MN-based CSL International hired for downtown Tulsa hotel study

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Feb 22, 2006 by Jerry Shottenkirk

The city of Tulsa's Economic Development Commission recommended the hiring of CSL International on Tuesday to do a downtown hotel demand study.

Minnesota-based Convention, Sports and Leisure International is the same firm hired by the city in 2003 to explore the feasibility of expanding the Maxwell Convention Center and building a new downtown sports arena, a baseball stadium, soccer park and amphitheater.

After signing a contract, CSL will have eight to 10 weeks to study the hotel market in downtown Tulsa, based on the expansion of the convention center and construction of the $141 million BOK Center, an 18,000-seat sports and entertainment complex funded by Vision 2025 funds.

They will look at what kind of hotels do we need, where the hotels should go, what kind of hotel rooms should they be, and how they would be paid for, said Suzann Stewart, senior vice president of the Tulsa Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Stewart said seven companies submitted proposals to do the study, and all came in under $50,000. She said the contract with CSL is not to exceed $50,000.

According to industry sources, hotel developer John Q. Hammons has already approached the Tulsa mayor's office concerning construction of a hotel beside the BOK Center arena. Representatives for both Mayor Bill LaFortune and John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc. of Springfield, Mo., have refused to comment on the discussions.

A hotel built beside the arena would be able to service not only the developing facility designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, but also the neighboring convention center. That facility, which now offers 227,000 square feet of meeting space, will undergo renovations and privatization under Vision 2025 for opening in 2008.

Hammons already owns and operates one Tulsa hotel - the $50 million Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center. That 300- room luxury spot opened in 2003 just off 71st Street and Highway 169.

Tulsa has about 1,200 hotel rooms in the downtown area. Some have suggested the city needs 2,000 to fully capitalize on the expanded convention capabilities of the Vision 2025 projects.

Stewart has said the city has identified several locations for possible hotel development, some of which the city owns. The city also has money to acquire property.

John Q. Hammons Hotels opened the $38 million, 311-room Renaissance Oklahoma City Hotel in March 2000. It immediately won praise as the new standard in luxury hotels for the area.

The 225-room Courtyard by Marriott Oklahoma City Downtown/ Bricktown opened four years later. That $19 million project sits on the south side of the Cox Business Services Convention Center, opposite the Renaissance.

Hammons has broken ground for the $20 million, 150-room Residence Inn by Marriott. That six-story hotel should open late next year at the southeast corner of the SBC Bricktown Ballpark, with a swimming pool and patio facing the Bricktown canal.

John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc. (www.jqh.com) owns 46 hotels in 20 states, containing 11,370 guest rooms or suites. It manages another 14 hotels in seven states, containing 3,158 guest rooms or suites.