AMERICANWAY

hen oklahoma city officials decided as part of the MAPs plan to build an arena that could house teams from the NBA, the NHL or both, they had no interest from either league. Still, city leaders did not view an arena that would seat more than 18,000 as impractical. "They thought at the time that if we couldn't get a team," Carrier says, "we would still have a great facility for concerts and other events." The arena opened in 2002, and building it proved to be a brilliant decision. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Louisiana coast in 2005, the arena used by the NBA's New Orleans Hornets (who later changed their name to the Pelicans) suffered extensive damage, and the team needed a place to play. For the next two seasons, the Hornets were guests in Oklahoma City, and the results were impressive. The Hornets finished 11th and 15th, respectively, in league attendance. (By contrast, during the 2004-05 season, the Hornets had finished 28th out of 30 teams while playing in New Orleans.) "There was something special that happened when the Hornets were here," Carrier says. "The city fell in love with the team and proved we could support a team." Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. A year later, the Brick- town Canal opened and the area was becoming a hub of activity for the city. Businesses continued moving in and Scaramucci finally relented in 2005 when she opened her popular Nonna's Euro-American Ristorante and Bar in Bricktown. One of the highlights: Nonna's Favorite, which is spaghetti with tenderloin meatballs that are described as "the size of tennis balls." Nonna's has plenty of competitors with a wide variety of eating establishments in Bricktown, some bearing the name of Oklahoma natives and favorite sons, like Mickey Mantle's Steakhouse and Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill. Bricktown is hardly the only area of town with top dining establishments, but with seven hotels in the downtown area and four more under construction, it is the social hub of the city. Within the past year, Bricktow n has attracted an- other major Oklahoma personality to open a restaurant, although this celebrity is adopted. Kevin Durant was born in Washington, D.C., grew up in Maryland, went to college for one year at the University of Texas, was drafted by the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics and moved to Oklahoma City with the team, which was renamed the Thunder, in 2008. When he opened KD's Southern Cuisine next to Toby Keith's in December 2013, it was yet another example of how Oklahoma City has elevated itself to the status of "major league city." W FROM LEFT: The Oklahoma City Redhawks play in a sublime minor league ballpark. Skydance Footbridge towers above the city. 2013- 14 NBA MVP Kevin Durant has created a worldwide following for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum pays tribute to those who perished and those who survived the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. 76 O C TO B E R 2 01 4 A A .CO M/A M E R I C A NWAY

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