripe for re-development and in the midst of a larger area which was already renovated but really needed an anchor to bring more people in.  I've asserted from the git-go that the ball park would do more for downtown than DTU had done in the last 30 years.  There's something hip and cultural about a downtown ball park.

Why the BOK still seems maligned is beyond me.  They've had one big show after another, yet people still keep screaming from the FAIL wagon.

I've not had a chance to get to a Driller's game yet but will soon.

[Hoss]

snip...

Why the BOK still seems maligned is beyond me.  They've had one big show after another, yet people still keep screaming from the FAIL wagon.

...snip...

Likely because it was the largest public project ever done by the city/county and that it was the result of two previous failures.  Face it, many people in this part of the country just are not about progress, even when we did have a good economy at the time (although the cost got inflated due to a) higher energy costs and b) increase during the Katrina inflation.

It became quite the political hot-potato for some time.

My opinion was that if management worked hard enough, it would sell itself.  It appears Mr. Bolton and his crew have done an outstanding job of getting acts lined up.  Rush is icing on the cake.  I never thought I would see them here.

[Conan71]

Apparently the BOK's ability to draw didn't diminish after the one year anniversary.  This has been a great thing for Tulsa, no two ways about it.

I'm happy I was wrong on my V-2025 naysaying, Tulsa County would look like post-modern Beirut in about five years without it.

[we vs us]

Seriously. Not to make this thread about the BOK but it's been nothing but awesome for the city.  It's won national awards in its first year and has frankly just booked like gangbusters considering its size and location.  I think you're right, Conan . . . no two ways about it, it's a homerun.  And yet.  The FAILboating persists.

I wonder if it's as easy as it being a roofed venue.  There's something open and communal about a baseball stadium  (if you've been to Wrigley, you know what I'm talking about) that maybe an arena just doesn't have.  Especially if your arena is all modernist and stainless steel and somewhat forbidding.

[Conan71]

I've only been inside two major league parks, Royals Stadium & Dodger's Stadium (about 1992, not sure if that is still the same park in LA). 

My favorite Wrigley Field reference:

[Hoss]

I've only been inside two major league parks, Royals Stadium & Dodger's Stadium (about 1992, not sure if that is still the same park in LA). 

My favorite Wrigley Field reference:

Yes, it's still the same park.

And I've also been to Kaufmann Stadium.  Very interesting.  I gained 5 pounds from sampling all the BBQ.  Since the Royals usually suck, I found out it's more of a social gathering than people watching a ball game.

And living in Houston for three years I got to see the Astros several times in their horrible Orange/Brown unis at the 8th wonder (Astrodome).  The next season after I left is when they redesigned their uniforms (1993-1994).

[Breadburner]

People did not want to pay for the Bok....Alot of people still grumble about the way it looks.....

[TheTed]

Is it just me or are people much more positive about this field than they were about the BOK?  I feel like there're far more mixed feelings about the arena than there are about the ball field, and that includes the general enthusiasm for development nearby. 

I was never negative about the arena, but I'm definitely more positive about the ballpark because it's just so much more affordable. I'm not going to pay $100 and take a day off work (because it seems most of these events are on weekdays) to see some washed up act perform.

Minor league baseball is just much more accessible. Everyone can afford it. Everyone enjoys a day at the baseball park, vs. the arena where most people probably don't like a good percentage of the acts booked. You can have your pick of days of the week you want to go to a game, vs. the BOK where you have to go on a Tuesday if a certain act you like is booked for a Tuesday.

Despite living and working downtown, I've only been to the BOK maybe a half dozen times. I'll easily have visited ONEOK more than that by mid-summer.

Downtown is where baseball parks belong. I absolutely hate going to a game at a parking lot ballpark like in KC or Arlington, Texas. I'm pretty sure hell has a giant parking lot full of neverending converging lines of traffic all heading toward the same exit.

[Hoss]

People did not want to pay for the Bok....Alot of people still grumble about the way it looks.....

And that's their prerogative.  Much like it is mine to admire the architecture (which I do).  I still refer to it as the "mothership" though.

And internally, of all the larger arenas I've been to, this one seems much more open and not so cramped.  Ever been to ScottTrade Center?  AA Center in Dallas?  ScottTrade, when full with about 19000, seems so crowded in the concourse.  At least the BOK doesn't have that crowded feel when it's full.