Margaritaville Theater To Up Competition For Small Tulsa Venues

River Spirit is also shaking up the small concert theater scene by adding a Margaritaville-branded showroom theater. There are plenty of places you can go to enjoy an intimate concert setting in Tulsa, including the Brady Theater and Cain's Ballroom in downtown.

Owners of those theaters worry how competition will change once the Margaritaville showroom opens its doors. The River Spirit Casino makeover will include a 2,500 seat "world class" theater.

"It's being designed so we can do all sorts of events in it," said Bob Dimmick, River Spirit Casino director of marketing. "We can do musical acts. We can do sporting events, pretty much ring sports." 

Bob Dimmick expects this to add a new dimension to Tulsa's performance halls. 

3/18/2013 Related Story: Tulsa's River Spirit Casino To Get $250 Million Margaritaville Makeover

"This will give us a platform to be able to bring A and double A acts to Tulsa whenever we want to," he said.

It's direct competition will be The Joint, which is a 2,700 seat theater connected to the Hard Rock Casino.

"I think another venue is going to be just fine. It's great for the city," said Danny Finnerty, Hard Rock entertainment director. 

Danny Finnerty says more than 90 percent of his shows sell out, and he's confident that trend will continue even with a new competitor.

"We don't do the typical casino talent. When you have Blake Shelton in a room like this, that's something rarely that you get to do. I mean, he's playing strictly arenas now," Finnerty said.

"We will be bringing bigger and better acts to the casino scene in Tulsa," said River Spirit's Bob Dimmick.

River Spirit's theater is part of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. Jimmy recorded a message for Tulsans:

"Hey Tulsa, it's Jimmy. It's been a long time since I was there in the Cain's Ballroom days, but we're coming back."

The new theater could give some of Tulsa's iconic halls a run for their money. Cain's Ballroom General Manager Chad Rodgers says he wasn't excited to learn about the Margaritaville theater and he fears how it could impact his business.

Brady Theater Owner Peter Mayo says over the years, the city has gone from not having enough live performance halls to having too many. He tells me he doesn't know if the Margaritaville theater will make a great difference for his place, but it will definitely add more competition.

All the owners I spoke with say artists love performing at their concert halls. They also say this could help boost the amount of musicians that come to Tulsa, but it all depends on which venue the artists choose.