I called the basketball office inquiring which hotel is the one where the team will be staying. The person I talked with said she didn't know, but believed that it would be the same one as last year. She did not know which one that was. Does anyone know where the team stayed last year? The Renaissance Oklahoma Convention Center hotel?

Is there a Ritz Carlton?

I'm staying at Marriot Courtyard that connects right to Chesapeake Arena.

The information I have is that the team hotel is the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center. It is just a short walk from the arena.

I have stayed at the Courtyard Marriott the last six years. As greggor25 noted above, it is across the street from the arena. However, it is also the Iowa State team hotel. It may be a little more unfriendly this time so I am likely going to stay at the Renaissance.

As of now the Renaissance is sold out for the days during the tournament.

sevenmilebeachbob said:

---

As of now the Renaissance is sold out for the days during the tournament.

---

Yep I was about to come back on here and post that. I guess I will just keep my reservation at the Courtyard Marriott. There is usually lot of Baylor fans there anyway.

OKC is a really fun weekend getaway if you like food, bars, and concerts. I travel for a living and have hit every major and mid-size city in the US and OKC is near the top in experiences.

I invite you to my town. Here are my picks on hotels, restaurants, and things to do.


Hotels:
The two nicer hotels are going to be The Skirvin (3 blocks) and the Colcord (1 block - other side of Devon). There is also a Sheraton within a block. I think it was recently redone.

Downtown restaurants within walking distance,
- Highly recommend eating at Kitchen 324 for a San Francisco feel and great food.
- Mahogany (1 block) is a great experience and is considered one of the better but not the best steaks in OKC.
- Vast is at the top of Devon and it is a great experience. The food is really good but not the most outstanding of all time. Baylor did an event at with Dr. Livingston at the last Big XII tournament. Had 200 or so attend.

Downtown Bars - Not alot in downtown
- The Manhattan. Overpriced, staff not interested, food not great.
- Red Piano in The Skirvin Hotel is nice and has good drinks
- Aria Lounge in The Sheraton is decent
- Vast at the top of Devon Tower has a nice bar, good experience

Other Bar Recommendations (within 1 mile of downtown):
- Flashback Retropub on Film Row - Has good drinks but is loaded with video games from the 80's. No quarters. You just walk up and play. Gets kind of crowded after 10:30.
- McNellie's Irish Put is a fun bar in Midtown
- Fassler Hall is a german beergarden in Midtown. Big community tables, giant beer mugs. Excellent beer choices
- O Bar is a nice place at the top of The Ambassador Hotel in Midtown. Great views.
- Bleugarten - If it is warm enough - Also in Midtown, Bleugarten is an outdoor food truck park with a few bars in the middle. TV's and games are laced around the edges of the park.

Getting around downtown and a construction note:
- Walking is easy and safe
- Uber/Lift is easy and prevalent
- I've seen alot of Bird and Lift scooters. Makes it easy to get over to Midtown (<1 mile)
- You will see alot of construction happening between The Chesapeake and the river. OKC is building an awesome new convention center, Omni hotel, a really large park (kind of like our Central Park), and several restaurants all at the same time.

Bricktown - Better for families
Bricktown is walking distance from downtown and is loaded with restaurants and things to do. There are things to do there with the family and a large Bass Pro Shop. Most of the restaurants are chains and good but not great. The best places in Bricktown are going to be Mickey Mantle's (steaks), The Mantle wine bar, The Melting Pot, and Charleston's. Bricktown Brewery brews really good craft beer on site and has good American casual food.

Midtown (10th - 13th streets about 1 mile from The Chesapeake) - Better for couples and guy/girl groups
It's not walking distance to downtown but Midtown is loaded with good restaurants and bars. This is one of the places where local 20-something singles hang out. The Ambassador Hotel is nice (Stevie Nicks stayed there last time they were in town). There are a ton of great restaurants immediately around it and The O Bar is on top with a great view. I'd recommend Barrios and their Cheech and Chong Old Fashioned and upscale mexican food, Waffle Champion for brunch (there will be a 20-30 minute line to order, and hitting several types of bars; Fassler Hall, Bleugarten, and Bossa Nova (on top of a Brazilian restaurant)

Concerts in town (kinda light this weekend)
Wiz Khalifa at The Criterion
Ben Rector at The Jones Assembly (highly recommend)
Steven Curtis Chapman at a church in Edmond (some people like him)
Clint Black at The Riverwind
There are tons of smaller venues with live music as well.

Riversport OKC and The Oklahoma River
Riversport is an adventure park next to downtown with a 3/4 mile class 4 river rapids, sky trail ropes course, and zip lines back and forth across the river. You can also embark on paddle boarding and kayaking on the river. OKC hosts the US Olympic training center for rowing and kayaking sports. Lots of big companies have built really cool modern boat houses and sponsor private teams. It's a unique area to check out.

Church - Would love to host you at Frontline OKC that Sunday. We do the 9am service. Frontline is about a mile from The Chesapeake (so, close) is non-denominational and urban. It's mainly single millenials but you will also find a variety of races, the homeless, prostitutes coming off their shift, and occassional 40-somethings like my wife and I. Worship is awesome and the sermon is bible focused and tells it like it is. The church building was built before statehood and is a cool experience itself.

If you have any questions about OKC, what to do, or where to go, or want to know something about a specific hotel or restaurant, just ask on this thread.

Thanks for the info.

My family is considering going. We have a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Any kids' activities you recommend?

Bone Squad said:

---

Thanks for the info.

My family is considering going. We have a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Any kids' activities you recommend?

---

We have friends that live in the Dallas area that come up for The Science Museum and spend the weekend - https://www.sciencemuseumok.org/. They usually pair it when Paw Patrol or something like that is playing at the Civic Center.

The OKC zoo is really great. Much better than Dallas but not quite the level of Fort Worth.

My kids are at Baylor and in high school, so I'm not usually looking for young kids activities. I have family here with young ones. I can ask them and respond back.

Edmond Bear said:

---

Church - Would love to host you at Frontline OKC that Sunday. We do the 9am service. Frontline is about a mile from The Chesapeake (so, close) is non-denominational and urban. It's mainly single millenials but you will also find a variety of races, the homeless, prostitutes coming off their shift, and occassional 40-somethings like my wife and I.

---

Concerning the prostitutes. Do any of them work on Sunday?
Just asking for a friend.

geewago said:

---

Edmond Bear said:

---

Church - Would love to host you at Frontline OKC that Sunday. We do the 9am service. Frontline is about a mile from The Chesapeake (so, close) is non-denominational and urban. It's mainly single millenials but you will also find a variety of races, the homeless, prostitutes coming off their shift, and occassional 40-somethings like my wife and I.

---

Concerning the prostitutes. Do any of them work on Sunday?
Just asking for a friend.

---

Haven't asked. But, you're welcome to come to church with me and find out.

Thanks Edmond Bear

Hudson's Public House is one block east in Brick Town. Great diverse menu, plenty of cold beer, lots of HDTV's with sports on. Reasonable prices and recommended by geewago!

geewago said:

---

Edmond Bear said:

---

Dude!

Church - Would love to host you at Frontline OKC that Sunday. We do the 9am service. Frontline is about a mile from The Chesapeake (so, close) is non-denominational and urban. It's mainly single millenials but you will also find a variety of races, the homeless, prostitutes coming off their shift, and occassional 40-somethings like my wife and I.

---

Concerning the prostitutes. Do any of them work on Sunday?
Just asking for a friend.

---

Bump

Were headed up there for Baylor games 1 and 2, staying Saturday night. Zero chance to get into the Renaissance?

ScottS said:

---

Were headed up there for Baylor games 1 and 2, staying Saturday night. Zero chance to get into the Renaissance?

---

Motel 6 has been keeping the light on for you.

Also I can check if OKC has a Knights Inn

Riverwind Hotel Casino in Norman. Decent poker room but I usually go elsewhere to eat.

Were at Candlewood Suites Bricktown. Totals out at $101.

Might switch to be closer to the arena

Does anyone have the schedule of our events at the Renaissance? Stuff like when the send offs are or when our band might play in the lobby?

To answer my own question...

Sports Network: WBB Big 12 Semifinals Send-Off Rally
Mar. 10, 2019



Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel
10 North Broadway Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Join Baylor Alumni, Friends and Fans as they send-off the Lady Bear Women's Basketball team to victory as they compete in the 2019 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. This event will be held at the team hotel in Oklahoma City, OK. 90 minutes prior to tip-off on March 10th.

ScottS said:

---

Might switch to be closer to the arena

---

There is an AC Hotel (upscale but simple Marriott) available that is 4 blocks closer that puts in you in Bricktown instead of the other side of the highway. It's $20/nt more than Candlewood.

If you are looking very nice and easy walking, I'd recommend The Colcord or The Skirvin (Hilton).

For those of you that have not been to Oklahoma City in March please come with layers of warm clothing.
The wind and low temperatures present a chill factor even though OKC is only 200 miles north of Dallas on I35.

The drive is usually clear once your north of Highway 380 in Denton. A great place to stop is the Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pie Company about 50 miles north of the Windstar Casino.

Edmund Bear has some great advice in his posts, check them out.

OKC is a nice place to spend a few days, the Brickyard area just east of downtown is a short walk. Plenty of good dining at reasonable prices, enjoy.

The forecast for the weekend is mid-50's and overcast. Should be decent.

If there are some people interested, I would be happy to meet some of you at a spot after a Baylor game.

DFW Bill said:

---

A great place to stop is the Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pie Company about 50 miles north of the Windstar Casino.

---

No fried pies in Pompano Beach. Have fun in OKC, DFW Bill !

slimecap said:

---

DFW Bill said:

---

A great place to stop is the Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pie Company about 50 miles north of the Windstar Casino.

---

No fried pies in Pompano Beach. Have fun in OKC, DFW Bill !

---

Those fried pies are LEGIT!! Sweet and savory available/ try the pizza and beef stew ones!! Making me drool now....

Wineguy89 said:

---

Those fried pies are LEGIT!! Sweet and savory available/ try the pizza and beef stew ones!!
Making me drool now....

---

ANOTHER benefit for being a Lady Bears fan! Road trip cuisine heaven.
Thank you, Lady Bears, for all of your hard work.

Edmond Bear said:

---

The forecast for the weekend is mid-50's and overcast. Should be decent.

If there are some people interested, I would be happy to meet some of you at a spot after a Baylor game.

---

The BU game will be over Saturday around 3-30. There's enough time to hang around bricktown till the 6 o'clock game.

What do you recommend doing in Bricktown?

Edmond Bear said:

---

If there are some people interested, I would be happy to meet some of you at a spot after a Baylor game.

---

I would like to go to the tournament, but I have some family things going on that are going to make it a last minute decision for me. If I end up going, I would love to meet up with other Lady Bears fans who will be around.

Edmond Bear said:

---

The forecast for the weekend is mid-50's and overcast. Should be decent.

If there are some people interested, I would be happy to meet some of you at a spot after a Baylor game.

---

Sounds good.

Edmond Bear said:

---

If you are looking very nice and easy walking, I'd recommend The Colcord or The Skirvin (Hilton).

---

Friend told me that Hilton Skirvin has previously hosted Texas Longhorns.
Might be their base this year.

The Renaissance is available fyi