OKC MAPS PROJECTS – 25 YEARS
Lodging, Tourism, and Cultural Attractions The MAPS projects carried significant expectations for increased visitation and a much more vibrant downtown tourism and hotel sector. Hotel development began along with construction of the Bricktown ballpark and canal and has continued nearly unabated. What was once an undersized hotel sector in the pre-MAPS era has been transformed into an important and growing strength of downtown. This section of the report examines the emergence of the downtown hotel sector in the MAPS era along with changes in downtown tourism activity. Downtown/Bricktown Lodging Sector A key aspect of the strategy underlying MAPS was the development of a significant hotel sector in downtown to accommodate visitors to newly completed MAPS projects and the revitalized downtown area. A related goal was the establishment of a room base to support far larger conventions than attracted in the past. Pre-MAPS Lodging . Prior to the approval of the initial MAPS projects, few hotel options were available in the downtown business district. The 396-room Sheraton-Oklahoma City was the only downtown hotel with modern rooms at the onset of the initial MAPS projects but needed upgrading. Constructed in 1976, the Sheraton’s proximity to the Cox Convention Center made it the de facto headquarters hotel for the city’s conference industry. The aging downtown Skirvin Hotel closed in 1988 and sat abandoned until revitalized nearly two decades later. Along with limited downtown lodging options, few entertainment, food service, and recreational offerings were available to serve visitors to the area. No lodging options were available in Bricktown in the pre-MAPS era. The former industrial and warehousing district was highly distressed and dotted with numerous empty parcels, the result of urban renewal in prior decades. Just prior to MAPS, the Bricktown area was home to mostly light commercial activity that survived the city’s industrial and manufacturing decline. Many buildings were in disrepair and the area was underutilized relative to land adjacent to the city center in most cities of similar size. Post-MAPS Lodging to 2009 . Beginning with the opening of the MAPS-funded ballpark in 1998 and the canal in 1999, hotel development in downtown and Bricktown entered an extended period of growth. Figure 46 provides a timeline of hotel development and room count in the area since 1976 along with the location of each facility. In early 2000, nearly 25 years after the opening of the Sheraton, the 311- room Renaissance-Oklahoma City Hotel launched the rebirth of the lodging sector in downtown. Developer John Q. Hammons noted the vital role played by MAPS in his firm’s decision to build the new Renaissance Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City:
“When Oklahoma City passed the Metropolitan Area Projects plan in the early 1990s, it made a great commitment to strengthening its offering to the convention and tourism industry. I recognized the commitment made by the people of Oklahoma City and am excited to be a part of their vision for the city’s future.” 50
Located adjacent to the Cox Convention Center, the Renaissance served as a second conference-capable hotel. More importantly, the addition of the Renaissance allowed Oklahoma City to move into a higher tier of conference destination cities. 51
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