Oklahoma has changed so much in many positive ways even in the short 5 years I have lived here.

Thinking back 5-10 years is there something that you never imagined would happen in OK?

Something that you never expected to see?

Finish the sentence:

I Never Thought I'd See ...


1) I Never Thought I'd See...a Professional Basketball Team - 'Your Home Town Hornets' playing at a sold out crowd in the Ford Center in OKC.

(man, how I miss those Hornets.. it hurts my heart sometimes to think of it)



I'm hoping to get a list as long as 25 things or more .... What can you add to this list?

Im not from the okc area, but when i first heard about bricktown i thought it was going to be simular to tulsa's downtown entertainment district. Where all this thought and money goes into it, but then a year or two later after a incident or two everything is shut down and out of fashion.

Seems like okc has done a really good job of maintaining and growing downtown. I have friends coming in from chicago this weekend and im not worried they wont have a good time if I take them down there.

In an effort to compile a list.. is it fair to say...?

2)I never thought I'd see the effort put into the maintenance, development & revitalization of Downtown Oklahoma.

Gut reply...I never thought I'd move back here.

Topical reply...I never thought we'd see the lottery.

1) I Never Thought I'd See...a Professional Basketball Team - 'Your Home Town Hornets' playing at a sold out crowd in the Ford Center in OKC.

2)I never thought I'd see the effort put into the maintenance, development & revitalization of Downtown Oklahoma.

3) I never thought we'd see the lottery

I never thought I'd see an OKC billionaire whose name wasn't Gaylord.

I never thought I'd see the Skirvin reopened.

I never thought I'd see the large majority of OKC residents with tremendous pride and enthusiasm for their community.


BIG change from just 15 years ago.

What a nice, positive thread....

Both my parents grew up in NE OKC and left during the early 80's when my dad joined the air force and was deployed to England. When we came back to the US in the 90's we would try to make trips up here to see relatives, and my parents would always remark how depressed OKC looked. Well now when my dad comes he is blown away at the massive amount of construction and renewal in the city. And he grew up near what is now the medical center area and remembers how bad the neighborhoods around NE 2nd were. That is now the Research campus. My mom still complains and says "well they haven't fixed that" but she has never cared for OK. Can't really say why. Oh well, I guess to relate back to the thread topic....

I never though I see OKC as a major center for biomedical research and technology...

I never thought I would be proud to tell people where I am from.
I never thought I would want to make OKC my home (eventually) and raise a family here.

I never thought I'd see...

casinos in Oklahoma!

(I don't go to Vegas nearly as often!)

I never thought I'd see OKC held up as a model and inspiration for other communities.

I never thought I'd see so many local developers and leaders working so hard for the betterment of the entire community.

I never thought I'd see a legal tattoo parlor!

I never thought I'd see OKC held up as a model and inspiration for other communities.

Ditto.
It's hard to describe the pride I felt upon hearing how OKC has improved to the point where we have inspired other cities, by example. I never thought I would see the day when delegations from other cities would actually trek here to pick our leader's brains on ways to revive their own communities.

I never thought I'd see Paseo come so far since the days of the Spaghetti Factory (1986???). I thought it had come a long way by 2000, but today, it's just amazing.

I never thought I'd see -- NW 23rd between Broadway and Western get worse instead of better. Why has this stretch of inner city escaped urban revitalization? It's just terrible and the encroachment it represents for historic neighborhoods is discouraging.

I never thought I'd see the Plaza Court building occupied again. For those of you who may not know, U2 (yes, U2) played in the basement of that building in the early 1980s. I swear, it's true. They were a little known band at that time.

I never thought I'd see Lincoln Terrace make any kind of comeback.

I never thought I'd see Bricktown. It was once an environmental restoration site monitored by EPA...........

And, I never thought I'd see the day when my husband and kids couldn't accompany me to my departing gate at Will Rogers.

I never thought I'd see the Oklahoma River holding popular recent events... ie regatta, high speed boat races, riverfest.

Yeah well...Good luck getting the drag boats to come back. That whole crowd is STILL stewing about that mess.

what happened with the drag boats?

The river was WAY high and full of debris from all the rain so they canceled the event.

That by itself kind of sucked, but it's understandable. The problems came about when they kept taking money at the gate AFTER they knew the races were off. Then they refused to issue refunds, instead opting for the "rain check" idea. Who keeps their receipts for something like that for A FREAKIN' YEAR?

Then there's the part where the racers had their "test and tune" time, where they can fire up their boats to make little tweaks here and there...Well...As soon as they started, the cops showed up and shut them down citing noise ordinance violations and they couldn't fire them up until after the ball game was over.

Oh, and as far as I know, the vendors that paid big money to set up their displays/tents/etc weren't refunded their money either.

So basically, you've got a ton of pissed fans, torqued racers, and vendors that were out a bunch of cash. Everybody but the jet boat association got shafted.

My neighbor has one of these boats, and the entire "community" of these guys was all shades of upset over the whole deal.

I've not asked him lately if anybody has tried to make this right...But I doubt it.

I never thought I would see a crusie ship in Oklahoma, but thanks to the tax payers of Oklahoma City and Devon, they start sailing later this year.

I never thought I would see non-stop air service to 27 cities.

I never thought the people of Seattle would be so pissed off at someone from OKC, but just check out the Seattle Times Soncis forum.

I never thought I'd see water in the Canandian River.
I never thought I'd see a facility like the Ford Center built in OKC and then be considered too small 5 years later

Yeah, that was a little bit of a fiasco for the drag races.. but this is a positive thread! happy thoughts, happy thoughts, lol... here's a story on our 'cruises'.... now if they do an all you can eat plan like on a real cruise ship, I'm there!

OKC-based Devon Energy gives $2 million to fledgling river ferry


Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City) (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182), Jul 20, 2007 (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_20070720) by Brian Brus (http://findarticles.com/p/search?tb=art&qt=%22Brian+Brus%22)

Devon Energy Corp. committed $2 million to the fledgling Oklahoma River ferry transportation system Thursday to help ensure its long- term success.

The contribution effectively covers the cost of three ferries already ordered for construction by the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority. In exchange, the boats will bear the Devon Discovery name for the future as river tourism traffic develops.
"The river is just really beginning," said Devon Chief Executive Larry Nichols at the announcement held at the Meridian Boat Landing near SW 15th Street. "Look at Bricktown, and how, not that long ago, it was just a junky old, warehouse, skid row type of place. It is now a vibrant part of our community. This river can and will be the same thing. Today, it's mostly weeds and bulldozers. That will change. And the thing that will link all that together is these river boats."

City officials began designing the Oklahoma River Water Transport Mobility Program in 2005, with the goal of drawing attention to riverfront development and providing a unique mode of transportation for visitors in the area, points repeated again Thursday by Nichols, River Redevelopment Authority Chairman Ron Norick and others. The seven miles of the North Canadian River dubbed the Oklahoma River begins near the intersection of Interstates 40 and 35 and flows south of downtown to the I-40/I-35 junction.

In March, the Oklahoma City Council approved $900,000 toward the development of the Oklahoma River passenger ferry system and confirmed the winning bid in the construction of a boat dock and parking lot. A Federal Transit Administration Grant worth $1.68 million has already been appropriated to the development of the river system, but city officials said earlier they anticipate federal funds will come up short.

Dock construction at the Meridian site is expected to be completed by October.

Another landing has been established at Regatta Park near Bricktown, adjacent to the Chesapeake Boathouse. Other terminals are likely to be built at the Stockyards District, near the state fairgrounds and the planned American Indian Cultural Center. Officials have said the boat terminals will be supported by street trolley service to expand traveler access through the city's core.

The 65-foot-long, roofed ferries, manufactured by Scarano Boat Builders Inc. of New York, are expected to take nearly 50 passengers at a time from Bricktown to the stockyards and other destinations on the river corridor. The first boat is due for delivery in late October with an inaugural cruise expected in November.

Nichols said his company will have no control or input on how the boats will be used, nor in the continued development of river sites. He said he could not remember how long the boat naming rights will last. Devon doesn't have any financial benchmarks planned to gauge the success of the transit system.

An operator for the ferries is under discussion but has not yet been decided, COTPA spokeswoman Davan Gardner said. A user fee structure cannot be put in place until other similar details are worked out.

Rhonda Hooper, vice chairwoman of the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the ferries will be a "fun and unique connector" of visitor traffic from hotels near Will Rogers World Airport and other city attractions. She said the bureau will be able to use the river system as an advertising tool to attract more tourism events.

Norick said the boats will be available for charter service and private parties. A full cruise is estimated at about 40 minutes.

Never thought I'd see sidewalks along Oklahoma City streets.

Then there's the part where the racers had their "test and tune" time, where they can fire up their boats to make little tweaks here and there...Well...As soon as they started, the cops showed up and shut them down citing noise ordinance violations and they couldn't fire them up until after the ball game was over.


This was a huge disappointment. The test and tune portion of the event is pretty cool. All of the boats are parked along the streets in Bricktown and they fire up the engines and show off the boats. The engines are very loud and shake the ground, a memorable experience for children and adults alike. The cops shut it down this year, after I encouraged 12 people to cruise down to BT with me to check it out, and all of the racers and fans were very upset and talked a bunch of **** about OKC after the OKC race becoming their flagship event because of the huge success of the inaugural year. Someone dropped the ball big time ! ! !

Who is responsible for this botched event that should be a cool attraction? I'd like to write a formal letter of concern. Any help is appreciated.

The cops shut it down? How silly!

That would have been really the coolest part.. I know the kids get a big kick out of the air shows when the jets fly by.. if people were concerned about it, they could have brought ear plugs ( like at the air show).

What a bummer.. I wonder who gave that order and why?

Any police officers here who can shed some light?

The cops shut it down? How silly!

That would have been really the coolest part.. I know the kids get a big kick out of the air shows when the jets fly by.. if people were concerned about it, they could have brought ear plugs ( like at the air show).

What a bummer.. I wonder who gave that order and why?

Any police officers here who can shed some light?

It started with them saying that they couldn't fire them up until after the Redhawks game (understandable, but whatever nimrod scheduled test-n-tune during the game and that close to The Brick should be poked in the eye), and then I think it was due to the hour. But it's okay...Some of them got angry and fired them up anyway. These are manly men that have $30,000-$100,000 in their motors alone, tell them that they're going to have to pay a $150 noise violation fine, and they laugh and say "HAHA! So what? I'll pay all 10 of the fines...Boys! Fire 'em up!.....*BRRRRRAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUP*".

As far as I know, it was the actual association that made the bonehead moves. Not the drivers, the city (other than the cops being persnickity with people here to entertain the city), or the vendors.

Just a bad deal all around. My next door neighbor (he's got a jet boat) STILL bitches about it.