---
title: "Destination: Oklahoma City"
id: "13781"
type: "post"
slug: "destination-oklahoma-city"
published_at: "2012-10-11T14:00:47+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-17T17:39:58+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/10/11/destination-oklahoma-city/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/10/11/destination-oklahoma-city.md"
excerpt: "The Sooner State’s largest city boasts a walkable downtown district, noteworthy venues, and a soon-to-be-built convention center."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Meetings / Events"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "conferences"
  - "event spaces"
  - "meeting venues"
  - "Meetings"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

[Home](https://associationsnow.com/)
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 » Destination: Oklahoma City

Oklahoma city offers plenty of unique places and spaces to host your association’s next meeting or event.

**Convention center planned for late 2018.** The new downtown convention center will include approximately 200,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 30,000-square-foot ballroom, and 50,000 square feet of meeting space. Total sellable space will increase to 258,000 square feet. The new center will also have walkways connecting it to the Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and a planned 70-acre park.

**Walkable downtown entertainment district.** A former warehouse area located close to the Cox Convention Center, Bricktown is home to dozens of restaurants and bars, including Tapwerks Ale House & Café, Whisky Chicks Parlor, CityWalk, and Nonna’s. Stroll along the mile-long Bricktown Canal (pictured above), which winds around the Santa Fe Railroad, Bricktown Ballpark, and hiking and biking trails; take a narrated cruise on a yellow Bricktown Water Taxi; or catch live music at an area venue.

**Remodeled botanical gardens and conservatory.** Perfect for events of all sizes, the Myriad Botanical Gardens and Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory unveiled their $38 million transformation last year. The 18-acre outdoor grounds include a restaurant, interactive water features, a grand event lawn that can hold up to 2,500 visitors, and more.

### OKC Fast Facts

**Recent and future association meetings:**Oklahoma State School Boards Association 2012 Conference, National Association for Medicaid Program Integrity Annual Conference, National Lieutenant Governors Association Annual Meeting

**Hotel rooms:**15,000; 1,600 within blocks of the convention center

**Convention Center Exhibit Space:**100,000 square feet

**Time from airport to downtown:**20 minutes

Photograph Courtesy of Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau

[Samantha Whitehorne](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/)

Samantha Whitehorne is a former editorial director of Associations Now in Washington, DC.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/)

Tags: [#conferences](https://associationsnow.com/tag/conferences/)
 [#event spaces](https://associationsnow.com/tag/event-spaces/)
 [#meeting venues](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meeting-venues/)
 [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/)

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