OU pursues local landmark as space to grow

By James Tyree

Published: September 13, 2006

NORMAN - O’Connell’s Irish Pub & Grill, a hot spot on St. Patrick’s Day and during University of Oklahoma football games, may be on the move.

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The University of Oklahoma Foundation has agreed to buy 2.3 acres of land at the southeast corner of Lindsey Street and Jenkins Avenue for $4.5 million, according to information given to the Board of Regents for its meeting this week. The site includes O’Connell’s and a strip mall that has a convenience store, textbook store, hookah bar and other businesses.

The land’s owner, as listed by the Cleveland County Assessor’s Office, is John Traw of Norman. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

OU Foundation President Ron Burton said there is a contract to buy the land, pending environmental testing and other procedures. He said he expects the transaction to be completed within two to three months.

Today, the OU Board of Regents will consider an agenda item during its meeting in Bartlesville that would authorize the university to buy the land from the foundation within seven years.

“We’ve been asked by the regents to acquire it for university use,” Burton said. “I don’t know what it will be used for. Whether it’s green space or an academic purpose, I really can’t say.”

The agenda item says the property “is positioned in an area that has and will continue to serve as a vital location for university life.” It also said university officials will consider options for the land, with the best becoming part of the Campus Master Plan of Capital Improvements.

But don’t look for the wrecking ball to arrive Thursday morning. Burton said he doesn’t “anticipate anything happening to it for a couple of years,” and business owners still have lease agreements.

O’Connell’s owner Jeff Stewart said his lease on the building runs through October 2007. Stewart said he won’t know his next move until he hears from the owner - whomever it may be.

“Right now nothing else can be done,” he said. “It’s pure speculation.”

O’Connell’s has been a campus-area landmark since 1968. Stewart bought it in 1979, one year after graduating from college.

Moving seems likely at some point and Stewart said business people in Norman and Oklahoma City have proposed sites for relocation.

In addition, some pre- and postgame action has migrated north to a rejuvenated Campus Corner in recent years.

One tradition changed in recent years with restrictions on re-entering the OU stadium. Fans can no longer dash to O’Connell’s during halftime of football games.

Still, Stewart said, “I would love to stay; I don’t want to leave.”

Lunchtime customers Tuesday were surprised to learn O’Connell’s may have to move. Bobby Lepak, an OU junior from Claremore, seemed crestfallen.

“You come to games, you go to O’Connell’s,” he said. “That’s just awful.”

Lepak said O’Connell’s is its own scene, distinct and separate from Campus Corner. Paige Arthur, a Dallas junior sitting next to Lepak, said she would hate to see the restaurant find a new location.

“As long as they have the Monte Cristo sandwich, I’m there,” she said.

Norman residents Tony Remillard, Mike Willey and Jim Stone don’t visit O’Connell’s as often as they used to - Willey said St. Patrick’s Day celebrations just got too crowded. But all three said it would be a shame if the restaurant relocated.

“That would change everything,” Willey said. “It wouldn’t be a landmark anymore.”

“Oh well,” he sighed after a pause. “Things change.”