Devon Park (Softball Hall of Fame)

[Dob Hooligan]

This complaint should be lodged with the NCAA, not OKC. The City of OKC built the new additions to the stadium to the specifications of the NCAA, who specifically chose not to put showers in the stadium, for their own reasons. The NCAA signed off on literally every aspect of the work done on this facility. Showers were likely opted out of for logistical reasons (teams swapping out between sessions). During the tournament it is most typical for teams to go straight to the bus, and shower at the hotel. That is most common in any tournament situation, even the men's CWS. It's possible showers could be added to the field house rather than under the stadium (the field house is split four ways during tournament days) but those likely wouldn't be used either.

Most likely Coach Gasso's complaint was mostly directed at a perceived equity imbalance between softball and baseball (there's more to that than just the showers). But in the case of Omaha's home to the CWS you have to remember that is the home stadium of Creighton. It has a home and visitor's locker room, like literally any on -campus baseball stadium. A tournament-only stadium typically would not, because they are quickly moving teams in and out between games.

I just think it's important to be clear that the complaint is actually with the NCAA, not OKC.

I completely agree. I think we are dealing with privacy issues that are very different between women and men. I don't have daughters and was never married to a competitive female athlete, so I have no first hand knowledge. And I believe the immediate needs of softball players could be different than those of football and basketball players.

[emtefury]

This complaint should be lodged with the NCAA, not OKC. The City of OKC built the new additions to the stadium to the specifications of the NCAA, who specifically chose not to put showers in the stadium, for their own reasons. The NCAA signed off on literally every aspect of the work done on this facility. Showers were likely opted out of for logistical reasons (teams swapping out between sessions). During the tournament it is most typical for teams to go straight to the bus, and shower at the hotel. That is most common in any tournament situation, even the men's CWS. It's possible showers could be added to the field house rather than under the stadium (the field house is split four ways during tournament days) but those likely wouldn't be used either.

Most likely Coach Gasso's complaint was mostly directed at a perceived equity imbalance between softball and baseball (there's more to that than just the showers). But in the case of Omaha's home to the CWS you have to remember that is the home stadium of Creighton. It has a home and visitor's locker room, like literally any on -campus baseball stadium. A tournament-only stadium typically would not, because they are quickly moving teams in and out between games.

I just think it's important to be clear that the complaint is actually with the NCAA, not OKC.

To add on. When the NCAA chooses a host site, the contract specifies what the NCAA requires. The Hall of Fame stadium meets the NCAA requirement per their contract.

In Omaha, the College World Series used to be at the Rosenblatt Stadium. When it was getting close to Rosenblatt's contract to expire, the NCAA had demands for a facility that Rosenblatt could not be upgraded without significant expense. Therefore Omaha decided the build TD Amertrade park to keep the College World Series in Omaha. Rosenblatt also hosed the Omaha Royals, so it was a dual venture with the AAA team and the college world series getting a new stadium. Creighton was a tag on to play there.

[BoulderSooner]

This complaint should be lodged with the NCAA, not OKC. The City of OKC built the new additions to the stadium to the specifications of the NCAA, who specifically chose not to put showers in the stadium, for their own reasons. The NCAA signed off on literally every aspect of the work done on this facility. Showers were likely opted out of for logistical reasons (teams swapping out between sessions). During the tournament it is most typical for teams to go straight to the bus, and shower at the hotel. That is most common in any tournament situation, even the men's CWS. It's possible showers could be added to the field house rather than under the stadium (the field house is split four ways during tournament days) but those likely wouldn't be used either.

Most likely Coach Gasso's complaint was mostly directed at a perceived equity imbalance between softball and baseball (there's more to that than just the showers). But in the case of Omaha's home to the CWS you have to remember that is the home stadium of Creighton. It has a home and visitor's locker room, like literally any on -campus baseball stadium. A tournament-only stadium typically would not, because they are quickly moving teams in and out between games.

I just think it's important to be clear that the complaint is actually with the NCAA, not OKC.

this is all spot on ..

To add on. When the NCAA chooses a host site, the contract specifies what the NCAA requires. The Hall of Fame stadium meets the NCAA requirement per their contract.

In Omaha, the College World Series used to be at the Rosenblatt Stadium. When it was getting close to Rosenblatt's contract to expire, the NCAA had demands for a facility that Rosenblatt could not be upgraded without significant expense. Therefore Omaha decided the build TD Amertrade park to keep the College World Series in Omaha. Rosenblatt also hosed the Omaha Royals, so it was a dual venture with the AAA team and the college world series getting a new stadium. Creighton was a tag on to play there.

to add to your first point .. it is not that hall of fame stadium just "meets the contract" the ncaa was involved in every step of the expansion .. and in return OKC got a contract to 2035 ..

on your second part .. the AAA team in Omaha did play at Rosenblatt ..... but they had and have nothing to do with TD Ameritrade Park were not part of the project and don't play games there ..

the AAA team got their own (smaller) stadium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Park which was built at the same time ..

[emtefury]

on your second part .. the AAA team in Omaha did play at Rosenblatt ..... but they had and have nothing to do with TD Ameritrade Park were not part of the project and don't play games there ..

the AAA team got their own (smaller) stadium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Park which was built at the same time ..

I remember now. I used to live in Omaha and went to college world series games at Rosenblatt for a few years. I was there during the time when the NCAA contract was expiring , however, I moved before the new stadium was built. There was the save the Rosenblatt Stadium group and a group that wanted to build a new stadium. It was a huge deal in Omama at the time with the games being moved from Rosenblatt. I recall now that the AAA team was concerned that the new stadium would be too big (nod at Bricktown stadium), so they made plans to build a smaller stadium in Papillion, NE. The City and AAA couldn't come to an agreement on stadium sharing due to the size of the stadium. I know the AAA team was wanting to move from Rosenblatt for awhile because Rosenballt was too big for AAA. Rosenblatt held about 23,000.

On an aside, doing some research I found the Royals AAA team changed their name from the Royals to the Storm Chasers.

[Laramie]

TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha seats 24,000., original construction cost $131 million. This would be a good start for MLB in Omaha where the stadium could be expanded to 40k. Omaha doesn't have any major professional sports to compete for entertainment dollars. Nice corporate base especially with the Insurance Industry.

Looking at the configuration of he park, Omaha MSA right at 1 million. Might be a stretch; however they need to look at MLB expansion. Ameritrade Park could easily be expanded to 35,000 - 40,000.

[shawnw]

I get where you're going but SO many cities that are much bigger would be on the list for MLB expansion long before Omaha.

[Laramie]

I get where you're going but SO many cities that are much bigger would be on the list for MLB expansion long before Omaha.

Agree 100% Shawnw. For Omaha's sake, you need to start getting your name out there where you begin to get consideration and leagues take a look at what's available in your city.

You also have to remember that some of these cities like Charlotte and Nashville have NFL and NBA or NHL. Adding MLB will over saturate their markets. Recall, no one thought OKC would ever get the NHL, let alone the NBA. Having some kind of venue in place does up the ante for the league taking a second look.

Who would have thought that Nashville, Charlotte and Jacksonville would become NFL relocation/expansion cities. Oilers leaving Houston for Nashville was unthinkable at the time.

Poor ole Memphis was the city that expressed interest in the NFL at the time, asking Memphis to be a temporary home for the Oilers/Titans was a slap in the face. Memphis was able to obtain an NBA franchise thru relocation of the Vancouver Grizzlies.

Forget us Pete. The Softball Hall of Fame thread has gotten ambushed from so many angles...

[shawnw]

You also have to remember that some of these cities like Charlotte and Nashville have NFL and NBA or NHL. Adding MLB will over saturate their markets. Recall, no one thought OKC would ever get the NHL, let alone the NBA. Having some kind of venue in place does up the ante for the league taking a second look.

I'm talking about places like Austin and others (Las Vegas would have been on that list until recently with NHL and now NFL) that have populations in the 2M range and no pro sports teams. Obviously this isn't the absolute best example because Arlington is so close and would probably object, but my point stands in that there are a lot of options for pro sports franchises before they get down to a city the size of Omaha.

BTW, have visited and love Omaha, nothing against them.

[Laramie]

I believe there's an 80 mile stretch between San Antonio and Austin where both cities could support an MLB team if a ballpark were built in between. San Antonio (2,590,732) and Austin (2,295,303); either one of these cities could support MLB on their own. Similar distance, 91 mile stretch you have between Oklahoma City (1,425,375) and Tulsa (1,006,411) where Stroud (51 miles - OKC, 50 miles TUL).

Much more robust numbers with San Antonio and Austin and closer proximity.

[SEMIweather]

No one is ever going to bother building an MLB stadium in Stroud. San Marcos or New Braunfels, I guess maybe I could see that, but probably not unless there's high speed rail between Austin and San Antonio someday.

[Laramie]

No one is ever going to bother building an MLB stadium in Stroud. San Marcos or New Braunfels, I guess maybe I could see that, but probably not unless there's high speed rail between Austin and San Antonio someday.

Could Austin-San Antonio land an NFL stadium? Speculation resurfaces: https://sanantonio.culturemap.com/ne...kland-raiders/

Doubt if you would need high speed rail for two cities 80 miles apart if a development in San Marcos lessened that drive to 40 miles. Again, either city is capable to supporting an MLB franchise.

[citywokchinesefood]

Could Austin-San Antonio land an NFL stadium? Speculation resurfaces: https://sanantonio.culturemap.com/ne...kland-raiders/

Doubt if you would need high speed rail for two cities 80 miles apart if a development in San Marcos lessened that drive to 40 miles. Again, either city is capable to supporting an MLB franchise.

I am not trying to be mean, but building an MLB stadium in Stroud could quite possibly be one of the dumbest things I have heard on this forum and I lurk in politics threads.

[OkieHornet]

Could Austin-San Antonio land an NFL stadium? Speculation resurfaces: https://sanantonio.culturemap.com/ne...kland-raiders/

Doubt if you would need high speed rail for two cities 80 miles apart if a development in San Marcos lessened that drive to 40 miles. Again, either city is capable to supporting an MLB franchise.

That article is 5 years old from 2016, and the Raiders already moved to Las Vegas last year.

[Laramie]

Please brace yourself, everyone's entitled to an opinion--doesn't mean it's going to occur. Just pointing out what I thought was a better option than building a venue in either Oklahoma City or Tulsa if MLB was brought to Oklahoma.

Personally, doubt if you could get leaders of both cities to agree to share funding to lure a franchise.

IMO MLB is headed to the death pit; it has had very few significant rule changes in my life time. I grew up loving the sport during my childhood years--watching Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Kofax and Warren Spahn to name a few.

Unfortunately for me, those Golden Years of MLB have passed.

Thank you posters of #362 & 363 for posting your thoughts on this forum. Best of Luck.

[Laramie]

Seeing a real boost in Women's Softball viewership.

The 2021 WCWS shattered the previous viewership record and easily became the most-watched world series in history. The tournament drew an average of 1.20 million viewers per game, an increase of 10% from the previous world series, and the three-game final series averaged 1.84 million viewers per game, an increase of 15% from the last world series.--SI, Meghan Rominger June 12, 2021

When OU & UT make the transfer to the SEC, we need to push for the SEC Women's softball tournament to be held in OKC.

Moving the SEC women's tournament to OKC will be a nice economic boost because the SEC schools like Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn, Texas A & M and Missouri bring large groups when they travel. If the Big 12 Conference is in tack, our city could host the SEC, Big 12 and WCWS tournaments.

The expansion of ASA Hall of Fame Stadium IMO was a good investment thru the 2017 GO Bonds approved by voters.

We have 11,500 capacity for women's softball. More than 6,000 more available seating than the SEC venue in Tuscaloosa AL.

IMO we should continue to improve the exterior and interior seating accommodations to make this a more fan friendly venue.

We estimated about $24 million for this one-week event,” Craig Cress, CEO of USA Softball said.

Thousands Of Fans Head To OKC For Women’s College World Series: https://www.newson6.com/story/60b956...-world-series-

Postcard From OKC: Stadium Upgrade Adds a Boost to WCWS Experience - https://www.si.com/college/alabama/b...cws-experience

[Laramie]

Women's College World Series, Oklahoma City

NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for the sport announced the approval of instant replay for the upcoming season.

Wednesday, the NCAA’s Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved changes to the schedule. Last month, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for the sport announced the approval of instant replay for the upcoming season...

The scheduling change will be in place for next year’s WCWS in Oklahoma City.

The scheduling change, taking the tournament from a seven-day event to nine days, eliminates the doubleheader for teams that lose on the tournament’s opening day, and adds a day of rest between the end of bracket play and the best-of-three championship series.

The additional two days for the WCWS will also increase the economic impact of the event for the Oklahoma City metro area. The seven-day tournament had an estimated $24 million economic impact, according to the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau. --
Excerpts: Oklahoman, September 8, 202

This will be a big economic boost for Oklahoma City area hotels and restaurants who host the tournament teams with two days being added to the tournament. Much will depend on how many teams extend their stay for the completion of the tournament.


.

[jedicurt]

finally... instant replay... about time

[SEMIweather]

As much as I enjoyed the absurdity of watching the FSU/OSU game finish up at 2:15 a.m. earlier this summer, expanding the tournament timeframe is the correct decision.

[jedicurt]

didn't know if this needed it's own thread or just mention it here for now....

Womens Professional Fastpitch league will be headquarter out of OKC with a familiar face as the leagues first Commissioner.

https://wprofastpitch.com/press

[mugofbeer]

I think that's great news! I hope they can attract some good investors and be a rousing success!

Just wondering - does anyone else think the girls infield, and overall field should be enlarged just a bit?

[Laramie]

Commissioner Lauren Chamberlain's press conference; OKC will be leagues' (WPF) headquarters

Oklahoma City, OK - WPF (Women's Professional Fastpitch) is excited to announce the launch of their new professional softball league, slated to begin play in June of 2022. WPF aims to provide a long-lasting and viable option for softball players post-collegiate play, with the ultimate goal of making the professional dream a real possibility for young girls across the world.

Lauren Chamberlain, a former professional softball player and popular face in the sport, has been named Commissioner of the league.

"I am deeply humbled and incredibly excited for my role as Commissioner of WPF." Chamberlain said. "I have worked hard to build good standing with existing softball athletes, people of influence in our sport, and those outside of our sport. I am confident that I can bridge the gap between all parties and create an exceptional professional level of softball, one that our sport and its athletes deserve."

WPF founders are formed by three strong forces in softball: USA Softball, USSSA Softball and Smash It Sports. The partnership between USA Softball and USSSA is to be highlighted, as both are approaching this venture hand in hand. /this show of unity and progression will help shape the future of professional softball and the sport as a whole.

"The Opportunity to venture back into a women's professional league has been at the forefront of our mission within USSSA, and more specifically the USSSA Pride, " said Donny DeDonatis III, CEO of USSSA. "We are both ecstatic and humbled to be a major role player in WPF's development and creation."

"We are very excited about the launch of WPF," said Craig Cress, USA Softball CEO. "We are looking forward to encouraging athletes to compete both professionally and internationally and provide women more opportunities to continue their playing careers after college. With softball not being in the 2024 Paris Olympics, USA Softball recognizes the importance of keeping our athletes involved in high-level competition in order to be prepared for future Olympic appearances."

Rick Schiffhauer, the President of Smash It Sports, has been a longtime supporter of softball. Smash It Sports has found success in the slow-pitch world, and looks forward to venturing into fastpitch.

"When I founded Smash It Sports, one of our core values was to look for avenues to advance women in diamond sports," said Schiffhauer. "I want my daughters and other girls to have the same dreams and aspirations as the boys. We need to close the disparity between baseball and softball."

The inaugural season will range from June 15, 2022 through Aug. 15, 2022. This scheduling decision was heavily based on giving professional athletes more opportunities to play. WPF will work hand in hand with other platforms to ensure the athletes have every opportunity to make a living playing the sport they love.

WPF will be headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with teams playing nationwide. OKC is widely referred to as the "Softball Capital of the World," and is home to the NCAA Women's College World Series.

"Oklahoma City is unquestionably the world capital of softball, so of course it makes sense that this would be the headquarters of the WPF," said Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt. "We value being the host of this new endeavor, we're excited for what that will mean in the years ahead, and we're grateful to Commissioner Lauren Chamberlain and the WPF for choosing us. We look forward to watching the story of the league unfold."

"It is time for the show to continue past the WCWS," said Chamberlain. "Y'all are going to need more popcorn."

[Pete]

They are building a pedestrian walkway from the massive Remington Park lots to the softball complex.

Currently, they shut down part of NW 50th to allow people to walk over. I'm sure the goal is to be complete before the women's college world series this spring.

[shawnw]

Fantastic and long, long overdue.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^
1000%. My company contracted at the zoo for a few years, and watching people struggle with the park/walk situation from across the street was painful, not to mention the general disruption the situation caused for everyone concerned, including the zoo itself.

This is a long-overdue solution to a real problem, and helps protect the future of WCWS and other softball events, which are a major economic driver and treasure for OKC. Money well spent.

[kukblue1]

Went to the OU Softball game today (Sunday) and that sound system is HORRIBLE. All them nice improvements and no one thought about a better sound system. The sound wasn't great for the college world series last year either. SOMEONE FIX THE SOUND SYSTEM. My home system is better than that crap I heard today.