High water: OKC investments land Olympic events

Sunday, June 23, 2024

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COMMENTARY

I‘d like to think someone showed the Los Angeles Organizing Committee what Oklahoma City has to offer the Olympic Games, and who better to do so than Mayor David Holt?

After last week’s announcement that two events of 2028 Summer Olympics — canoe slalom and softball — are going to be hosted in OKC, the mayor stated he has been working on this project for six years. Who knows, he could have been training on the world class Riversport facility this whole time, preparing for precisely this moment.

It is exciting news, to say the least, and it could perhaps be one of the biggest events ever to happen in the city and state. The City of Oklahoma City has invested heavily in Devon Park, and that investment appears to be paying off in a big — if unexpected — way. Now, Oklahomans’ tremendous dedication to the sport of softball will be shown to the world in a handful of years, as well as the city’s commitment to improvements in other ways, including all of the development along the Oklahoma River.

If you’re like me and have lived here for a long time — they used to mow the river, you know — this sort of development is a far cry from the way Oklahoma City used to be. I could rehash how we got here, but there are entire books on the topic. It’s incredibly easy to draw a straight line from the first MAPS vote to hosting Olympic events. This same progress only looks to continue, I hope. Let’s go for the gold.