City Council Approves Convention Center Hotel

This week the Oklahoma City Council approved a redevelopment agreement with Omni Hotels for a headquarters hotel to be built and opened in concert with the new MAPS 3 convention center.

This decision gives Oklahoma City the ability to compete and attract larger conventions, and will create new jobs and increased revenue for the entire city.

The convention center hotel will be a Four Diamond rated Omni Hotel with 600 guest rooms, 50,000 square feet of meeting/ballroom space and several food and beverage offerings. Initial renderings of the hotel show a rooftop pool with a spectacular view of downtown Oklahoma City and the new Scissortail Park.

Omni is investing $150 million of the $235 million total cost to build the hotel. It is one of the largest private investments in Oklahoma. Oklahoma City will provide a one-time participation of $85.4 million to offset the project cost after private investment. The public participation won’t increase taxes or affect taxpayers directly. More than half of the money will be generated by the hotel itself through the additional revenue and taxes that it generates. Other sources include revenue streams from other successful economic development projects, such as Bass Pro and the Skirvin.

As with these previous development deals, Oklahoma City will benefit from consumer spending and related impact as the hotel attracts visitors and conventions. Also, there is an opportunity for the city to benefit from the success of the hotel. For 25 years after the fifth year of occupancy, Omni will pay the city's Economic Development Trust 10 percent of net operating income in excess of $20 million with a cap of $15 million in the aggregate.

City Council’s decision to move forward with a convention center hotel will maximize the potential of the convention center. According to HVS Global Hospitality Services the new convention center will have an economic impact of $137 million annually when combined with the hotel.

Photo credit: Omni Hotel initial renderings of Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel.