Five Years Later, BOK Center Is Still A Hit

[JCnOwasso]

I confess I get a little schadenfreud every time I overhear people at a BOK Center event complaining about that drive back to OKC.

This arena is a win, win, win for the City of Tulsa.  Whatever tax revenues it brings in are simply icing on top.

Honestly they aren't getting the shows we are getting.  Yes they have the Thunder, but they really can't schedule many shows during the NBA season and possible post season.  This only helps Tulsa.

[Cats Cats Cats]

It's a series of anniversary concerts. McCartney is just the first one.

I don't see why they try to call them anniversary concerts.  I haven't heard of any other arena trying to tie the construction of a building to a concert that just happens to be able to play within 5 months of when the building opened.

[Conan71]

I know I am preaching to the choir, but I was one of those folks who said the BOK would be a bust.  I was wrong.  Was listening to John Klein who mentioned that on Memorial day, the Drillers had a sell out, there was something going on at Guthrie Green and the Shock had a sellout.  Three things that would not happened had the BOK center not been built.... Sure, downtown development could have very well happened without the BOK, but I think it would have been significantly slower.   

The Shock had a sell-out? 

Good on them!

My wife and I looked at car tags as we rolled through the parking garage last night:

Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Creek Nation...

The Tulsa World story said someone flew here from I think it was Venezuela just for the two shows.  Of course not every show will bring people in from remote places, but I'm willing to bet this is more of a realistic attraction for tourism dollars than the entertainment district (ala Branson Landing) planned for the west bank in the 2007 River Tax proposal.  I always looked at that as "Riverwalk Crossing North" and would do little more than cannibalize sales tax collections from other parts of the city.

With the variety of venues and events now in the downtown area, including Tulsa Tough coming up next week, we have some verifiable winners when it comes to attracting tourism dollars from out of state and from areas in-state we would not have otherwise.

[RecycleMichael]

 Does adding the word "anniversary" help sell tickets?

I still think it is odd. But then, I also think guido is odd.

Now we are even.

[swake]

The Shock had a sell-out? 

Good on them!

My wife and I looked at car tags as we rolled through the parking garage last night:

Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Creek Nation...

The Tulsa World story said someone flew here from I think it was Venezuela just for the two shows.  Of course not every show will bring people in from remote places, but I'm willing to bet this is more of a realistic attraction for tourism dollars than the entertainment district (ala Branson Landing) planned for the west bank in the 2007 River Tax proposal.  I always looked at that as "Riverwalk Crossing North" and would do little more than cannibalize sales tax collections from other parts of the city.

With the variety of venues and events now in the downtown area, including Tulsa Tough coming up next week, we have some verifiable winners when it comes to attracting tourism dollars from out of state and from areas in-state we would not have otherwise.

I went to the game, the upper decks were closed and the lower bowl was maybe 2/3rds full. It was a fun game though, I hadn't been before and I was pretty impressed.

[Conan71]

I went to the game, the upper decks were closed and the lower bowl was maybe 2/3rds full. It was a fun game though, I hadn't been before and I was pretty impressed.

Speaking of empty seats, I noticed blocks of empty seats throughout the arena last night, blocks 10 or 20 seats here and there throughout.  I can only hope it was some a-hole scalper who got stuck with un-sellable seats.

[BKDotCom]

With the variety of venues and events now in the downtown area, including Tulsa Tough coming up next week, we have some verifiable winners when it comes to attracting tourism dollars from out of state and from areas in-state we would not have otherwise.

With the big Indian statue, we'll be unstoppable.

[Conan71]

With the big Indian statue, we'll be unstoppable.

That's it! Finally, a use for Standpipe Hill!  Of course if it's taken Shan Gray 10 years to produce an 8' replica of the statue, it may be a couple of centuries until we get it built.

[davideinstein]

It looks like crap on the outside with the rust look. I've enjoyed seeing DMB, the NCAA tourney, Oilers games and so on. But it looks like crap.

[Gaspar]

With the big Indian statue, we'll be unstoppable.

We're getting a big Indian statue?  Oh boy!  Please let it be Ganish.

[JCnOwasso]

The Shock had a sell-out? 

Good on them!

They actually turned people away, the problem is the corporate sponsors who have a plethora of (season) tickets let those seats sit empty which is terrible when you have people wanting to go to the game and get turned away at the door.  Either way, it is a good start to the Shock's season.  They should have one heck of a team from what I have heard.

[sgrizzle]

Does adding the word "anniversary" help sell tickets?

I still think it is odd. But then, I also think guido is odd.

Now we are even.

It sells a lot of Jewelry.

[rdj]

Rather have a the roll of duct tape arena or the toilet bowl arena?



http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11583606/golden-state-warriors-flush-notion-toilet-bowl-design

[Conan71]

Rather have a the roll of duct tape arena or the toilet bowl arena?



http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11583606/golden-state-warriors-flush-notion-toilet-bowl-design

And not even a Pelli design.  Looked like his previous work.

I was going to riff on the Brady Bunch Movie where everything Mike Brady designed looked like the Brady house.

[carltonplace]

And not even a Pelli design.  Looked like his previous work.

I was going to riff on the Brady Bunch Movie where everything Mike Brady designed looked like the Brady house.

Obviously inspired by if not borrowed from Pelli.

How could they not see that they were designing a toilet bowl?