But right now it’s going to be very hard to convince someone to relocate their business to Tulsa, Oklahoma, so long as we keep shooting ourselves in the foot at the Capitol building.

(Later in an email to the World, Nelson said: “I do not believe that Tulsa should secede from Oklahoma. However, I do believe that Tulsa, and the state as a whole, should be more aware of our national reputation and how it effects our long-term economic development prospects.”)

So where is the next downtown in Tulsa?

I think there’s a couple of things. I think south Boulder (Avenue). There’s a lot of underdeveloped real estate in that section of the city that I think is going to be really viable when The Gathering Place opens.

As you work your way back into Brookside and the other places, it’s going to be hard to develop higher density things in those neighborhoods based on the neighborhood associations and some of the other obstacles — just access and highways and things. But South Boulder (just outside of downtown), there to me is a real gem of an opportunity that’s waiting to be developed because you’re still close enough to the CBD (central business district) that you can build really high-density stuff.