2028 Olympics in OKC

[unfundedrick]

The statement from the OKC Chamber of Commerce.


RE: Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce Guarantee Related to the 2028
Olympic and Paralympic Games
Dear Mayor Bass, Council President Krekorian, Ad Hoc Committee Chair Park, City
Attorney Feldstein Soto, City Administrative Officer Szabo, and Chief Legislative Analyst
Tso:
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (the “Chamber”) is pleased to
support the City of Los Angeles as host of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games (the
“Games”). The Chamber shares with the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles
Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2028 (“LA28”) the desire
that the Games be organized in the best possible manner and take place under the most
favorable conditions for the benefit of the City of Los Angeles and other relevant
stakeholders.
The Chamber hereby represents and confirms to the City of Los Angeles that it has signed a
legally binding agreement in connection with LA28’s proposal to assign Softball and Canoe
Slalom competitions in venues located in the City of Oklahoma City. The agreement
provides that (a) the Chamber shall assume all financial risk associated with hosting the
Canoe Slalom and Softball competitions for the Games and (b) the Chamber understands
that any financial backstop, guarantee, or contingency provided or required by the City of
123 Park Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 • p: 405.297.8900 • f: 405.297.8916 • www.okcchamber.com
Los Angeles and/or the State of California for the Games shall not apply to the Chamber, the
City of Oklahoma City, or any other applicable venue, organization, local, regional, state
government, or private institution supporting the delivery of Canoe Slalom and/or Softball
in the City of Oklahoma City. These terms, together with the other terms of the August 18,
2023 agreement, will be incorporated into a long-form agreement to be entered into by LA28
and the Chamber upon confirmation that the Softball and Canoe Slalom competitions will
take place in the City of Oklahoma City.
The Chamber also agrees to take all appropriate measures in an endeavor to assist the City
of Los Angeles and LA28 in completely fulfilling their obligations under the Host City
Contract and other relevant agreements with the International Olympic Committee (“IOC”)
with respect to Games events and activities that will take place in the City of Oklahoma
City.
The Chamber looks forward to supporting the City of Los Angeles as Host City and LA28 to
successfully deliver the competitions of Canoe Slalom and Softball in the City of Oklahoma
City.
Sincerely,
THE GREATER OKLAHOMA CITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INC.

[HOT ROD]

i was in norman for that also but that wasn't for olympic trials. It was when the us for a short time had and "olympic festival which was held 2 years after and before the regular olympic games.

ok89

[Martin]

ok89

yep... this was on the water tower at hefner road and portland until just a couple years ago. might be time to repaint it.

[David]

The softball hall of fame is here. What are the chances to pull that event as well? That would huge!

Major props to this poster who had the first suggestion of softball that I could find.

[Rover]

I was in Norman for that also but that wasn't for Olympic trials. It was when the US for a short time had and "Olympic Festival which was held 2 years after and before the regular Olympic games.

Yes, you are correct. I stand corrected. It was very successful here.

Maybe the city could host a mini extravaganza at the new arena for its own Olympic walk for the athletes competing here. Use OK performers as entertainment…. We have many.

[soonerguru]

It is incorrect to state the proposed arena in Norman does not have a sales tax compnent. There are 2 TIFS proposed for that project. One captures property taxes the other sales taxes.

It doesn’t raise anyone’s sales tax, like MAPS does. Again, hopefully Norman voters figure out that adding a new venue for sports, concerts and other events, plus new retail, dining and hotel rooms will be a net gain to that city’s economic development and lifestyle amenities.

[ComeOnBenjals!]

Very, very cool. This is the sort of publicity you can't buy - fantastic news for OKC and the state.

Excited to see how this momentum serves the city over the next 4 years- I think this could really propel OKC up into being a Tier 3 city. Can't wait!

[HOT ROD]

Tier 3, OKC was already at the top of that tier and is becoming a strong Tier 2 city; especially with this announcement.

[HFAA Alum]

I think one of the stipulations of being on a tiered city list is that you have a metro population of no less than 2 million. OKC may have the city, the pro sports venue, a number of QoL boxes ticked off, but not quite the density.

[Snowman]

I think one of the stipulations of being on a tiered city list is that you have a metro population of no less than 2 million. OKC may have the city, the pro sports venue, a number of QoL boxes ticked off, but not quite the density.

There does not seem to be a huge consensus of what makes up a tier or who is in them, sure one source may make clear definitions but not all either do or at least did not convey those all clearly in published material.

[barrettd]

Amazing . . .

Honestly it's the first time I've ever had any interest in the sport. I'll watch it just because it's here! Very cool.

[ComeOnBenjals!]

Tier 3, OKC was already at the top of that tier and is becoming a strong Tier 2 city; especially with this announcement.

I love OKC’s momentum, but I don’t see this. I think being Tier 3 is a great thing considering OKC is 42nd in MSA population. There’s a lot of big cities out there.

Obviously this is debatable: but this is a rough list I’ve seen several places. I think it puts OKC in a great spot.

Didn’t put every city - but you’ll get the picture.
Tier 1 (International Influential Cities)

New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
Washington DC
Boston
San Francisco
Seattle
Dallas
Houston

Tier 2 (National Influential Cities)

Detroit
Minneapolis
Phoenix
Denver
Baltimore
Portland
St. Louis
Pittsburgh
Kansas City
Cincinnati
Columbus
Charlotte
Las Vegas
Austin
Sacramento


Tier 3 (Regionally Influential)

Nashville
Sacramento
Indianapolis
Tampa
Orlando
Salt Lake City
Raleigh
Oklahoma City
Honolulu
San Antonio
New Orleans
Richmond

OKC still needs a lot more population/corporations/universities to bump up to tier 2. I was in KC this weekend, and the density and wealth was surprising. There are so many headquarters there.

[bison34]

I love OKC’s momentum, but I don’t see this. I think being Tier 3 is a great thing considering OKC is 42nd in MSA population. There’s a lot of big cities out there.

Obviously this is debatable: but this is a rough list I’ve seen several places. I think it puts OKC in a great spot.

Didn’t put every city - but you’ll get the picture.
Tier 1 (International Influential Cities)

New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
Washington DC
Boston
San Francisco
Seattle
Dallas
Houston

Tier 2 (National Influential Cities)

Detroit
Minneapolis
Phoenix
Denver
Baltimore
Portland
St. Louis
Pittsburgh
Kansas City
Cincinnati
Columbus
Charlotte
Las Vegas
Austin
Sacramento


Tier 3 (Regionally Influential)

Nashville
Sacramento
Indianapolis
Tampa
Orlando
Salt Lake City
Raleigh
Oklahoma City
Honolulu
San Antonio
New Orleans
Richmond

OKC still needs a lot more population/corporations/universities to bump up to tier 2. I was in KC this weekend, and the density and wealth was surprising. There are so many headquarters there.

There are no new universities. Lol. So those aren't happening. Maybe improvements to current ones, but there are no new ones.

I agree on the population part. But I disagree on the KC vs Nashville part. Might switch them. Nashville has much bigger corporations, and better universities. Not sure on the population, but I think you might switch them.

[ComeOnBenjals!]

There are no new universities. Lol. So those aren't happening. Maybe improvements to current ones, but there are no new ones.

I agree on the population part. But I disagree on the KC vs Nashville part. Might switch them. Nashville has much bigger corporations, and better universities. Not sure on the population, but I think you might switch them.

That’s fair - part of the reason why legacy east coast cities have such an intellectual advantage. Pittsburgh alone has something like 15-20 universities. Most of them old and well established.

You’re probably right re: Nashville.

[Stealth_RN]

Major props to this poster who had the first suggestion of softball that I could find.

*Bows*

[David]

*Bows*

The legend returns!

[Jake]

Any estimates on the economic impact/attendance for these events? I'm ignorant of what all goes into canoe slalom for past Olympics and what all it entails.

[Snowman]

Any estimates on the economic impact/attendance for these events? I'm ignorant of what all goes into canoe slalom for past Olympics and what all it entails.

It may be a bit hard to compare directly for this sports, since this looks like is the first time since it has been in the Olympics that the course was not built for that years games, and building it likely is a decent percentage of direct impacts on the local economy. Though with most in or near host city region, we may get more PR value than average.

[Anonymous.]

Imagine winning an NBA championship in June, and then hosting the Olympics in July.

Imagine that city was OKC.

[OkieBerto]

Imagine winning an NBA championship in June, and then hosting the Olympics in July.

Imagine that city was OKC.

[Laramie]

Indianapolis is more of a Tier 2 convention city IMO. Indy has a 1,005 room J. W. Marriott luxury hotel.

[HFAA Alum]

That’s fair - part of the reason why legacy east coast cities have such an intellectual advantage.

Yeah, it's pretty easy to have that advantage when you've basically had a 200 year head start. The only reason why places like LA, San Fran, and Seattle have those similar advantages is because:
A. The cities planned for the implementation of higher learning environments ahead of time.
B. They station themselves on the coast, where immigration occurs frequently.
C. Businesses startups flock to those locations because of that international access.
D. Tax codes are somewhat mutually beneficial to both the businesses and the state.
E. Proximity to other larger cities provide a more optimized commute between them.
F. Population density swelled because of all of the factors above, thus birthing more of those with differing opinions and ideas challenging one another in daily living, opening more minds to broader perspectives.
G. Grading scales for schools there are a lot stricter (Virginia Beach Public School grading scales, for example, rate 100-94=A, 93-86=B, 85-78=C, 77-70=D, 69-0=E/F)

And being that the east coast has so many of those large population centers connected by both car and rail proves to be a greater advantage over most other places. It's so coordinated that the northeast is basically a large megalopolis of cities continuously feeding into one another, further adding to competition and intellectual enlightenment.

So it's only natural that OKC falls short of that benchmark, especially when many towns around the state didn't get founded until the late 1800's, vs cities that got their start in the early-to-mid 1600's. A two hundred year head start is a pretty devastating disadvantage.

[PhiAlpha]

Assuming this is still the state logo in 2028, If they don’t make some kind of graphic converting this to Olympic rings then they’re doing it wrong lol. All the same colors are in there.

[OkieBerto]

Here ya go!

[Urbanized]

Here is Mike Tirico interviewing Casey Wasserman, who led the LA28 bid, and who now serves as president Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. He briefly mentions OKC at the :29 mark.