OKC

CVB

88 CONNECT MAY/JUNE 2015

Is there a better place than Oklahoma City—with the only state Capitol building in the United States to have a working oil well on its grounds—to host 400 oil and gas professionals? The answer is no for Ty Wright, chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ upcoming biennial, five-day Production and Operational Symposium, which was held there in March 2015 and will return in 2017. “The POS has been in Oklahoma City for more than 30 years, and we cater to the oil and gas industry companies located here,” says Wright.

The Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel was selected as host property due

Area guest rooms: 16,000  Nearest airport: Will Rogers World  Convention center: Cox Convention Center  Meeting space: 152,500 square feet  Meeting rooms: 21

Construction continues on Downtown Public Park, which will have 70 acres of gardens, fountains, a great lawn facing a stage, a promenade and a lake. The $132 million project is scheduled to be completed in 2021.

The 124-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites Oklahoma City Downtown - Bricktown opened in January, and the 195-suite Embassy Suites Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center opened in February.

Brickopolis, an entertainment center and restaurant in Bricktown, will open in spring; Topgolf Oklahoma City will open in summer; an 80,000-sq.-ft. Cabela’s will open in fall; and Riversport Rapids, a whitewater rafting and kayaking facility, is slated to open in 2016.

QUICK FACTS

NEW ANDCOMING SOON

Oklahoma City is mapping out its future with its third Metropolitan Area Project.

The decade ahead looks promising for Oklahoma City, a destination that (surprise!) has 300 days of sunshine per year and tons of history (for example, its National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum holds an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts and has a 16,500-sq.-ft. events center). Thanks to the third phase of its $777 million Metropolitan Area Project, known as MAPS 3, the city is on its way to completing eight significant projects by the end of 2017. The projects are being funded by a 1 cent sales tax initiative that began in April 2010 and will revitalize the city.

For starters, a new $252 million convention center is currently in the concept stage, with construction expected to begin in 2016. The center will sit along Robinson Avenue downtown and include an elevated ballroom with city and park views, meeting space, entrances on all sides of the building and belowground exhibit halls and loading docks, with footbridges to Myriad Botanical Gardens and the future 70-acre Downtown Public Park, another MAPS 3 project. Also in the works is a modern streetcar system, improvements along the Oklahoma River and on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Fair, and new trails and sidewalks to make the city more walkable. —AD

On the Horizon

SOUTHWEST

to its location near Cox Convention Center and Bricktown. But SPE members appreciated more than the convenience factor in a city known for its meat-heavy cuisine. “We had a Sunday night reception at the Petroleum Club, looking out from the 34th floor to the beautiful night skyline of downtown OKC,” says Wright, also noting the group had a barbecue lunch at Earl’s Rib Palace. A native of the city himself, Wright also recommends Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, the oldest continually operated restaurant in the state since 1910, to visitors: “It’s a must-visit if you have never been.”

[CASE STUDY]

130miles of federal interstate and state highways intersect the city

Bricktown