I just wanted to remind everyone to go out and support the drag boat races on the Oklahoma River this weekend July 13-15. It's unbelievable how fast the Top Fuel Hydro's go. Check it out. I believe TFH's run at 10:30AM and 5:00PM Saturday and 11:30AM and 6:00PM on Sunday.

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This event was absolutely a FRAUD. I went saturday and it was very disorganized, they told me since it was cancelled i could get a refund. I waited 30 minutes for this "refund" and they instead told me no refunds, however we will give you tickets for Sunday; I took the Sundat tickets reluctantly and made plans to attend since i had already dropped $80 on them. Sunday when i arrived, the only thing left was a few Portable Restrooms and some trash. I saw a race alright, a race to get out of town with my money. No contact information was given and the city of OKC seems to turn the other cheek. The event website states that the tickets will be good next year "if" the races are held. Well my famlily wont be here next year, and i am stuck with having to sell $80 in tickets. I say ban these races from coming back if they treat paying customers this poorly.

greatwhite, please do not let this one instance ruin your reputation of OKC. These are an annual event and have been a huge success in the past. The reason they were cancelled was that there was too much debris in the water (logs, limbs, trash, etc.) due to all the unusual rains we've been having lately. We're many inches above where we normally are in a year, and it's only halfway through the year. One driver flipped his boat and got killed one year. These are very dangerous boats that tip over easy so they must be precautious.

I do agree, they could have refunded tickets instead of making everyone "use them next year". I have heard they do intend to return next year, however I think it's a crock that they won't refund the tickets. I wouldn't say the event was a FRAUD or disorganized. I think it could have been better organized, but they really weren't counting on all the recent rains which again, are very rare.

I can't believe the City will let them do this though - it will leave a very bad mark on the city if they don't do refunds and then the city invites them back - should also have a large impact on attendance for next year.

The city has no control over it, it's a private event. If anything it would have more to do with the Oklahoma River Redevelopment Authority, who authorize permits for riverfront usage. The best bet would be to see if the local newstations "In Your Corner" or such would do a story or to get a petition going and email/call the sponsor of the event.

For those that are wondering please read the following message for the city

Weeks of flooding, not City dam operations, caused the cancellation of the Bricktown Nationals drag boat races on the Oklahoma River over the weekend.



The event, which was organized by Oklahoma City Bricktown Water Sports Inc., was cancelled on Saturday due to hazardous debris in the Oklahoma River.



According to event promoter Glenn Brown, armbands purchased at the event will be honored during the 2008 Bricktown Nationals. All tickets purchased at O’Reiley Auto Parts are redeemable with a valid receipt.



“I stand behind their decision to cancel the race for safety reasons. We’ve had a good three-year working relationship with Bricktown Water Sports – their race benefits Oklahoma City in so many ways. I’m just disappointed that, so far, they aren’t providing a cash reimbursement to all ticket holders,” said Mayor Mick Cornett.



This is how the debris entered the race site:



Dam operators monitored water levels in the Eastern basin of the Oklahoma River over night on Friday and through Saturday to ensure drag boats could safely pass under a 60-inch pipeline crossing the drag boat recovery route.



Swift water caused by recent flooding threatened to cancel the event Saturday morning as racers struggled to hold on to the starting line rope. Event coordinators from Bricktown Water Sports Inc., asked dam operators to slow the current by raising the gates of the Western Avenue Brum Dam located about three miles upstream.



The Brum Dam gates were raised, slowing the flow of water and allowing the race to begin. But after thirty minutes the river began flowing over the dam, taking debris along with it. Oklahoma River maintenance boats and support drag boats worked to abate the trash but couldn’t keep up with the volume.



“Dam operator John Rhodes did everything in his power to help us control the current. We can’t be appreciative enough of their help,” said promoter Glenn Brown.



Oklahoma has received a record amount of rainfall this spring. Much of the rain is directed to the North Canadian River.

Hope this clears things up.

Good article. As it clearly states, the city is not at fault. Anyhow, I wish journalists would quit calling it spring, it's summer for crying out loud. The majority of all this recent rainfall has occurred in summer, not spring as usual!! I notice them everyday on the news still calling it spring.

i went down to bricktown friday night with friends and family to see the boats up close and hear the owners fire up the engines, the organizers call it the "show and shine." well the show and shine was supposed to go on between 7p and 10p, the baseball park personnel told the boat owners they couldn't start their engines because of the game. All of the boats and their crews left within 10 minutes, many in the crowd were shouting "Oklahoma Sucks!!!" -- this event, which draws lots of people and economic stimuli, was poorly organized and very embarrassing for the city this year. I talked to several folks that came over from Tulsa for the first time to see it, they lol'd all the way back east.

What a shame. Who approves/monitors these events? Red,white and boom got terrible reviews as well. Are these events pre-approved by the city, Downtown OKC or the Bricktown Association? If not, they obviously need to be. I love downtown/bricktown, but I have been pretty disappointed in every event I've been to. Who is out there to make sure these events are done right and don't hurt downtown's reputation? This concerns me a lot.

Again, most events are put on by private promoters!!!!

i went down to bricktown friday night with friends and family to see the boats up close and hear the owners fire up the engines, the organizers call it the "show and shine." well the show and shine was supposed to go on between 7p and 10p, the baseball park personnel told the boat owners they couldn't start their engines because of the game. All of the boats and their crews left within 10 minutes, many in the crowd were shouting "Oklahoma Sucks!!!" -- this event, which draws lots of people and economic stimuli, was poorly organized and very embarrassing for the city this year. I talked to several folks that came over from Tulsa for the first time to see it, they lol'd all the way back east.

You want to hear them fire up the motors?

Come over to my house...My next door neighbor has one, and he fires it up ALL.THE.DAMN.TIME.

Again, most events are put on by private promoters!!!!

Yes, but surely the associations or the city has to approve them first. Does anyone know who approves these events and monitors for quality/compliance, etc?

In most cases, these promoters lease space from other private parties, or in the case of the Ozarka boat races, from the City (riverfront area). Red, White and Boom was put on by a private investor with other partners, and on private land.

The leasing agent has no control over the quality of the event. They can monitor the event content to make certain it is in compliance with certain City ordinances (alcohol, noise, pet restrictions, etc.)

Would you hold the Ford Center accountable if XYZ band came and put on a lousy show? Would you hold the Civic Center accountable if one of the resident artist groups put on a show you did not like? If a horse show at the State Fair is not well organized, is that the Fair Ground's fault? In short, NO! It's not the venue's responsibility to monitor quality in this manner.

Their primary responsibility is to ensure the venue itself is ready to handle the event and can accommodate the event needs. Most venues are not in the event production/promotion business. At least in this City, that belongs in the hands of the promoters.

I did not attend either of the events in question, so cannot judge them specifically. In the event business, it usually takes a good "three years" (industry standard) to work out the kinks. One cannot expect perfection right out of the box. In the case of R,W & B, this was their inaugural year.

I know little to nothing about the drag boat race, except what I've read in the papers. It seems to me it was a fiasco from the get-go, which smacks of poor organization the part of the promoter/event producer. Sorry.

I just talked to my neighbor (that owns a jet boat, so he's part of that crowd), and evidently, there are more than just upset spectators-to-be.

The racers are ROYALLY PO'd. Canceling the event is one thing, but not issuing immediate refunds to the people that had paid was a bonehead thing to do.

And then they were told that Friday was test-n-tune night (a must for these boats), only to have business owners, the police, and event organizers telling them that they couldn't start their boats. The cops even told the president of the boating association that he'd be fined for violating the city noise ordinance. WTF?

Oh, and I also understand that the vendors (that paid around $1000 to sell their wares) didn't get reimbursed their fees either.

So you have:

1. Upset fans
2. Upset racers
c. Upset vendors
4. Upset businesses around the event

Calling the race due to safety was a good call in most everybody's opinion...But I think that the event organizers are going to have a tough sell next year to say the least. Nobody was happy about it. This is an event that brings MILLIONS in revenue to downtown in only a few days...Bringing people in from as far away as California to run their boats...It's NATIONAL event...And Oklahoma City now looks about as organized as a monkey-sh*t fight at the zoo to just about everybody involved.