BoK Center stuff I learned

[sgrizzle]

Some interesting bits I came away with:
- The arena could seat 19,000+ if we crammed the seats together like OKC.
- The arena seats are 3" wider and 6-7" further away from the seat in front of you than OKC.
- Our arena is sold out of luxury seats, OKC's is not.
- The fact the arena finish will look hazy straight-on but mirrored at an angle.
- Multi-colored programmable curtain wall lighting.
- 3-sided "vegas style" marquee
- The walls inside will be covered with perforated steel panels to mimic the outside surface.
- Super-ultra-mega scoreboard (supposed to be nicest in the nation)
- A new elevator is being added on the SW corner of the 2nd St parking garage to accomodate pedestrians travelling to the arena.
- "Major Construction" will complete mid-june.
- Plumbing fixtures will all be low-consumption/"green" (a certain other forum member asked)
- Exterior skin of the building will be lighted as well (sorry patric)
- The "upper concourse" which is used to get to the cheap seats, has some of the best views in the Arena, and Tulsa.
- From roughly every spot in the concourses you can see outside as well as up and down levels. From a lot of locations, you can also see the event floor.
- Lots of tiny details have gone in like using different style grout lines whether it's vertical or horizontal to create horizontal line effects throughout the building.
-Each window is tested under simulated wind conditions 6,000 times before it's installed.

Anyone else get any interesting tidbits?

[inteller]

"- A new elevator is being added on the SW corner of the 2nd St parking garage to accomodate pedestrians travelling to the arena."

You've GOT to be kidding.  This town is so ****ing fat and lazy that people can't walk a CITY BLOCK from the SE elevator?

Man, people just need to ****ing die if they can't handle a few extra hundred feet.

[TURobY]

quote:Originally posted by inteller
You've GOT to be kidding.  This town is so ****ing fat and lazy that people can't walk a CITY BLOCK from the SE elevator?

Or, of course, it could handle wheelchair/stroller traffic.

[cannon_fodder]

quote:- A new elevator is being added on the SW corner of the 2nd St parking garage to accommodate pedestrians traveling to the arena.

Ha!  I wondered what was going on in that ramp. It opened in 2004 and was already under repair?  Good to know.

- I learned that the chairs in the suite boxes are awesome.  The boxes have granite counters, leather chairs, and marble flooring.  They really are luxury boxes.

- Level 2 will be restricted access for the boxes and have a super secret entrance

- The Western end of the arena will be the primary stage end (all boxes face that end)

- The ceiling will be draped with acoustic clothe (wonderful detail for a concert venue)

- The entrance extends inside elements out (large awning, curtain wall, lighting elements) and outside elements in (the metal flows in, the flooring will be transition, and plenty of outside light).

- The design is really split level.  Rising a full story (really more like 20 feet) from 1st St. to 3rd.  So you actually walk into the top of the bowl on level 2 - with "back of the house" operations under you.

- There are 3 public entrances.  The grand entrance off of Denver and a secondary entrance off of 3rd (directly across from the Federal Building) as well as a box entrance near the corner of 3rd and Frisco.  Along Frisco there will also be loading docks, service, and equipment entry.

- The BOk center is big: inside and out (I already kinda new that... but wow).

Seriously, I was impressed.  I've been to plenty of arenas and I'd stack what I saw (and anticipate) against most of them.  It doesn't have the mystique of the Garden nor the scale of of the United Center or Dallas AA center -  but certainly it stacks up to the Target Center (Minneapolis), the Excel Energy Center (St. Paul - Stars, Timberwolves), the Bradely Center (Milwaukee Bucks), or even the FedEx Forum (larger by a few thousand but not nearly as cool looking - also built by Flintco FYI).

Architecturally it is unique.  Inside it should be top notch.  The scale is appropriate for Tulsa.  I hope it is utilized as well as it is designed and built.

Inside Arenas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_indoor_arenas_in_the_United_States

HOWEVER -

I do have to say that the location is about as bad as any I can think of.  Worse than the FORD Center, the Fedex Forum, Excel Energy, the Des Moines Well's Fargo Arena or as I said, any other I can recall.  Not because it was poorly located per transit, or parking, or available land.  Just the neighborhood sucks as an entertainment.

Hopefully the city, the blue dome, Brady, or someone else picks up on the ideal of free and continuous shuttles.  Hopefully someone develops some things around the arena.  Hopefully development in the East End encircles downtown with development.

But for now, the location is not tourist friendly and I fear a come, see and leave atmosphere for most of the suburbanites.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by TURobY

quote:Originally posted by inteller
You've GOT to be kidding.  This town is so ****ing fat and lazy that people can't walk a CITY BLOCK from the SE elevator?

Or, of course, it could handle wheelchair/stroller traffic.

oh yes, the current elevator can't do that.[]

[TURobY]

quote:Originally posted by inteller
oh yes, the current elevator can't do that.[]

Didn't honestly know there was an elevator. I've never parked in that structure. []

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by TURobY

quote:Originally posted by inteller
oh yes, the current elevator can't do that.[]

Didn't honestly know there was an elevator. I've never parked in that structure. []

It WAS a top notch structure until they started ****ing with it and adding crap to it that it wasn't designed for.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by TURobY

quote:Originally posted by inteller
oh yes, the current elevator can't do that.[]

Didn't honestly know there was an elevator. I've never parked in that structure. []

It WAS a top notch structure until they started ****ing with it and adding crap to it that it wasn't designed for.

It already had one elevator, the new one matches the original so far.

[grahambino]

quote:
- The arena could seat 19,000+ if we crammed the seats together like OKC.
- The arena seats are 3" wider and 6-7" further away from the seat in front of you than OKC.

so you saying the seats @ the "Your Hair Smells Terrific Center" are crammed together?

[inteller]

"It already had one elevator, the new one matches the original so far."

we'll see once it is completed.  Kinda hard to say that a bunch of temporary plywood matches the original so far.


What I would love to know is who the watchdog is that is causing welders to come back in and add these useless little metal strips along the stair rails.  I'm sure it is the same watchdog who is causing the city to repaint the grating along the bottom after only 4 years.  I smell government waste.

[restored2x]

I learned that that is the closest I'll ever get to being in a luxury box.

[breitee]

I would still like to know where they expect everyone to park.

[Hawkins]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle


Anyone else get any interesting tidbits?

Uhm... let me see. Ooh! I think I've got one.

It would be a good place to herd the general population into in the event of martial law?

[]

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by breitee

I would still like to know where they expect everyone to park.

Why in the garage they are installing the fatso elevator in of course!

I think they should just install a big slide on the 5th floor of the garage so the fatties can park up there and just slide down to the first concession stand on the ground floor of the BoK center, fill up on hot dogs, frito pie and other **** then a conveyor belt can whisk them away to their "wider than Ford Center" fatty seat so they can watch Celine Dion belch out syrupy dreck for $160 a head.
For the return trip we can reuse the sky lift from the fairgrounds that bell's no longer uses.

[dsjeffries]

quote:Originally posted by breitee

I would still like to know where they expect everyone to park.

Where do the 35,000-40,000 people who work downtown park?  If they ALL can find a spot and there are still huge, empty parking lots, I'd imagine people going to the BOk Center can find a place.  18,041 (MAX) is a lot less than 40,000.

Plus, there is a parking garage across the corner, and a garage one block away.

There's plenty of parking.