Scissortail Park

[Canoe]

It looks like there is room for a second soccer field next to the one they are building. Maybe they can put up a couple of goals on either end of that grassy area.

[Pete]

Press release:

**********************

“Scissortail Park Takes Flight” event presented by The Chickasaw Nation will celebrate
the completion of Oklahoma City’s Core to Shore vision
Opening weekend festivities planned for Friday, September 23 – Sunday, September 25

OKLAHOMA CITY – The new southernmost section of Scissortail Park, a MAPS 3 project, will open to the public on September 23, 2022, and will connect to the north end of the Park via the Skydance Bridge. A weekend full of free activities are being planned to celebrate the completion of the Core to Shore vision.

“Scissortail Park Takes Flight” presented by The Chickasaw Nation is supported by Richard and Glenna Tanenbaum, Griffin Communications, Express Employment Professionals, Bank of Oklahoma, First United Bank, Mercy, Strawberry Fields, and OG&E. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available to support Scissortail Park Foundation. Call 405.445.6277 or contact jphillips@scissortailpark.org or clewis@scissortailpark.org for more information.

“Opening up another 32 acres of beautiful green space plus athletic courts and more, could not be more exciting for our organization and the community,” said Maureen Heffernan, CEO of Myriad Gardens Foundation and Scissortail Park Foundation. “Please plan to join us during the lower park’s opening weekend, September 23-25. There are events and activities for everyone to discover all the cool new features to enjoy in the fully completed Scissortail Park. The Core to Shore vision of creating a vast green space, connecting the downtown core to the river, further transforms our city as a highly desirable place to live, work and visit.”

Once open, the newly-completed portion of Scissortail Park, which will nearly double the size of the Park to 70 acres, will feature two basketball courts, a soccer field, futsal court, and four pickleball courts, as well as a sports pavilion and small performance area. The Nature Playground will provide shady spots for children and families to interact with natural materials like boulders, logs, and sand, providing endless opportunities for creative play.

The newest areas of the Park will also have a wide variety of horticultural plantings to represent the prairies of this region with native grasses and wildflowers. Hundreds of new trees have been planted throughout the site for shade and to provide sheltered habitats for wildlife. A beautifully lit Promenade and series of walking trails will extend south to the Oklahoma River Trails.

Scissortail Park Foundation, along with the City of Oklahoma City, MAPS 3, and its community partners, will host a weekend-long celebration that is free and open to the public September 23-25.

The three-day celebration, “Scissortail Park Takes Flight,” will include guided tours, children’s programming, music and dance, health and wellness activities, as well as a concert by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Many programs will be offered both in English and Spanish. The sports courts will be available to the public for open play several hours each day, and will also showcase expo games with professional athletes.

The full schedule of events will be published in mid-August. Stay up-to-date at scissortailpark.org or follow on social media @scissortailpark for more details.


About Scissortail Park
Scissortail Park is in the heart of a revitalized area of downtown Oklahoma City. The public green space provides a healthy and vibrant quality of life for our city while serving as an investment in the future for everyone. Every detail of the Park is designed for connection – with nature, neighbors, and ourselves. It is a place for play, culture, celebration, and inspiration.

The 36-acre upper park opened in September 2019 and features a variety of engaging experiences ranging from ornamental gardens and woodlands to a lake and boathouse. The Park offers visitors walking and biking paths, a children’s playground, grand promenade, performance stage and great lawn, seasonal outdoor roller rink, an enclosed dog park, interactive fountains, and much more.

Designed by one of the foremost landscape architecture planning firms in the world, Hargreaves Jones Associates, the Park is also a horticultural tapestry of native prairie grasses, lush flower gardens and tree-lined walkways.

Connected across Interstate 40 by the Skydance Bridge, the 32-acre lower park broke ground on November 6, 2020, with expected completion by fall of 2022. This section is intended to have more open and natural spaces than the existing park areas. There will be a focus on space for athletic events and pickup sports, with a soccer field, sports pavilion, pickleball courts, futsal court, and two basketball courts. The lower park is being constructed by Wynn Construction.

Scissortail Park is managed on behalf of the City of Oklahoma City by Scissortail Park Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Together we have created something spectacular. For everyone.

About MAPS 3
MAPS 3 is a $777 million, debt-free capital improvement program to improve the quality of life in Oklahoma City. It is funded by a 1-cent sales tax initiative that began in April 2010 and ended in December 2017. MAPS 3 funds eight projects: Downtown Convention Center, Scissortail Park, Modern Streetcar/Transit, Oklahoma River Improvements, Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Improvements, Senior Health and Wellness Centers, Trails and Sidewalks. Learn more at okc.gov/maps3.

Voters approved MAPS 4 in December 2019. Learn more at okc.gov/maps4.

[HOT ROD]

I wouldn't say the Core to Shore vision is complete. I often think OKC jumps the gun on development, calling things complete. Recall the opening of the park, it was far from complete but the mayor and all acted like it was finished. I'm all for celebration but this continual 'this or that is complete' seems to continually set us up for mediocracy in our projects.

The vision for C2S included not only the park (which itself isn't complete yet) but also development on BOTH sides - far from even getting started on the majority of the Strawberry Fields let alone the pedestrian bridge connection, etc. Again, why do we keep jumping the gun - so we don't need to finish the vision?

[LocoAko]

I wouldn't say the Core to Shore vision is complete. I often think OKC jumps the gun on development, calling things complete. Recall the opening of the park, it was far from complete but the mayor and all acted like it was finished. I'm all for celebration but this continual 'this or that is complete' seems to continually set us up for mediocracy in our projects.

The vision for C2S included not only the park (which itself isn't complete yet) but also development on BOTH sides - far from even getting started on the majority of the Strawberry Fields let alone the pedestrian bridge connection, etc. Again, why do we keep jumping the gun - so we don't need to finish the vision?

I had the same thought. Seems pretty disingenuous to imply the Core 2 Shore vision has been "completed" when it included redevelopment of all of that land that is still vacant lots and surface parking. I mean, technically development now reaches all the way to the river.... but there's a LONG way to go...

[chssooner]

I mean, most of the other development will be private developments, with maybe some TIF (Boulevard Place, Strawberry Fields, etc). So maybe they mean that OKC involvement is over.

[Bellaboo]

Any updates on when 'The Feather' will be installed ?

[Bellaboo]

Any updates on when 'The Feather' will be installed ?

'Taking Flight'. I looked and it says summer of 2022, but not a definite date.

[catcherinthewry]

Any updates on when 'The Feather' will be installed ?

According to the MAPS Director it will be installed in October.

[Bellaboo]

According to the MAPS Director it will be installed in October.

Thank You

[Bits_Of_Real_Panther]

https://twitter.com/hostiledesign/st...684673/photo/1

this tweet by an account called 'Hostile Design" looks to be taken from Scissortail near the stage. Its titled "anti-skateboard lattice"

found it interesting

[king183]

https://twitter.com/hostiledesign/st...684673/photo/1

this tweet by an account called 'Hostile Design" looks to be taken from Scissortail near the stage. Its titled "anti-skateboard lattice"

found it interesting

As several responses to that Tweet accurately mention, that's not hostile design and it's certainly not anti-skateboard design any more than the planted portions of the park are anti-skateboard design. It's good water management design by creating permeable surfaces--something we should do a lot more of in this city.

[David]

https://twitter.com/hostiledesign/st...684673/photo/1

this tweet by an account called 'Hostile Design" looks to be taken from Scissortail near the stage. Its titled "anti-skateboard lattice"

found it interesting

Random twitter account making stuff up isn't a good source of knowledge on what the park designers intended with that particular surface.

[urbanCOWBOY]

Does anyone know if they will be repaving the roads by Scissortail Park? Seems like before the park opening would be the best time instead of waiting until after with increased traffic.

[shawnw]

Is it possible for that to happen in the less than month before the lower park opens? Wouldn't think so, though I agree they should have done that.

[Pete]

[Canoe]

Nice to see the roadwork starting in the westside of the park.

[Ross MacLochness]

absolutely fantastic!

[HOT ROD]

looks great, the park that is. ...

[RickOKC]

Is there going to be some kind of soft opening—when the fences will be taken down—before the big event at the end of the month?

[Pete]

Is there going to be some kind of soft opening—when the fences will be taken down—before the big event at the end of the month?

The fences were still up last night and surrounding roads are still torn up. Hopefully, they'll take the fences down a couple of days before 9/23.

[Plutonic Panda]

“OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Two new Bocce Ball courts are scheduled to open at Scissortail Park on Saturday.”

- https://okcfox.com/news/local/two-ne...ark-okc-sports

[G.Walker]

Why are there random sections of the park not developed?

[Martin]

Why are there random sections of the park not developed?

if you're referring to the section just south of the courts in the picture above, that section of land is not part of the park but is the parking lot for cusack meats.

[G.Walker]

Ok yes, and the section in the lower left of the picture as well. So Cusack Meats didn't want to sell? Just seems odd to have a random section in the middle to be not be included in the park.

[BoulderSooner]

Ok yes, and the section in the lower left of the picture as well.

this section is developed