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Retail recruitment recap highlights experiential entertainment, downtown and ag-tourism strategies
Summary
Oklahoma City's retail recruitment lead presented a 2025 year-end recap on Dec. 16, citing increased demand for 1,500–5,000 sq ft retail, 30–40 active projects, 173 national recruitments, and tools such as mobile analytics to support site selection and outreach.
Tammy Fate delivered the Economic Development Trust's retail recruitment and development year-end recap on Dec. 16, saying the market shows stronger demand for Class A space and for experiential retail formats.
Fate said active projects numbered about 30–40 throughout the year and the chamber's national recruitment pipeline included about 173 prospects as of November. She described tools her office uses to recruit sites — including mobile analytics and geofencing reports — and said the team ran about 1,336 reports for the central business district to demonstrate customer movement to prospective retailers.
Fate highlighted notable market activity in 2025: Trader Joe's opened its first Oklahoma City location; Andretti's opened and performed on par with its Orlando headquarters; a Shields retail project received an $8,000,000 incentive (planned opening in 2028); and Slick City Action Park repurposed a former big-box site on the city's south side. Fate said the office continues outreach to developers, attends national trade shows and leverages partnerships to market the city.
Trustees responded with positive comments about new entertainment options on the south side and downtown, and the board voted to receive the presentation.
What happens next
Fate said the office will continue national outreach, use analytics to support developer pitches and work with partners on downtown strategic planning and ag-tourism–driven retail concepts.
