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The Tulsa Convention Center opens this month after undergoing its first updates in more than 20 years, creating even more opportunities for tourism in downtown Tulsa.
When Mr. and Mrs. Larry Collins gather with some 200 guests for their wedding reception in May, they will be some of the first Tulsans to enjoy the newly constructed Tulsa Convention Center ballroom.
The future Mrs. Collins, Amy Martin, was one of the first to book a reception there, months before construction was completed. She says she chose the convention center for her special day because her brother, Jason Martin, was the project manager who oversaw its expansion.
“That had meaning to me,” says Martin, a Tulsa native who lives in Missouri. “I know that it is going to be done right. I know it will be beautiful because I know his work ethic.”
Martin is just one of many people excited for the expansion and renovation of the historic downtown building.
The center, built in 1964, has long been a Tulsa icon.
Concerts featuring the Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and The Monkees were just some of the events that helped elevate the center to its iconic status in the 1960s. The ’70s and ’80s kept the momentum going with performances by such stars as Elvis Presley, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Chicago, Elton John and Van Halen, to name a few.
The center has hosted conventions for organizations of all sizes, held sporting events and more.
Virtually any Tulsan who graduated from high school in the late 1960s or early ’70s graduated in the arena.
In its 45 years, more than 25 million people have visited the center and more than 17,000 events have taken place there, according to center press materials.
The $52 million expansion and renovation of the building, which had not been updated since 1984, began in September 2008 and wrapped up at the end of November — on budget and on time, says Janet Rockefeller, the center’s longtime assistant general manager.
She says she can’t wait for the new ballroom and seven additional meeting rooms to host weddings, proms, balls, banquets, fund-raisers and more.
“You’re limited only by your imagination here,” she says.
Rockefeller worked with architects for five years on the design plans. The labor was well worth it, says Rockefeller, who grew up in Tulsa and remembers going to concerts in the arena. Her senior prom was held in the center’s assembly hall in 1969.
“We got to have our 40th reunion in the same room just this year,” the Edison High School graduate says.
On a tour of the building, she shows off the new meeting rooms, named after districts in Tulsa such as Greenwood, Blue Dome and Riverside. She peers into the 30,000-square-foot ballroom, inviting despite its overwhelming size. She waltzes through the pre-function space — her favorite — with its floor-to-ceiling windows and terrazzo floors. She zig-zags through the renovated concourse outside the arena, pointing out photographs and lighting.
In each area, Rockefeller is most excited about the details. She loves everything from the lights under the handrails, which will guide visitors up the outside stairwells at night, to the lettering on the menu boards.
She is especially proud of the signs on the restroom entrances.
“If it’s the women’s bathroom, I want it to look like a woman,” she says, pointing to the chic silhouette marking above the door.
Rockefeller was part of the center’s planning and design committee, which picked out many of the details she loves.
“We didn’t think of everything,” Rockefeller says. “But when you have that many points of view, you’re going to be successful.”
The construction, which Vision 2025 financed, opens up many possibilities, she says.
“We’re poised to be a leader,” she says. “We are selling to a different target audience. We are state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line.”
Now that construction is complete, all that is left to do is fill the center with clients.
One of the first clients is the Alzheimer’s Association, which has chosen the center for its 15th annual Memory Gala, to be held March 25. Kristin Bender, who is chairing the event with her husband, Jim, says it has grown each year and typically sells out.
“The Convention Center can accommodate a much larger group than our past venues and will allow us to continue to grow our event,” she says. “ … Our committee will be touring the space in a few weeks and all of us are so excited to see it.”
Other clients will come to the center thanks to Amy Huntley of the Tulsa Convention & Visitors Bureau. The bureau is responsible for drawing tourism to Tulsa, an industry that employs roughly 25,000 people and brings in nearly $1.4 billion annually, she says.
“If (tourism) went away, each taxpayer would have to pay about $380 more in taxes each year,” she says.
Huntley says the renovation and expansion were critical to keeping the convention center competitive in the market.
“Oklahoma City is a huge competitor,” she says. “They expanded and updated their center recently.”
Kansas City, Dallas, Louisville and Colorado Springs are other major competitors, she says.
“A lot of them have either renovated or rebuilt,” she adds.
Huntley says the expansion and renovation are great not only for the center but also downtown Tulsa as a whole.
“It’s a piece of the puzzle that we really needed to fuel the fire and get things going in downtown Tulsa,” Huntley says.
And what’s good for downtown is good for all of the city. Increased traffic at the center will mean more sales tax revenue for Tulsa, money that will go to the city for fire, police and more, she says.
“That extra revenue helps,” Huntley says. “And with the economy the way it is, it’s more important than ever.”
Expansion
The Tulsa Convention Center added more than 80,000 square feet, including:
- A 30,000-square-foot ballroom, which can be divided into smaller rooms to accommodate guests’ needs.
- Seven meeting rooms, each named after a district in Tulsa.
- A 13,600-square-foot pre-function space with terrazzo floors and floor-to-ceiling windows with projectors to display photos and slideshows.
The Tulsa Convention Center grand opening will take place Jan. 16., with a public open house from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information, visit www.tulsaconvention.com.
