No vacancy
Downtown goes all-out to welcome Big 12 fans

Hotels are booked full and restaurants are preparing quick menus and will be open extra hours for what is being billed as the biggest sporting event ever to hit downtown Oklahoma City.

More than 200,000 people are expected to attend the Big 12 Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament Tuesday through Saturday at Ford Center and the Cox Convention Center. They will be welcomed with 300 window decals at shops and restaurants and 60 pole banners promoting each of the Big 12 schools. Two transparent banners, 70 feet wide by 7 feet high, will wrap the skywalk over Sheridan Avenue, proclaiming "Hoop Up Downtown OKC.”

"As everybody's neighborhood, all of downtown has pulled together to roll out the welcome mat," said Brett Hamm, president of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. "Guests will know they're in a special place and have the opportunity to experience the Oklahoma standard.”

Cynthia Reid, spokeswoman for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, estimated the tournament's economic impact at $40 million.

"This is the biggest sporting event we'll ever have hosted,” Reid said. "At this point, it's all about execution. We are ready.”

The impact is expected most at downtown hotels and restaurants. Reid said fans of the Big 12 will see a vastly different downtown from what existed when the last event of this magnitude, the 1989 Olympic festival, took place. That event attracted fans from across the world.

Back then, Bricktown offered just a couple of restaurants, including a then newly opened Spaghetti Warehouse. With the Skirvin having closed in 1988, downtown offered just one hotel compared to the six in operation now.

A survey Friday of downtown Oklahoma City's six hotels revealed only three with any rooms left. At the Residence Inn in Lower Bricktown, general manager Rex Amsler reported eight rooms remain available for Thursday through Saturday, with rates ranging from $189 for a single bed to $299 for a two-bed room.

At the newest hotel, the Skirvin Hilton, 1 Park Ave., a handful of rooms are available Sunday for $329. Jim Rickards, general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott, 2 W Reno, said he "strategically” reserved a "few” rooms for Saturday night that range from $299 to $399.

"We wanted it that way,” Rickards said. "We're pretty much full from Monday on with the Eric Clapton concert that first night.”

David Yamada, general manager of the Renaissance Hotel, 10 N Broadway, said he will provide extra flat screen televisions in the lobby for fans who want to monitor the tournament's progress when their team isn't playing.

The Renaissance, Sheraton, Courtyard by Marriott, Skirvin Hilton and Colcord hotels all reported they also will be maintaining longer restaurant operations.

"We're tailoring all our services for the tournament,” said Dale Gannon, general manager of the Sheraton Hotel. "We'll be keeping our restaurant open later and providing additional services so we can shine well for the tournament and bring more events like this to Oklahoma City.”

Jim Cowan, interim director of the Bricktown Association and owner of the Bricktown Brewery, said most of the entertainment district's restaurants will be providing quick meal menus and later operating hours. Restaurants and shops also are preparing to staff for unusual rush hours, which could hit at 3 p.m. or 10 p.m.

At the Brewery, Cowan will be open for breakfast and adding extra televisions.

"We'll be doing a special barbeque buffet upstairs,” Cowan said. "And if Kansas makes the finals, we're the host headquarters for the KU alumni association and we'll be hosting a special Sunday buffet for them. We want these folks to feel welcome.”

Such planning also poses a risk, Cowan said. He still recalls when Kansas lost in the first round of the NCAA semi-finals at Ford Center two years ago.

"They were gone and done, and we had to figure out how to accommodate some of the other fans. We have to adjust, but if you're smart, you can do that.”

That said, Cowan enters Big 12 week with divided loyalties.

"My blood is crimson and cream, but my pocketbook will be nothing but blue next week for Kansas,” Cowan said. "They're a great crowd, great fans, we've hosted them before and we're glad to have them.”