Oklahoma City strives to become a major league draw

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ After years of working to reinvent its downtown and shed its image as bombing victim, Oklahoma City is now calling loudly for attention. <br/><br/>The roar erupts on game nights at

Friday, November 25th 2005, 4:35 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ After years of working to reinvent its downtown and shed its image as bombing victim, Oklahoma City is now calling loudly for attention.

The roar erupts on game nights at the Ford Center where nearly 19,000 cheer the New Orleans Hornets, who are playing 35 games in Oklahoma City because of hurricane damage in New Orleans.

The 3-year-old downtown arena and the rest of a massive revitalization project in the Bricktown district has gone a long way to lift the cloud of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

The chance to show off the city's success comes, ironically, through another tragedy, Hurricane Katrina.

Much of the downtown renewal was paid for by a temporary sales tax approved by voters in 1993.