Leaders from every aspect of Downtown Oklahoma City gathered today to hear about the future of the area. The Mayor's Development Roundtable focused on downtown improvements over the next 20 years. Two of the main areas that they highlighted were the new Devon Tower, and the possible construction of a convention center. Mayor Cornett says Oklahoma City does lose convention center business because it's just not big enough. A new one would cost an estimated $250 million, and should be put in a place where it has room to grow. The Mayor says it's vital to get everyone on the same page when it comes to downtown improvements.

Mayor Mick Cornett said, "Fundamentally, there's a couple of things that citizens care about. It's their own neighborhood, and downtown. As we try to create a city that's going to be a place to keep our kids and grand kids living in this city, we know that having an active downtown is central to that theme."

A new convention center could possibly be put on the list for MAPS 3. The city council will figure out this summer, if they will ask voters to approve a 1-cent sales tax in December. MAPS 2 will end in March 2010. The Cox Convention Center was renovated under the original MAPS plan, so some critics say it would be a waste of money. Mayor Cornett says that by the time a new convention center would be approved, it'd be 10 years before it'd be open for use. By that time, the Cox Convention Center would be 50 years old.