WTH Is Going On At Expo Square?

[zstyles]

They were fiber optic. 

I remember as a kid having one of those bushy, plastic, fiber optic thingeys that changed colors. In the instructions it noted that you could "nick or scratch" the fiber with a knife and that would allow light to come out of those spots for added effect. 

Well, after a good ol Oklahoma hail storm I saw exactly the same effect on the fiber optic cables on the expo center. Apparently someone didn't think things through very well. 

Doh!

[TulsaRufnex]

Yay... media day!

Take a late lunch on Thursday and meet us in the McNellies Side Bar at 1:30pm for the official announcement!   

[carltonplace]

Yay... media day!

Take a late lunch on Thursday and meet us in the McNellies Side Bar at 1:30pm for the official announcement!   

This have anything to do with Uncle Sonny?

[TulsaRufnex]

Yuup.  

[TulsaRufnex]

New soccer team could boost Expo Square, stadium
By KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer on Apr 22, 2013

http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/New_soccer_team_could_boost_Expo_Square_stadium/20130422_16_A1_CUTLIN555064

"It's a place where we can put a first-year franchise and people can say they are really trying to do something great in Tulsa and they are not content playing out of a high school venue," said Dalesandro, whose team opens its home season May 18 against the Liverpool Warriors of Dallas.

Drillers Stadium is one of three properties on the 240-acre fairgrounds whose fates remain unclear, Dalesondro's enthusiasm for the ballpark notwithstading.

Mark Andrus, CEO and executive director of Expo Square, said he has no long-term plans for the stadium, the former Tulsa County Health Department building to the north, or for Fair Meadows Racetrack.

In November, the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority, which operates the fairgrounds, approved a $2 million-a-year naming-rights agreement with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation that effectively put an end to live horse racing at the fairgrounds.

The agreement was later rescinded and live horse racing will be back again this summer.

But Andrus said he cannot make any promises beyond that.

"We continue to look at all options that are best for Expo Square," he said.

Andrus said he continues to speak with the Creek Nation about a possible naming-rights agreement.

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Expo Square had 110 full-time employees in 2008. It now has 53.

The fairgrounds in late 2011 began implementing new energy efficient lights in the Expo Center and has since put them in other buildings.

The program has saved Expo Square hundreds of thousands of dollars, Andrus said.

Andrus believes the changes, while painful, have been best for Expo Square and its customers.

"I am very confident in saying that our more than 400 customers each year would say we are more efficient, more responsible, friendlier, cleaner and safer than we have ever been," he said.

Dalesandro, the Tulsa Athletics co-owner, has certainly not given up on the place. He said that he is already thinking about what enhancements he can make to Drillers Stadium for next year's soccer season.

"The bones of this place are still good, it just needs a little love," Dalesandro said. "I think when people come in and they see the venue for the first time and how nice it looks, I think it is going to be really, really nice."

Expo Square profit and loss 2008-2013*
Year   Total Revenue   Net Income/Loss
2008   $22.3 million   ($2.7 million)
2009   $20.5 million   $100,710
2010   $21.3 million   $917,146
2011   $21.4 million   $124,493
2012   $21.3 million   $593,417

[sgrizzle]

Turn the horsetrack into a soccer stadium, with a few smaller fields to the south where off-track betting is currently. Replace Driller's stadium and the health department building with a 200+ room hotel/convention center (for smaller events)

Why big splash is still there, and why that convenience-store-sized hotel was allowed to be built, I have no idea.

[patric]

Why big splash is still there, and why that convenience-store-sized hotel was allowed to be built, I have no idea.

10 Questions for Randi Miller...

[RecycleMichael]

10 Questions for Randi Miller...

I saw Randi Miller downtown last Friday.