Voters approved the $777 million MAPS 3 program in December 2009, and each of the program’s eight projects is overseen by a subcommittee, which forwards its recommendations to a Citizens Advisory Board. The board sends its recommendations to the Oklahoma City Council for approval. The MAPS 3 program is funded by a 1-cent sales tax […]
convention
Posted inNews
Conventional concerns
Two timelines, which were created by Architectural Design Group, were presented to the City Council at its June 14 meeting, and to the MAPS 3 park and modern streetcar subcommittees at their June 15 meetings. MAPS 3 Program Manager Eric Wenger said the issue was not voted on at the City Council meeting because council […]
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Timeline on the table
The Oklahoma City Council likely will be presented Tuesday with a new MAPS 3 timeline, one of several that emerged over the past few months. The MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board, which only has authority to make recommendations to City Council, voted 6-2 at its May 26 meeting to send the timeline for the council’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Con men
Now in its 25th year, SoonerCon is Oklahoma City’s longest running convention celebrating science fiction, fantasy and pop culture. A lot has changed since its inception. “Much of what was once considered ‘geekdom’ is now mainstream,” said Jerry Wall, SoonerCon chairman. “This summer’s major movie releases reinforce the fact.” The three-day convention plays host to […]
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Convention-centric
The subcommittee unanimously selected the site, located at the former Bob Howard Downtown Ford dealership, after several members attacked a consultant’s report on site costs, with subcommittee member Larry Nichols calling it “nonsense.” Meanwhile, under a timeline approved by the convention center subcommittee, almost every other large-scale MAPS 3 project would be pushed back to […]
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Drafting MAPS
Meanwhile, despite the convention center subcommittee’s decision to rule out a site that would have required the city to purchase and move an OGE substation, the city could end up doing that anyway, and has $30 million in MAPS 3 funds — three times the amount set aside for sidewalks — budgeted for that purpose. […]
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Eight is enough
MAPS 3 convention center subcommittee members got a look at size estimates for the forthcoming facility at its March 1 meeting, as well as some of the potential sites. And without a “headquarters hotel,” which may require some incentives from the city for development, connected to a future convention center, the project may be unable […]
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Penny for your thoughts
A recent poll of likely Oklahoma City voters shows a majority of those surveyed do not support the city owning a hotel that would adjoin the future MAPS 3 convention center. While likely voters are split about the MAPS 3 convention center’s location, it is important that the site be near Bricktown, according to the […]