Went to the ribbon-cutting, etc. this morning. A bit hot for the crowd waiting to get in, but fortunately Mayor Taylor seems to have seen that the crowd was melting and spared us from the many on the platform who would no doubt have wanted to add “a few words.” The whole ribbon cutting ceremony with colors, music, etc. was held to less than thirty minutes. Thanks.

Now the really good part. The BOK Center, despite my misgivings of its need or how it was pulled off, is nonetheless a beautiful piece of work. The inside is mostly open without that hemmed-in feeling you get in most other large arenas as soon as you step out of the main performance area. We all got to experience the premium level areas as well. Very nice private boxes and lounges. Likely the only time I will ever see those.

An extra nice touch today was the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra playing at the west end of arena. Even with all the other activity, trade show booths on the floor, lots of folks and kids everywhere touring the place, the sound was still pretty nice up in the seats. Thanks to TSO for being willing to perform under those circumstances.

BOK Center - Tulsa

All in all I was very impressed by the interior of the facility. The exterior has its share of those that love it and those that think it looks like it is still covered in insulation board, BUT, it is ours and despite how we got it, I sincerely hope it bodes well for the community. Thanks to the city’s leadership for realizing that the folks that paid for it should get at least one good weekend to poke around in it and act like the rude relatives we sometimes are. Even the parking went smoothly, at least for us and those I asked about it.

Now if we can just figure out a way to keep the online scalpers from grabbing all the tickets and forcing us to pay double or more for events. My plan is pretty simple. Embargo online sales for the first 24 hours. Only allow live walk-up ticket sales with a maximum of say 6 or 8 tickets for the first 24 hours. This will not stop the resale for profit altogether, but will at least give the locals and those within a short drive a chance to actually get tickets for events at the face value of the ticket (plus the various “convenience” charges that always get added). I’m not sure the selected ticket vendor would like this, but then, that’s really beside the point. The tickets still get sold, so the only ones who would really complain is the scalpers.