The post-Bell's fairgrounds era

[MichaelC]

More at KTUL

quote:Bell's was a Tulsa landmark for 56 years. But, the park lost its lease last last November after county officials said the park was bringing in less money each year and that it meant they didn't have enough funds to update their rides or keep them safe.

The site will now be the new main entrance to the Tulsa Fairgrounds. When the fair begins in late September, fairgoers will find a brand new international Beer Garden, a tiger show and a wild west show, all where Bell's once stood.

[Conan71]

Bates had an interesting take (last week's UTW) on why there was a hurry to get Bell's out this year:  To use that space as a staging area for equipment for the Arabian Horse Show starting in '08.  I guess they wanted to make sure the lot would be scraped in time.  He connects some interesting dots to make the point.

[AMP]

IHRA used the Fairgrounds parking lots for pre staging their Sooner Nationals show last month.  Expo is a great place for handling that type of traffic.

[patric]

The Big Ugly Fence around Bell's went up in record time (to keep Bell's out after this weekend?)

[Conan71]

I hadn't driven by in awhile even though I just live 6 or so blocks from the Fairgrounds.  Based on what I saw in the rubble, I don't see how Bell's will ever re-open.  I didn't see anything salvageable laying around from Zingo unless all they saved was the track bed and that was already hauled off.

Here's piles of 56 years of sweat equity.  Like Bell's or not, it was a sad sight:

[mr.jaynes]

Another piece of my childhood bulldozed. I am glad that I wasn't there for this. It's hard enough seeing these pictures.

[AMP]

I have a set of the same photos I took last Friday, very very sad and foolish indeed.  

Interesting to look at the chain of events, Expo purchases the Sky Ride for a song at $600,000 and then spends an additional $126,000 to help disassembly and move Zingo.  Plus whatever costs for the ongoing clean up of all the pictured rubble.  Say another $100,000. Add in the lost rent for this season.  Close to a million dollars so far.  

Had Bell's stayed we would still have the Amusement park and they could of sold the Sky Ride in yearly payments traded out for rent for the next 10 years.  Now the City/County owns the Sky Ride and have moved into the maintenance and refurbish business of a specialized piece of equipment they have absolutely zero knowledge of it's background, previous problems and existing problems.  Added to the fact they now are going to need to train personnel on the operation, training of operators and attendants to run the machine.  

Sounds like a tangled web of affairs that could of been solved much easier by leaving the physical park as it was, moved an asset or two on a spread sheet and kept the park open.  Thus generating revenue in the form of payroll and rent proceeds plus continue to entertain and put smiles on folks faces for years to come.  

[mr.jaynes]

Not ALL progress is a good things, and there goes your proof.

Rest in peace, Bells.

[brunoflipper]

good lord...

i also spent many memorable days there as a child but the fact that bell's had become such a completely neglected ****-hole negates any of the nostalgia i feel for the "bell's of old"...

in its final days, bell's needed a dramatic overhaul or it needed to go... the simple fact is that it was not self-sustaining and the family ran it into the ground... bell's died of attrition and not ill conceived public policy...

[AMP]

And Fair Meadows is self sustaining?

I suppose their rent is pro-rated for only the six or so weeks they actually are open during the 52 weeks of the year.  Don't think they have any sweat equity in the construction of buildings, much added equipment and tools or facility maintenance on their side of the Expo that Bell's was burdened with.  Speaking of tools and maintenance equipment, way who owns and maintains the Champion Road Grader that Fair Meadows uses for track maintenance?  

What happened to the concept of our Tax Dollars paying for the construction and use of Public Facilities so as to be a place for the Tax Payers and their families to actually have some leisure time and entertainment during their off times from busting their donkey at their jobs to earn the money to pay the taxes to build these PUBLIC USE FACILITIES so they may have a couple hours of entertainment now and then ?

Perhaps the next time the City/County Vision 2025 or what ever other future tax collection group it is that asks the TAX PAYERS to fork over additional tax dollars to construct a facility, they should also inform the public of the process of CHARGING the end users promoters, producers and tenants for the use of that facility.  

Open book set fee rental contracts should be available online.

No brother n law required Security Guards at marked up prices.  

No brother n law cleaning fees at marked up prices.  

No Brother n law Concessions. They need Open Concessions, not a bid process with exclusives.  Concessions with reasonable pricing not gouging.    

And it should also be required to provide cold water fountains that serve FREE WATER to the public in these types of public facilities.  $3 to $5 for a bottle of water is ridiculous.

No exclusive Beverage Contracts either.  Only folks benefiting from that are the beverage distributor and the Expo.  Exclusive beverage contracts may exclude events that are sponsored by competing beverage companies.  For instance Red Bull and Boo Koo Energy drinks fund many motorsports events.  

If the facility has an exclusive with Coke the contracts read no other beverage is allowed to be advertised, sold or given away during the event.  That rules out a long list of entertaing events that the TAX PAYERS who paid to build the facility may like to purchase a ticket to go see when that event comes to their town.  But with exclusive beverage contracts that most likely will not occur.  

Seems the Tax burden should be set with a budget that also provide maintenance, upkeep and improvements on the facility long after the initial construction of the Public Use land and structures are completed.  That would assist the private businesses like Bell's and help them grow and prosper instead of breaking even or loosing money.  

Was the loss of over 5 Million dollars in buildings, paving, labor and other assets and the end results of what the County has done to damage Bell's necessary?  And what about the 1 Million in other expenses paid by the taxpayer to purchase the Sky Ride, move Zingo and perform the final cleanup?  

What is the bottom line of Bell's expenses in the moving, storage, demolition and destruction costs when this is all said and done?  

All for additional parking  and staging areas ?

Oh almost forgot the additon of the International Beer Garden during the Fair, like we need more stumbling drunk people during a family oriented evnet such as the State Fair.  

Let's put another Beer Tent right at the entrance and encourage drunkeness and drunk driving and public intoxication at a public family event.  

Good Grief !    

[waterboy]

What happened to the smaller skyride with the open parachute styling? Were they required to dismantle it also?

AMP, like Bruno and yourself, I grew up with Bell's. My friends worked there, I took dates there in high school and screamed on Zingo. I will miss it dearly. Not the Bell's that was destroyed though. That was a nasty piece of work that never seemed to be improved and I did not look forward to taking my child there and exposing him to possible risk of decaying rides. About the only redeeming value it had as entertainment was the Log ride and the smaller Skyride. A testament to what happens when a business takes its existence, business relationships and customer relationships for granted.

We all lost.

[AMP]

Brief History Lesson

"The Oklahoma state legislature created county FREE Fairs in 1915, and Joe Bartles and his mother Nannie Bartles donated 40 acres for the Washington County Fairgrounds.

That is still the site of the Washington County Free Fair."

"A 7,000-seat grandstand was built in Dewey, Oklahoma along with a one-half mile racetrack and several exhibit buildings after World War 1."

Fair was FREE paid for by Tax Dollars as it should be.

THE TRACK PAID FOR BY TAX DOLLARS AT DEWEY, OKLAHOMA

[Conan71]

I have to admit, I've become more disgusted by Bell's being thrown out since I saw what a heap of rubble their business has been reduced to.  I'm probably also taking it a little more personal having known Robbie growing up and seeing two men who have never known any other business looking around at those heaps and seeing a huge personal investment ruined.

I was never worried about ride safety the last few years at Bell's, I just didn't want my girls there after dark.  Bell's couldn't very well put up a "No homies allowed" sign without people crying racism and security guards can't randomly pick out people and throw them out before they start trouble otherwise you have people screaming "profiling".  It wasn't as tidy as it used to be.  

Bell's was caught in a tough position of either raising gate prices and making the park no longer accessible to everyone, or tightening their belts and working with what they had to work with on limited funds.  You can't spend what you don't have unless you are the government.

An irony I see is attornies like Clark Brewster have helped raise the liability insurance rates at amusement parks all over the country which has either cut into funds available for maintenance and upkeep, or raised the gate fee beyond what is reasonible for a family outing for an afternoon.  

I'm not allowing one incident at Big Splash to direct this question, but how well maintained is that 23-year old park?  The idea of swimming with a few hundred other people just grosses me out.

[brunoflipper]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

I have to admit, I've become more disgusted by Bell's being thrown out since I saw what a heap of rubble their business has been reduced to.  I'm probably also taking it a little more personal having known Robbie growing up and seeing two men who have never known any other business looking around at those heaps and seeing a huge personal investment ruined.

I was never worried about ride safety the last few years at Bell's, I just didn't want my girls there after dark.  Bell's couldn't very well put up a "No homies allowed" sign without people crying racism and security guards can't randomly pick out people and throw them out before they start trouble otherwise you have people screaming "profiling".  It wasn't as tidy as it used to be.  

Bell's was caught in a tough position of either raising gate prices and making the park no longer accessible to everyone, or tightening their belts and working with what they had to work with on limited funds.  You can't spend what you don't have unless you are the government.

An irony I see is attornies like Clark Brewster have helped raise the liability insurance rates at amusement parks all over the country which has either cut into funds available for maintenance and upkeep, or raised the gate fee beyond what is reasonible for a family outing for an afternoon.  

I'm not allowing one incident at Big Splash to direct this question, but how well maintained is that 23-year old park?  The idea of swimming with a few hundred other people just grosses me out.

when i was at big splash two years ago, there was, literally, duct tape on some of the slides and pumps... it is only a matter of time before something goes horribly wrong there...

[Conan71]

Hmmm.  Another reason to not go there aside from the "yuck" factor.