Oklahoma City is looking to Charlotte
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BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Published: October 7, 2008
Some of Oklahoma City’s most powerful folks are set to be airborne this morning as they head to Charlotte, N.C., to learn how the city was transformed two decades ago by construction of a skyscraper and the arrival of an NBA team.
Bank of America's corporate center, right, is shown in downtown Charlotte, N.C., Friday, July 28, 2000. Bank of America and FleetBoston Financial Corp. won approval from the Federal Reserve on Monday, March 8, 2004, for a merger creating the third-largest U.S. bank, a behemoth holding nearly $1 trillion in assets and stretching from California through the South and up to New England. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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And then there’s the NBA. The Hornets got their start in Charlotte in 1988 and enjoyed a huge fan base until the team’s owner got crosswise with city leaders and the organization moved to New Orleans in 2002 (I think most of you know the rest of this story).
The NBA didn’t stay away for long, and now the city is home to NBA and NFL teams.
Other benchmarks
In the 1990s, Indianapolis was the benchmark for Oklahoma City. That city’s accomplishments inspired much of the Metropolitan Area Projects initiative that sparked downtown’s ongoing resurgence. But Charlotte is intriguing for a city that is about to see its own downtown transformed by a new skyscraper and the arrival of the NBA. So I asked Roy Williams, president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, "Is Charlotte the new benchmark?”
"The short answer is ‘yes,’” Williams replied via e-mail. "The long answer is that we look at every city (Denver, Indy, Nashville) that we have visited as a benchmark. Charlotte is doing a lot of things right.”
It’s not uncommon to hear locals dream of a light rail system, a burgeoning downtown skyline, and even the NFL. But some might ask, in light of the crashing national economy, how can Oklahoma City even consider such lofty ambitions?
Did anyone ask similar questions in Charlotte on Oct. 19, 1987? Construction of Wachovia was under way, and the city was preparing its bid for the NBA on that "Black Monday” when world markets crashed and stocks dove 22 percent.
Charlotte continued its drive into the future. The same challenge may very well face the folks traveling there this morning.
Related Topics:
Basketball, Sports, Football, Transportation, Public Transportation, Train Travel, Men's Professional Basketball, Professional Football
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Me? I live in Oklahoma City. I voted for MAPS the first time around, and the meager taxpayer investment I made through the years has paid off handily, both for my city and for me individually. And I'm far from one of the "big boys." As a taxpayer and resident of Oklahoma City, I would like to congratulate the city leaders of 15 years ago for their vision and effort, and thank the city leaders of today for not letting our city rest on its laurels, and working to capitalize on the efforts of those who came before.
More than a century ago, when OKC paved its first street, or created its first telephone exchange, I'm sure that someone, somewhere, was complaining about it. Probably Albert's great grandfather. From his armchair. In another city.
You might want to check your stats a little more regarding taxes. It is pretty rare that a CEO of a Fortune 500 company wants to tax his own business (http://newsok.com/article/3287112/) for the improvement of the downtown in which the company has a headquarters . . . maybe it is just me, but I find that very civic minded and a token to Larry Nichols embracing servant leadership.