2028 Olympics in OKC

[GoGators]

OKC builds an arena and gets an NBA franchise. OKC continues to upgrade HOF stadium and locks down the premier event of the sport in the nation for 30 years. OKC builds a rapid and improves the river and (possibly) gets Olympic events.

OKC is kind of the poster child right now for “if you build it, they will come.”

[Pete]

Channel 5 covered this story last night.

Basically just read the OKCTalk story (and mentioned us by name) and then had a brief interview with Mike Knopp who merely said, "We've been working for 15 years to turn Oklahoma City into an international hub for rowing, kayak, and canoe and we've recently added a lot of hotel rooms".

He can't say anything more until there is an official announcement, of course.


Everything I've learned points to this pretty much being a done deal for canoe slalom and I'm still hoping rowing may be a possibility.


The response has been strong but a little more muted than I would have predicted. I realize most people 1) don't believe it; and 2) don't fully comprehend what this means.

[bombermwc]

I'm freaking stoked like crazy!!!!! Granted, this isn't a sport that typically has a lot of coverage, but it's going to bring INTERNATIONAL attention in a way that things don't normally do here.

Now we have to figure out the stands........One thing the area is not set up for well today, is any sort of large scale spectating of the rapids. Maybe this will spur on the construction of the permanent stands for rowing though? Weren't those going on the south side of the river?

[Pete]

Rowing would be easy because the City owns all the property along the south bank of the River between the Lincoln/Central bridge and the I-35 bridges. They could set up all types of stands there, near the finish line, as well as at Okana near the starting line.

For canoe, not sure how they would do it but I'm sure they've already worked up a proposal.

Then, there would have to be parking away from Boathouse Row with shuttles to the site which would no doubt be turned into a gigantic festival with food and merchandise tents and things to do. I went to the PGA tournament in Tulsa last summer and they used the big parking lots at Oral Roberts and then nice bus coaches to shuttle people to a drop point, then you did a ton of walking to get to the entrance and navigate the event itself.

If OKC did this sort of setup, there is all types of parking downtown that is used for Thunder games. Just set up some coach stops and move people around very quickly along OKC Boulevard which ends right at the Boathouse District.

And having people park in downtown and Bricktown would mean you'd have an absolute sea of people taking advantage of all the restaurants and hotels. As I've done a few times for events at Boathouse Row, you can park in that huge lot south of Bass Pro, or walk along the canal and then follow the sidewalks under I-40 and you end up right where you want to go.


We could activate all of downtown; I don't think logistics would be a big issue.

[Snowman]

I'm freaking stoked like crazy!!!!! Granted, this isn't a sport that typically has a lot of coverage, but it's going to bring INTERNATIONAL attention in a way that things don't normally do here.

Now we have to figure out the stands........One thing the area is not set up for well today, is any sort of large scale spectating of the rapids. Maybe this will spur on the construction of the permanent stands for rowing though? Weren't those going on the south side of the river?

At least since the boathouse row concept solidified. Though there there has also been conceptual improvement for spectators on the north side too, converting the hills in front of the boathouses to the concrete steps and grass terraces like around the finish line tower, basically running from the main whitewater building to the finishline.

[jn1780]

I think the temporary stands would just go on SE 5th street. Wouldn't be surprised if BAR K is eminent domain. Maybe good a broadcast center?

[Pete]

I think the temporary stands would just go on SE 5th street. Wouldn't be surprised if BAR K is eminent domain. Maybe good a broadcast center?

My thought as well regarding 5th.

And as I mentioned, I could see a hotel being built just north of Bar K and the bike track and then using it for athletes during the events and for future events and also housing for the increasing number that training at the High Performance Center year-round.

[PhiAlpha]

I think the temporary stands would just go on SE 5th street. Wouldn't be surprised if BAR K is eminent domain. Maybe good a broadcast center?

lol what? There’s plenty of land there. No one is taking Bar K by eminent domain and knocking it down for one week of events with all of the open land available nearby.

[Plutonic Panda]

I wonder if funding could be found to extend the streetcar to the Boathouse District.

[Bellaboo]

lol what? There’s plenty of land there. No one is taking Bar K by eminent domain and knocking it down for one week of events with all of the open land available nearby.

I think he's saying to use it for a couple weeks during the competition.

[Ginkasa]

The response has been strong but a little more muted than I would have predicted. I realize most people 1) don't believe it; and 2) don't fully comprehend what this means.

The OKC subreddit (I know I know) seemed to (naturally) read only the headline and assumed the city was trying to position itself to host the whole thing and coming up with a bunch of reasons why that doesn't make sense. Someone called your article a "City Council fluff piece" which is hilarious.

I think when its officially announced and especially when we get closer to the actual event (2028 feels like a long time away although probably it'll arrive sooner than any of us would like) more people will get excited.

[PhiAlpha]

I think he's saying to use it for a couple weeks during the competition.

Then why would eminent domain be used lol? I’m sure the owners would willingly offer it up to the city for that as long as they were compensated for it.

[Jake]

The OKC subreddit (I know I know) seemed to (naturally) read only the headline and assumed the city was trying to position itself to host the whole thing and coming up with a bunch of reasons why that doesn't make sense. Someone called your article a "City Council fluff piece" which is hilarious.

I think when its officially announced and especially when we get closer to the actual event (2028 feels like a long time away although probably it'll arrive sooner than any of us would like) more people will get excited.

This combined with people who actually do see that it's for the canoe/maybe rowing events but assume it'll only be like a 1 or 2-day thing

[Urbanized]

…[Aubrey] also brought in Mike Knopp who was done a simply amazing job with the whole Riversport complex and he should get a ton of credit if the Olympics happen. And even if it doesn't…

I feel compelled to remark on this: to be clear, Mike landed Aubrey, not the other way around. Mike was teaching law at OCU and coaching rowing. The facility they used was at Overholser and was in no way glamorous.

There was also a group of Masters (recreationally competitive rowers) who worked out there; among them Martha Burger, who was a VP at Chesapeake at the time. Mike mentioned to Martha that he had been watching plans and construction of the MAPS-funded dams on the river, and his dream was to turn the lower section into a rowing venue. She too became taken with the idea and suggested that Mike should talk to Aubrey about it.

Mike pitched the idea for what became the Chesapeake Boathouse, and Aubrey too liked the idea, and wrote a big check. Aubrey already had a close working relationship with Rand Elliott and hired Rand for the design. The boathouse was (perhaps unexpectedly) a runaway success, and that spurred everything that has happened since. Clearly Aubrey gets massive credit for being the economic catalyst, major benefactor and champion on behalf of Riversport in the halls of government and among the Chamber set.

I just want to make sure Mike gets the credit he deserves for the origin of Riversport.

[Pete]

This is all conjecture; I don't have any specific information.

If you look at how the rowing course would be laid out, you can see that OKANA would be featured very prominently; not so much with just canoe. You can bet the Chickasaws would be heavily involved in putting in a bid for the rowing events; they also own the north side of the river between Eastern & I-35.

[Jake]

OKANA is positioned perfectly for this. I bet the Chickasaw's are ecstatic about the possibility of this happening.

[Snowman]

Rowing course generally would not have the stands near the start. Plus they would only be useful for rowing, since even if the flatwater canoe events came too, they are shorter races.

[Pete]

Rowing course generally would not have the stands near the start. Plus they would only be useful for rowing, since even if the flatwater canoe events came too, they are shorter races.

If that's the case, they would merely use the OKANA area for general spectating.

And of course, all the rowers and tons of officials would have to get to the starting line. Diagrams have shown warm-up lanes in that same area.

[Grant]

The canoe sprints in Paris in 2024 are taking place at the same venue rowing uses. If they give us rowing, do the canoe sprints come too?

The canoe sprints are all 200m to 1000m, so if we get rowing because LA doesn't have a 2000m course, it stands to reason they'd probably have room for the shorter canoe sprints. But maybe it's better to have similar events in one location. Could be some overlap in athletes, staff, etc.

[Snowman]

The canoe sprints in Paris in 2024 are taking place at the same venue rowing uses. If they give us rowing, do the canoe sprints come too?

The canoe sprints are all 200m to 1000m, so if we get rowing because LA doesn't have a 2000m course, it stands to reason they'd probably have room for the shorter canoe sprints. But maybe it's better to have similar events in one location. Could be some overlap in athletes, staff, etc.

Typically they are on the same course, but it is not like there is specifically rules against them being split. Plus the course near LA is 1500m, so the canoe events could fit.
Though if only one came, the flatwater canoe events might be more likely, as that may help logistics of ICF and teams to have all canoe staff/athletes in one city.

[Pete]

The canoe sprints in Paris in 2024 are taking place at the same venue rowing uses. If they give us rowing, do the canoe sprints come too?

The canoe sprints are all 200m to 1000m, so if we get rowing because LA doesn't have a 2000m course, it stands to reason they'd probably have room for the shorter canoe sprints. But maybe it's better to have similar events in one location. Could be some overlap in athletes, staff, etc.

Yes, which is why those events are typically grouped; they were in Tokyo and will be in Paris. Even if LA was to build a whitewater facility, it would be more than 50 miles away from the rowing venue.

I'm very familiar with where LA28 is currently planning to do the rowing events. Because it's a long, narrow area in the Long Beach marina, I used to do open-water swim training for triathlon along with a bunch of other people in the sport. It's not only too short for Olympic events (max of 1,500m vs. the 2,000m every other Olympics has used), it's incredibly dense along the shore due to the demand by everyone wanting to live near water; no idea how they would put up stands for spectators. It's also nasty because of the heavy boat use and a jetty that keeps the water calm but also stops oil and other crap from being swept out to sea.

I coached triathlon for a long time and we would always have some people refuse to swim at the Long Beach marina because it was pretty disgusting.


For all these reasons, I know OKC is pushing for rowing, just no idea if it is going to happen.

[Southsider2]

The south-shore of the rowing course stretch is along my frequent running/biking route. I always hit the stretch (designated rowing stands in Pete's exhibit above) and wonder about the railyard to the south. Now that the area is obviously in transition, the railyard is starting to feel out of place.

[BoulderSooner]

The south-shore of the rowing course stretch is along my frequent running/biking route. I always hit the stretch (designated rowing stands in Pete's exhibit above) and wonder about the railyard to the south. Now that the area is obviously in transition, the railyard is starting to feel out of place.

good luck ever getting that moved ...

it took a threat of congress to get the railroads to sell the empty and abandoned yard between the GM building and tinker for the tinker expansion ..

[Urbanized]

The south-shore of the rowing course stretch is along my frequent running/biking route. I always hit the stretch (designated rowing stands in Pete's exhibit above) and wonder about the railyard to the south. Now that the area is obviously in transition, the railyard is starting to feel out of place.

Agree, 100%. But also, good luck getting a railroad to vacate a working rail yard. I mean, it DOES happen; just not very often.

Edit: haha BoulderSooner beat me to it.

[Pete]

The south-shore of the rowing course stretch is along my frequent running/biking route. I always hit the stretch (designated rowing stands in Pete's exhibit above) and wonder about the railyard to the south. Now that the area is obviously in transition, the railyard is starting to feel out of place.

A number of years ago, there was a very specific plan to erect a large screen to block the view of the railyard.

It didn't end up being funded and the idea was dropped, but if we got rowing, it might be revisited.