Oklahoma City
- The 200-room Hampton Inn & Suites Oklahoma City-Bricktown (405.232.3600; www.hamptoninn.com), with more than 1,100 square feet of meeting space, is scheduled to open this month.
- At press time, the Hilton Garden Inn Oklahoma City North Quail Springs (405.752.5200; www.hiltongardeninn.com) was on track to open at the end of December with 113 guest rooms and more than 2,000 square feet of meeting space, as well as catering services.
- The Renaissance Hotel Oklahoma City (405.228.8000; www.renaissanceoklahomacity.com) recently completed a guest room and lobby renovation. The hotel is connected by a sky bridge to the Cox Business Services Convention Center, featuring 66,000 square feet of meeting space.
- The 220-room Best Western Saddleback Inn & Conference Center (405.947.7000; www.bestwestern.com/saddlebackinn) recently completed a guest room renovation.
- In March, Oklahoma City voters approved a temporary one-cent sales tax to pay for major upgrades to the Ford Center (405.602.8700; www.okfordcenter.com), including a grand entrance, a multistory atrium, new restaurants, clubs, concession areas, bunker suites, rooftop gardens and a 12,000-square-foot family fun zone.
Tulsa
- Nominated as the “Best New Major Concert Venue” by Pollstar, the new 18,500-seat BOK Center (918.894.4200; www.bokcenter.com), designed by world-famous architect Cesar Pelli, also hosts large conventions as well as major sporting events.
- Situated adjacent to the BOK Center, the Tulsa Convention Center (918.596.7177; www.tulsaconvention.com) recently broke ground on an expansion that is scheduled for completion by March 2010. The project includes additional meeting rooms, prefunction space and a new grand entry, reminiscent of the BOK Center’s architecture.
- In July, the Doubletree Hotel Tulsa-Downtown (918.587.8000; www.doubletree.com) will begin more than $6 million in upgrades, including updates to all guest room bathrooms and the addition of large flat-panel televisions and new furniture to guest rooms. Fitness center equipment will also be updated.
- A $40 million renovation of the historic Mayo Hotel (918.582.6296; www.mayohotel.com) is under way. Upon completion of the project in October, the property will feature 72 luxury lofts, 100 hotel rooms and an upscale restaurant.
- The Courtyard Tulsa Woodland Hills (800.831.4004; www.marriott.com) is scheduled to open this month with 138 guest rooms.
- Tulsa’s City Council approved a resolution to allow the Tulsa Stadium Trust to issue $25 million in revenue bonds to help fund a downtown ballpark. The trust has secured the seven-acre site that will be the footprint for the proposed $40 million downtown baseball stadium, home of the Tulsa Drillers (www.tulsadrillers.com). The project is slated for completion by the time the Drillers’ 2010 season begins.