Centrally located in the continental U.S. and therefore accessible via air or interstate, Oklahoma’s two main meetings destinations—Oklahoma City and Tulsa—possess an intriguing blend of Western, Native American and urban heritage that groups enjoy exploring.
Attendees who haven’t visited in awhile, or ever, will appreciate agendas filled with top-shelf accommodations and meeting facilities, unique attractions, fun outdoor pursuits and more than a few surprises.
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma’s capital city is a bustling riverfront community with a couple of unexpected attributes, according to Elizabeth Buckley, director of convention sales and services at the Oklahoma City CVB.
“The river itself actually surprises people,” she says, adding that Oklahoma City hosted the USA canoe and kayak Olympic trials, and that a number of river-based events are available for groups.
For starters, three river cruisers managed by Hornblower Marine Services float up and down the river, departing at different areas.
“It’s a great leisure activity and also a fun way, though not quick, to get from point A to point B,” Buckley says, explaining that the Oklahoma River’s seven-mile stretch runs through downtown and extends to the airport area.
Oklahoma City is also enjoying a new and successful rowing community because, according to Buckley, a straight channel makes for excellent rowing since it’s shielded from the wind. A facility that provides gear for rowing, kayaking and other boating pursuits is the Chesapeake Boathouse, which also has meeting space. Buckley says three other boathouses are on the way, including one that’s scheduled to break ground this year.
“These boathouses will all be great for corporate team-building events or to host an off-site dinner,” she says.
Visitors are equally surprised to find all that Bricktown, Oklahoma City’s exciting entertainment district, has to offer.
“Bricktown is thriving with attractions [including the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum] and 30 restaurants,” Buckley says, explaining that most have private dining rooms of various sizes for five to 200 people.
Among Bricktown’s group-friendly eateries are Nonna’s Euro-American Ristorante, with eight meeting rooms; Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse, with a large private dining room; and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, with a VIP room available for rental.
Bricktown is also home to a number of shopping options, including Bass Pro Shops, Oklahoma Native Art & Jewelry, and Painted Door (see sidebar, page 15), as well as a lively nightlife scene at venues such as TapWerks Ale House & Cafe, SKYY Bar Ultra Lounge, and Makers Cigar & Piano Lounge.
RedPin Restaurant & Bowling Lounge, an upscale bowling alley that is available for private functions, also makes its home in Bricktown, as do two off-site event facilities: the Bricktown Ballroom Special Events Facility and Rocky’s Bricktown, a banquet hall.
One new hotel in Bricktown is the 200-room Hampton Inn & Suites, which is scheduled to open this month.
“It’s a limited-service hotel, but it still diversifies our convention package,” Buckley says, adding the property is “unique because it’s situated at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.”
Oklahoma City’s unique off-session options extend beyond Bricktown, including a rock-climbing facility called OKC Rock, which is a thrill for beginners to advanced climbers, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, located 15 minutes from downtown.
“People think of Western and Native American heritage when they visit here, and we have this great museum showcasing that,” Buckley says, adding that the museum, complete with a ballroom and a boardroom, acts as an off-site venue for meetings or evening group gatherings.
Buckley says one thing that helps Oklahoma in general is its central location, explaining that Oklahoma City is at the crossroads of Interstate 35, a major north-south expressway, and Interstate 40, a major east-west highway, so a lot of drive-in meetings book the area, too.
When in town, groups can count on several meetings-equipped facilities and hotels. Among them, the Cox Business Services Convention Center; the Ford Center, which is scheduled to undergo an improvement project; the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel, which underwent a renovation in 2008 and is connected via sky bridge to the convention center; the Skirvin Hilton and the Sheraton Oklahoma City, both connected to the convention center via underground tunnel; the Best Western Saddleback Inn & Conference Center; and the new Hilton Garden Inn Oklahoma City North Quail Springs, situated 15 minutes from the Will Rogers World Airport.
Tulsa
The Tulsa CVB’s “I Am” campaign, highlighted on the bureau’s interactive website, calls attention to the city’s vast offerings, from its portion of Route 66 to its casinos and golf scene.
“If you’ve been here before, look at our changes, and if you’ve never been to Tulsa, ‘I Am’ points out why you should come,” says Amy Huntley, director of convention sales and marketing at the Tulsa CVB. “There are so many little treasures to find.”
The sum of Tulsa’s recent changes equals a completely different city, Huntley adds, and if meeting attendees liked visiting before, they’ll love it now. Planners with growing conventions will be particularly interested in the changes, including the new 18,000-seat BOK Center, a nominee for two national awards, one for management and another for booking great acts, according to Huntley.
“Our city was perhaps not large enough for the bigger groups that we can host now,” she says, explaining the ripple effect of Tulsa’s increasingly meetings-friendly infrastructure. “With the success of the BOK Center, the Tulsa Convention Center is getting an expansion and facelift, and a baseball field is being developed downtown.”
Along with these changes (also including recent renovations at Expo Square, a facility well suited for large exhibit and trade shows) comes more “connectivity,” Huntley says, meaning it will be logistically easier to get around between restaurants, shops and entertainment outlets in downtown Tulsa.
“We’re talking about adding trolley service, which is available on the weekends now, during the week,” she says. “In general, one of the key aspects of meeting here is our location; we’re easy to get to from Tulsa International Airport, and easy to get around.”
Nine times out of 10, according to Huntley, planners are surprised by these logistics and all that Tulsa has to offer, including symphony and ballet at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
“People think cowboys and Indians, but we’re more than Western heritage here,” she says, citing the Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum, the Oklahoma Aquarium and the Tulsa Air & Space Museum & Planetarium as three standout attractions that double as off-site venues for group events. “You can get as creative as you want to—you can even have an event next to lions.”
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, which opened in summer 2007, as well as two museums that are in the top 50 nationwide, based on their collections—the Gilcrease Museum and the Philbrook Museum of Art—also accommodate groups for off-site events.
During the summer, Discoveryland is a popular option for group outings. Here, attendees can enjoy a performance of Oklahoma or Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, often including a chuckwagon meal, Huntley says. She adds that there is an abundance of lakes for boating and other waterborne excursions in and around Tulsa.
“People have no idea that Oklahoma has the most shoreline of any state in the U.S. because of its lakes,” she says, citing Grand Lake and Keystone Lake.
It’s also probably not common knowledge that Tulsa has hosted more PGA tournaments than any other city, Huntley boasts.
“With the weather here, you could almost golf year-round, except maybe December and January,” she says.
Public courses with a clubhouse that can host a breakfast function or other gathering in conjunction with a tournament include Page Belcher, Mohawk Park and LaFortune Park.
Tulsa just hosted the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Preservation Conference in October, Huntley adds, citing another possible surprise for visitors: Tulsa, keeping company with Miami Beach, Los Angeles and New York, is home to a tremendous collection of Art Deco architecture.
Among Tulsa’s group-friendly hotels are downtown’s Crowne Plaza and Doubletree properties; the historic Mayo Hotel, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation; the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center; and the Tulsa Marriott Southern Hills.
“There is a value when meeting here; groups pay a lot lower for hotels and F&B,” Huntley says. “Planners are amazed at what they get.”
For More Info
Oklahoma City CVB 405.297.8912 www.visitokc.com
Tulsa CVB 918.585.1201w ww.visittulsa.com
