John Bolton and Jeff Nickler celebrate BOK Center's fifth anniversary. (Photo by Greg Dohlen)
BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., had hosted huge celebrations for both its grand opening and first Anniversary, so venue execs felt the pressure to put on an even bigger show to celebrate five years of success. Instead of one event, GM John Bolton and Assistant GM Jeff Nickler created the 5th Anniversary Concert Series, spanning five artists and six show dates throughout the year, which earned them the 2013 Venues Today Hall of Headlines Award for Bookings.
The series kicked off May 29 & 30 with back-to-back performances by Paul McCartney, who had played the building’s first anniversary. Originally, the former Beatle was scheduled to play one show, which sold out in less than 10 minutes and set a record for the BOK Center box office.
“As a venue, you only have Paul McCartney a few times so you have to do something huge,” said Director of Marketing Sarah Haertl.
In addition to placing ‘Hollywood Boulevard’-style stars filled with names of McCartney and Beatles songs on the concourse, all of the streets around the building were renamed to reflect popular songs. A state proclamation from Governor Mary Fallin declared May 29 Paul McCartney Day in Oklahoma. The next day now serves as Sir Paul McCartney Day in Tulsa, thanks to a proclamation from Mayor Dewey Bartlett.
Nickler called the venue’s transformation while the artist was there a “complete McCartney takeover,” adding that the event level was filled with memorabilia and photos, as well as a commemorative wall wrap. In a nod to McCartney’s famous food preference, BOK Center even added some vegan items to the menu.
The two McCartney dates grossed more than $3.8 million combined.
The Eagles, Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Buffett, and Blake Shelton were also on the bill for the 5th Anniversary Concert Series, with Buffett’s show capping off the series Dec. 5.
The anniversary concerts are spread out not only to extend the celebratory atmosphere, but because that’s just the way things worked out.
“Unfortunately when it comes to the touring market and the cyclical nature of tours, you’re pretty much at the mercy of when the tours can make it to the market,” said Nickler.
BOK Center had more than 30 events — and 90-plus event dates — this year. The five labeled as the 5th Anniversary Concert Series were chosen with careful consideration.
“The Eagles had opened the building so that was an obvious choice, and Paul made our first anniversary awesome, so we pursued him again for our fifth,” Bolton added.
BOK Center had been trying to secure a Jimmy Buffett date for years, even considering the artist for the facility’s opening. Shelton, a native Oklahoman, had never played BOK Center prior to his packed show Oct. 4, and Justin Timberlake was one of the fastest sellouts in BOK’s history for his performance Nov. 21.
“We really focused on finding acts across many different genres of music,” said Nickler. “We thought it was important to find acts that appeal to several generations of fans, and that would stimulate tons of media attention.”
“Quite honestly, these events are blockbuster shows that would have sold out regardless,” he added. “I think the anniversary branding added more hype and an urgency to buy tickets early.”
Haertl said the 5th Anniversary Concert Series branding served as a way to really interact with the community.
“It’s a great source of civic pride for Tulsa,” she said. “Anytime you celebrate a big milestone it gets people talking about the building and remembering their first concert here, or what the city was like before BOK Center.”
For Bolton and Nickler, the five-year anniversary highlighted the success that they and SMG have had with the building.
“Five years ago this wasn’t really a major concert market and, with the building, we’ve created the market out of thin air,” said Bolton. “I just feel so fortunate that people have embraced and loved the building and keep buying tickets, and I think we’ve done a good job educating them that the more events they support, the more events we’re going to have.”