Remodeled hotel honors Sooner greats

NORMAN -- Sonny Brown slowly walks down the crimson and cream hallways, passing familiar names and faces with each continuing step.

Brian Bosworth. Billy Sims. Barry Switzer.

In his mind, the former Oklahoma safety is taking a stroll down memory lane.

In reality, Brown is passing through the interior of Sooner Legends Inn and Suites, a newly-renovated hotel in Norman that is dedicated to former OU athletic greats -- and everything else Sooner.

"You think back to your days (at OU), and you start seeing some of your memorabilia," said Brown, who was the co-Most Valuable Player of the 1986 Orange Bowl. "It's fun. You walk down the hall and see all of the pictures of guys from my era. It reminds you of things you may not have thought of in a while."

Located on Lindsey Street just east of I-35, the hotel is owned by siblings Doug, Valerie and Sharlyn Kennon and has over 2000 OU pictures and items on display.

With 120 regular rooms and 16 suites -- all individually themed after a former Sooner standout -- the hotel provides a unique opportunity to spend the night with Lee Roy Selmon or Jason White. Or at least surrounded by their pictures.

For Doug Kennon, a lifelong Sooner fan, OU graduate and former trainer for the football team, the idea for Sooner Legends actually came in a moment of desperation. When Villager Lodge -- formerly the Ramada Inn -- closed about two and a half years ago, the Kennons were told they had 30 days to leave their restaurant, the Red Zone, which was attached to the hotel.

"I was scrambling for my livelihood," Doug said. "One day I was driving down the road, and I thought 'I could have an OU-themed hotel.' I'd been an OU fan all my life, so it only seemed natural."

The Kennons spent the next year an a half acquiring the property, all the while keeping their restaurant open.

On March 23, only six months after the construction and remodeling process started, the idea became a reality.

"Thirty days to vacate," Valerie Kennon said laughing. "And we haven't vacated yet."

Doug said the fun part of the project was tracking down the memorabilia, much of which has been supplied by the players themselves. Doug said most of the players were more than happy to help upon finding out they were going to have a room named after them.

Brown, who currently works as a consultant in Edmond, said he was just surprised they chose to decorate a room after him.

"I feel honored, actually, that they would pick me," Brown said. "I thought it was pretty cool. You think of guys like Billy Sims and Steve Owens -- I was honored."

After starting with nearly 900 pieces of memorabilia, Doug now has over 2000 items in the hotel, with another 1000 that have yet to be put up.

"Nobody has ever done this concept to this magnitude," he said. "People bring me stuff all the time. I'm a collector. I don't sell."

After two and a half months of being open, Valerie said the hotel has been met with enthusiasm -- both from former players and hotel guests.

"People love it," Valerie said. "Their initial reaction is 'Oh my gosh, there is so much Sooner stuff.'"

Valerie said former Sooners Tony Casillas, Wayman Tisdale, Billy Sims and Davin Joseph have all visited the hotel and stayed in their rooms. Joseph, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of this year's NFL draft, visited the hotel during the Red-White game weekend this spring while on break from preparing for the NFL Combine.

"It's cool being able to stay in my own room," Joseph said. "It was such a good idea, and it's great to see it put into reality. It's something we can say at OU that we have, that nobody else in the country has."

Joseph said his favorite part of the weekend was enjoying the hotel's two trademark amenities -- top-of-the line beds and bathrobes with Sooner Legend printed on them.

"Those beds are very comfortable," Joseph said. "You lay in those beds, it's pretty hard to get up in the morning. I didn't leave there for like two straight days. I would stay in bed, then go down to the restaurant, then go back up to my room and get back in bed."

Lisa Brady, an OU graduate who lives in Texas, said she was skeptical of the hotel at first because she remembered the bad condition of the Ramada. When she was prodded by a friend to try it out, she gave in and stayed there for two nights.

"The OU memorabilia is...interesting," Brady said. "I went to school with some of those guys. It was interesting to wake up to their pictures. It was kind of a time-warp."