Business View Magazine | June 2019

46 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JUNE 2019 program was funded by a Tulsa County sales tax and included replacement of livestock barns, more improvements to the River Spirit Expo, and parking and landscaping enhancement. “We continue to invest in our facilities,” says Expo Square’s Chief Operating Officer, Amanda Blair. “It’s important to stay current with the times and continue to build.” Most recently, Expo Square received a $30 million grant from Vision Tulsa, an economic initiative passed by the Tulsa City Council in order to fund public projects. “The marquee project was a new horse barn with 384 new stalls. We also just completed a permanent outdoor entertainment stage, the first one ever at our facility,” Blair adds. “In Oklahoma, we’re very prone to tornadoes, wind events, and thunderstorms, and that’s why we wanted to invest in that permanent stage to be prepared for inclement weather. Our goal is to provide a safe, family-friendly environment.” In addition, improvements were made to the State Fair Entrance Gates and the Pavilion’s exterior. “Over the past five years, we’ve increased our Wi- FI capacity, and we’ve also focused on cameras, making sure that we capture everything that we can from a safety standpoint,” Blair reports. “And, as part of our Vision Tulsa $30 million initiative, we invested in digital signage at our gates with a large format LCD screen that illustrates what’s going on at our facility. We changed over to TV menu boards, and we’re in the middle of transitioning the whole facility to LED lighting. Another thing we focus on – mostly at the Tulsa State Fair – is our recycling of cardboard, glass, and plastic. During the Fair, we have about 1.1 million people that visit our complex, so that’s a lot of trash we go through. When you’re dealing with that much volume, it is difficult, at times, to keep up with it, but it’s definitely something we’re working on.” A future project at Expo Square concerns a 7.5- acre parcel of land, whose buildings – a former Tulsa County Health Department office and an old stadium – are being demolished to make way for whatever the Tulsa County Public Facilities Architecture Interior Design Landscape Architecture Master Planning GH2 Architects, LLC is an award-winning international architecture and design firm celebrating 46 years creating beautiful and functional projects for our clients. We understand that cost control is not optional, that operations must continue during construction, and that the total cost of facility ownership can positively impact your bottom line! Tulsa Phoenix Oklahoma City www.gh2.com Hospitality Multi-Use Arenas Fairgrounds Equine Facilities Event Venues