Boathouse Row

[bombermwc]

All this while we still wait for another actual boathouse.....

[Snowman]

All this while we still wait for another actual boathouse.....

Sad it has taken OU longer to approve the design after all the money was collected than it will to build it

[TAlan CB]

Sad it has taken OU longer to approve the design after all the money was collected than it will to build it

Your quite right, they either need to start or let it be known that they have no intention of doing anything so other plans can be made for those spots.

[HangryHippo]

Is approval all they're waiting on? It's pretty ridiculous if so, because funding was rumored to have been secured long ago. As I've said elsewhere, there seems to be something else going on entirely.

[dankrutka]

Your quite right, they either need to start or let it be known that they have no intention of doing anything so other plans can be made for those spots.

I am sure they are in communication with the decision makers within the Boathouse Row community... Of course, we'd like to know what's going on also.

[TAlan CB]

I am sure they are in communication with the decision makers within the Boathouse Row community... Of course, we'd like to know what's going on also.

They probably are, and there may be a good reason for the delay. But, the issue is that the remaining boathouse slots - along with the "White water" course and "zip-line" facility - are the core of this project area. Once they are done, growth can take place around them. Perhaps they are waiting on a finalized White water design and implementation plan. There real danger is this core area is under construction "forever", losing momentum as a place to visit, instead of avoid, because of the construction. And, that housing or retail that wants to develop with the momentum of this area is lost because it is stretched out over too long of a time. This actually may be a reason to delay, so that construction takes place at the same time as the final projects so that the area in not under construction "all the time". Wow, now I'm rationalizing in circles....... frustration!

[Pete]

I know that UCO simply hasn't raised enough funds.

I suspect very strongly that previous pledges for the OU facility are either slow to be collected or have completely gone away.

[HangryHippo]

I know that UCO simply hasn't raised enough funds.

I suspect very strongly that previous pledges for the OU facility are either slow to be collected or have completely gone away.

Had Chesapeake donated to the OU boathouse? If so, that donation likely disappeared.

[Pete]

Aubrey McClendon made a big pledge; so did Clay Bennett.

[bombermwc]

Yet another example of how OCU can fundraise well. OCU typically doesn't build until the funds are all there, and look who's building is already there and being used. One would think the larger support base of OU would have sped along at light speed, not crawled as slow as UCO. And UCO has one of the more original designs for the use of their building beyond just a boathouse.

I fear that if we dont get moving, we'll lose momentum and the interest will wane.

[LandRunOkie]

I'm sort of relieved OU is reconsidering their boathouse. It is quite a drive for current students and I'm not sure alumni would make use of it. I feel that if we are going to make extravagant and unnecessary expenditures, they should at least be on campus! All this combined with the fact that McClendon is actually a Duke man made me skeptical of the project.

[BoulderSooner]

I'm sort of relieved OU is reconsidering their boathouse. It is quite a drive for current students and I'm not sure alumni would make use of it. I feel that if we are going to make extravagant and unnecessary expenditures, they should at least be on campus! All this combined with the fact that McClendon is actually a Duke man made me skeptical of the project.

where do you get that OU is reconsidering their boathouse?? ... they're not

[BDP]

I'm sort of relieved OU is reconsidering their boathouse. It is quite a drive for current students and I'm not sure alumni would make use of it. I feel that if we are going to make extravagant and unnecessary expenditures, they should at least be on campus! All this combined with the fact that McClendon is actually a Duke man made me skeptical of the project.

They already row on the Oklahoma river, they just don't have their own facility. Unless you see student rowing as extravagant, it would much more unnecessary and wasteful to try and find a way to bring rowing onto campus or even to Norman when Oklahoma City already has a rowing facility worthy of Olympic training.

Learn more:

SoonerSports.com - Official Athletics Site of the Oklahoma Sooners - Women's Rowing - SoonerSports.com - Official Athletics Site of the Oklahoma Sooners

[LandRunOkie]

You left out the option of continuing to sublease like what they're doing. I never felt a boathouse would mean as much for OU as other schools. If the private funding comes, it comes. If not, continue to sublease.

[Bellaboo]

You left out the option of continuing to sublease like what they're doing. I never felt a boathouse would mean as much for OU as other schools. If the private funding comes, it comes. If not, continue to sublease.

I propose they share a boathouse with OSU........jk

[BDP]

You left out the option of continuing to sublease like what they're doing. I never felt a boathouse would mean as much for OU as other schools. If the private funding comes, it comes. If not, continue to sublease.

Well, subleasing means that they are still spending money on an ongoing basis on a facility away from campus to row at a location you argued was unfavorable due to its distance from students' housing. With location being the crux of your argument, the subleasing option didn't seem relevant. But now that you bring it up, it's probably the opposite of unnecessary spending if they can build a facility with donations, because it then saves them the money spent on the lease they are paying now. They could even MAKE money off leasing it out themselves on occasion.

[LandRunOkie]

I didn't argue that it is too far away for student athletes. It is too far away for the student population as a whole to justify the expense of a boathouse. Even if the funds for the building were donated, the maintenance costs could exceed what they are paying to sublease.

[adaniel]

^
Huh? Its a 30 minute drive for most students outside of rush hour.

As far as the justification for a boathouse, it is most certainly a "luxury" for the school that the vast majority of students will never use. Hence why they are using private donations rather than hitting up students for fees or taking the costs out of the general fund (and probably getting it built faster). That would be the case if it were in Norman as well. Heck, I would vouch and say that the majority of students did not use the Houston Huffman fitness center on campus, yet I remember every semester paying a "user fee" for it.

This is something OU is doing for the benefit of the community. Their method to raise the funds has probably drawn out the process longer than most would like but I have no doubt it will get built.

[ljbab728]

^
Huh? Its a 30 minute drive for most students outside of rush hour.

You're absolutely correct and that isn't taking into account the mulitude of OU students who live in OKC and commute to school or the large numbers at the medical school who could almost walk there.

[bombermwc]

LandRunOkie - have you heard of OU Med Center? Just saying.....

[BoulderSooner]

^
Huh? Its a 30 minute drive for most students outside of rush hour.

As far as the justification for a boathouse, it is most certainly a "luxury" for the school that the vast majority of students will never use. Hence why they are using private donations rather than hitting up students for fees or taking the costs out of the general fund (and probably getting it built faster). That would be the case if it were in Norman as well. Heck, I would vouch and say that the majority of students did not use the Houston Huffman fitness center on campus, yet I remember every semester paying a "user fee" for it.

This is something OU is doing for the benefit of the community. Their method to raise the funds has probably drawn out the process longer than most would like but I have no doubt it will get built.

this is an OU athletic dept facility .. ... the OU AD doesn't get funds from the general OU budget (unlike osu) it is self supporting ..

[LandRunOkie]

This is something OU is doing for the benefit of the community. Their method to raise the funds has probably drawn out the process longer than most would like but I have no doubt it will get built.

So you are saying it is going to be always open to the public? If so, why even attach the OU name to it? If not, its not for the community.

You're absolutely correct and that isn't taking into account the mulitude of OU students who live in OKC and commute to school or the large numbers at the medical school who could almost walk there.

If someone is so financially strapped to be commuting 30+ miles each way, you think they are going to be rowing?
There are well under 1500 students at the OU HSC. There are over 25,000 at the Norman campus. You are suggesting building such an expensive facility for 1500 students + Okc commuters? Doesn't make sense.

this is an OU athletic dept facility .. ... the OU AD doesn't get funds from the general OU budget (unlike osu) it is self supporting ..

That is a whole other issue. Why the athletic department gets to use the OU logo without substantial reimbursements to the university is confounding.

[Bellaboo]

That is a whole other issue. Why the athletic department gets to use the OU logo without substantial reimbursements to the university is confounding.

This makes no sense, the athletic dept. is a money generator for the university.

[hoya]

So you are saying it is going to be always open to the public? If so, why even attach the OU name to it? If not, its not for the community.

If someone is so financially strapped to be commuting 30+ miles each way, you think they are going to be rowing?
There are well under 1500 students at the OU HSC. There are over 25,000 at the Norman campus. You are suggesting building such an expensive facility for 1500 students + Okc commuters? Doesn't make sense.


That is a whole other issue. Why the athletic department gets to use the OU logo without substantial reimbursements to the university is confounding.

Okay, you clearly have some personal issues with OU or the OU athletic department.

The fact is, olympic sports raise the prestige of a university nationally. As much as we love our football team, having a world class rowing facility improves the overall perception of the school. Go to other cities and you'll find major universities sponsoring things like this all the time, frequently in areas far from the main campus. If OU pays for their boathouse using private donations specifically for that purpose, then the only costs to the university come from maintenance. That's small potatoes compared to the value it adds to the school as a whole. It's a worthwhile endeavor. And they attach the OU name to it because it's great advertising for the school. Duh.

Not only does the athletic department raise money for the school, when OU teams are doing well, admissions go up and the overall quality of the students go up (the university can afford to be more selective). A boathouse on the river is not only good for the city, it's good for the school.

[LandRunOkie]

This makes no sense, the athletic dept. is a money generator for the university.

So how much money has the athletic department given to the university in the last 10 years? Give some facts please.

The fact is, olympic sports raise the prestige of a university nationally.

Proof?

As much as we love our football team, having a world class rowing facility improves the overall perception of the school.

I never said I loved football or the team. I played it in high school and it is a brutal and militaristic game. Universities in Europe don't have organized athletics and find it silly that we do.

Go to other cities and you'll find major universities sponsoring things like this all the time, frequently in areas far from the main campus. If OU pays for their boathouse using private donations specifically for that purpose, then the only costs to the university come from maintenance. That's small potatoes compared to the value it adds to the school as a whole. It's a worthwhile endeavor. And they attach the OU name to it because it's great advertising for the school. Duh.

Fair enough. Most of those other schools also probably have natural rivers nearby so it doesn't seem as forced, but fair enough. As long as tax money isn't used.

Not only does the athletic department raise money for the school, when OU teams are doing well, admissions go up and the overall quality of the students go up (the university can afford to be more selective). A boathouse on the river is not only good for the city, it's good for the school.

If OU raised academic standards and devoted fundraising efforts to endowed professorships instead of fancy buildings with microphones for every student, wood paneled desks, and projectors in every room, it wouldn't need the football team to do well to increase enrollment.