USA BMX to move headquarters to Tulsa

[SXSW]

What is the plan for the stadium now that BMX is (most likely) not going to be there?  Is there a master plan for future development at the fairgrounds? 

[TulsaRufnex]

Where you see conspiracy I see a group who never considered the Athletics to be a real tenant. Bells was big business for decades. The Athletics were just a way to make a few bucks before they tore down the stadium. If they could have, the health department, horse track and stadium would have been gone years ago.

So, it's okay for political officials and their paid bureaucrats to screw the little guy, but not okay when Bells was falling behind on their lease payments?  Got it.

Also, I've heard enough about the shenanigans from Funk Jr/Energy FC to keep NASL OKC from ever getting off the ground and keep them from using any OKC facilities to make my hair stand on end.

For them to put their thumb(s) on the scales at the fairgrounds wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

What is the plan for the stadium now that BMX is (most likely) not going to be there?  Is there a master plan for future development at the fairgrounds?  

We need to find out the real reason why BMX didn't locate there first.

Since there is no publicly available master plan for future development at the fairgrounds, I'm betting they'll put some horse barns there so nobody can accuse them of flattening a 10k-seat stadium in favor of surface parking.  

Editorial: Old Drillers stadium runs dry
https://thezousehouse.wordpress.com/2017/07/30/editorial-old-drillers-stadium-runs-dry/

Athletic General Manager Matt Boullt talked about what went into renovating the stadium for soccer.

"It was just a vacant plot of neglected equipment until we came in and fixed everything, painted everything," Boullt said. "Tommy and Sonny spent their own money, like tens of thousands of dollars, to demolish a whole section so we could have a proper pitch that was right next to the fans."

Owners Sunny Dealesandro and Dr. Tommy Kern renovated the field to fit soccer regulations. This project involved removing a section of seating and bringing the field up to NPSL standards.

[SXSW]

The reason I ask is what is the long-term viability of even having the fairgrounds at 21st & Yale?  Obviously they've put a lot of money into the horse barns and other facilities over the years but why does this (thinking long term here) need to be in the middle of the city? 

[Hoss]

The reason I ask is what is the long-term viability of even having the fairgrounds at 21st & Yale?  Obviously they've put a lot of money into the horse barns and other facilities over the years but why does this (thinking long term here) need to be in the middle of the city? 

Maybe partially because it's county land?

[patric]

Remember when they kicked out Bell's and promised us "not a giant surface parking lot."  And we all laughed and laughed...

[cannon_fodder]

BMX still committed to Tulsa and it seems like they are moving forward with the FinTube site.  I assume they got the idea from reading TulsaNow. 

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/john-klein-tulsa-is-the-absolute-best-place-for-usa/article_f43b75f4-a5c1-58e0-955e-22f1c5e2c730.html


I think it's a good fit.  Close enough to downtown to have lodging for competitors and to draw them into spend some money while in town.  Out of the way enough that a large facility that usually has limited activity isn't breaking walkability.  I'm disappointed that the project fell through at the fairgrounds (particularly with how it went down with the Athletics), but this could work out to be a better location for BMX.  Now, lets add a mountain bike trail so I can get some use out of it.   

[sgrizzle]

I believe I heard a chamber person say yesterday that the lack of 1,000 room hotels is still an issue, as large events must book multiple hotels and very large events have to book many, many hotels.

[TeeDub]

There are strangely few 1000+ room hotels in the world.   I don't know that is truly an issue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_hotels

[cannon_fodder]

Outside of resort towns (Orlando, Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Honolulu...) and the largest metro areas (LA, Chicago, NYC, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Phili, Boston, Atlanta) there are  very few in the US:

San Antonio
Austin
Denver
New Orleans
San Diego
Phoenix
Detroit
Indianapolis
Louisville
Nashville
St. Louis

And even those are large metro areas, and most of them have one or two 1000+ room hotels.  Detroit has one because it used to be larger.  Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, and St. Louis appear to be the smallest non-resort towns to have one.  BMX USA is currently in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix.  Phoenix has 1 hotel over 1000, and it has exactly 1000 rooms. 

Mineapolis
Kansas City
Oklahoma City
Seattle
Portland
Milwaukee
Cincinatti
Cleveland
San Jose
Jacksonville
Charlotte
Memphis
Baltimore
Pittsburgh

and Tulsa. Somehow Tulsa has managed to host BMX largest event for more than a decade and do it without a 1000 room hotel.  Why would it be an issue now?

[Oil Capital]

Outside of resort towns (Orlando, Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Honolulu...) and the largest metro areas (LA, Chicago, NYC, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Phili, Boston, Atlanta) there are  very few in the US:

San Antonio
Austin
Denver
New Orleans
San Diego
Phoenix
Detroit
Indianapolis
Louisville
Nashville
St. Louis

And even those are large metro areas, and most of them have one or two 1000+ room hotels.  Detroit has one because it used to be larger.  Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, and St. Louis appear to be the smallest non-resort towns to have one.  BMX USA is currently in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix.  Phoenix has 1 hotel over 1000, and it has exactly 1000 rooms. 

Very true.  A 1,000 room hotel is just about the last thing Tulsa needs.  FWIW, I don't think St Louis has one.

[tulsamatt]

FWIW the Omni hotel at the new OKC convention center is only 600 rooms.

[swake]

I looked it up, Kansas City has one hotel with over 1,000 rooms, so does Denver. Dallas has five. Hotels that size are not common and shows that use only 1,000 rooms are not large, unless that's the hotel for the staff.

[Conan71]

and Tulsa. Somehow Tulsa has managed to host BMX largest event for more than a decade and do it without a 1000 room hotel.  Why would it be an issue now?

^^ And this.  Typically, event promoters for amateur events do not book rooms for participants.  They might take blocks for officials and such but they don't have someone in their office scrambling around to book 1500 hotel rooms.

[erfalf]

So I have always been confused as to why this is an issue as well. I mean, I understand having one large hotel as the epicenter of your event is great, and a legitimate desire, so I would think 500+ and tons of floor space would be deal breakers if we didn't have it.

But, early next year I'm going to an event that primarily uses the CNN Center in Atlanta, and about 6 other hotels, because even that isn't big enough. There were obviously plenty with walking distance (or tram) to the convention center so I really don't see the big problem I suppose. Now if Tulsa lacked a cluster of hotels that bested 1,000, that would be a legitimate issue. But I don't think that's an issue is it?

[swake]

The biggest show I've been to is Dreamforce in San Francisco. 150,000 attendees. The show itself not only fills the entire Moscone Convention Center but also uses every room in every large hotel in downtown SF.

Every hotel in the bay area is filled by the show. One year I booked late and had to stay in Emeryville north of Oakland. It was an hour each way to Moscone and even that hotel was filled with attendees.

A single hotel is not that important. I think hotel chains tell city officials that these large hotels are needed in an effort to get tax money to help them build large hotels on the public dime. It's just free money.