Steve Lackmeyer: OKC's sports scene, community growth could attract younger professionals

Yes, absolutely. We've already seen a growing connection between the festival and Film Row in previous years. I look forward to seeing how the screening room at The Paramount might come into play this next festival.

How is the bike share program in and around downtown working? Any chance they will expand to, say, the Plaza District?

From all I've seen, Spokies is going very well. It was expanded to Automobile Alley last fall, and conceptual plans for the new Core to Shore park suggest including three to four Spokies stations for visitors. The program is administered by Downtown OKC Inc., so I'm not sure how it could work in the 16th Street Plaza District, which is well outside downtown's boundaries.

When are we likely to see progress on an Adventure District line?

The Adventure District line is part of a much larger debate about the planning and routing of the MAPS 3 streetcar system. At the end of the day, regardless of what is said by special interest advocacy groups, review committees, etc., the decision on all of this rests with the Oklahoma City Council.

Any word on if Old School Bagel Cafe downtown will be open on the weekends?

I talked to Mark Beffort, who manages Leadership Square, and it appears this decision has yet to be made.

What is the latest count of new hotels going into Bricktown? How do you think that will impact the proposed convention center hotel?

I'm going on memory, but I think we're looking at 11 hotels being built in or around Bricktown with even more yet to be announced. We could be looking at more than 1,500 rooms just in Bricktown. Yes, this could impact the amount of city subsidy needed to attract a large conference hotel to be built with the new convention center.

Why isn't there a Starbucks in downtown OKC?

Starbucks is trying to open another location downtown. At least that's what the folks in Bricktown told me (and others have confirmed.)

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