In central Oklahoma, the sport of rowing has been around since the late ‘70s. In 1996, the need for an additional recreational rowing group was identified, and the Oklahoma Association of Rowing (OAR) was born. As OAR grew, so did the club’s need for space.
The Ditch
Club organizers had their eyes set on the North Canadian River after rumors circulated about turning the abandoned, dried up river into a rowing course.
Mike Knopp, who is now the Executive Director at RIVERSPORT Foundation, worked downtown and had spent hours running and walking past the North Canadian River. However, the term “river” was generous in this situation. Water only flowed through the ditch during the rainy months of the year, taking refrigerators and toasters for a float downstream. In the dryer months, mowing the ditch wasn’t uncommon.
“Oklahoma City had this long straight channel. It was wide. All Knopp needed to do was to find a way to get water into the ditch,” said J.B. Carney, Senior Director of Sports at Travel Lane County. “He recognized they needed a new space to row. Here was the perfect opportunity—he just had to convince private businesses to help invest to bring his vision to life.”
The Riches
A $53 million project completed in 2004 rejuvenated the river, creating a seven-mile, dam-controlled body of water renamed as the Oklahoma River. That same year, the Chesapeake Boathouse broke ground and was the first boathouse in what is now the Boathouse District.
A boathouse and straight stretch of water with a beautiful view of the city was all it was, but that’s all it needed to be at first. Rowers were on the water from sunup to sundown, but they wanted more. Grant money helped add lighting along the river—the same lighting used on NASCAR racetracks.
Instead of having to pack up and head home when the sun went down, athletes had the ability to row at all hours of the day, something that hadn’t been done in the sport of rowing due to the lack of lighting at rowing venues. Because of these lights, Oklahoma City started gaining immediate attention from USRowing and federations across the globe as the prime training location for many water sports.
Today, the Boathouse District is a $100+ million development that now includes not only rowing but also kayaking, whitewater, sailing, dragon boating, adventure sports, running, cycling, surfing and esports including a virtual reality arena.
More than Sports
Oklahoma City seems to have it all. Perfect water sports venue: check. Close to downtown: check. Near a convention center: check. Activities at RIVERSPORT for all ages, interests and abilities: check.
“Imagine being able to say to a meeting planner, ‘If you bring your event to Oklahoma City, at the end of the day, when you're finished meeting in our convention center, your attendees can come surf. They can come learn how to row. They can white water raft 10 minutes away from their hotel,’” Carney said. “Talk about a competitive advantage, and they're now booking more events than the community has ever seen.”
RIVERSPORT alone is not only bringing in a tremendous amount of economic impact for the community through high-caliber sporting events, conventions and leisure travel, but it’s also impacting the health and well-being of those who reside in Oklahoma City. This city is a perfect example of building sports tourism infrastructure in a strategic order using public and private partnerships to create world-class facilities.
Multiuse Sports Facilities in the Pacific Northwest
Oklahoma City isn’t the only city focusing on smart, strategic investments that benefit residents, businesses, hotels, restaurants and retail. Spokane, Wash is an example in the Pacific Northwest that has jumped at the opportunity to positively impact their community with a strategic investment in sports infrastructure.
The Podium in Spokane is an indoor multiuse sports facility that features a 200-meter, six-lane indoor hydraulic banked track, long/triple jump, pole vault, high jump, weight throws and shot put. The facility also allows for 16 volleyball courts, nine basketball courts, 21 wrestling mats and flexible event space.
The 135,000-square-foot facility with 75,000 square feet of competition space was strategically designed with both the community and visitors in mind as it sits in the heart of downtown Spokane right beside Riverfront Park. The venue can easily be accessed on foot from hotels and restaurants, and it is only eight miles from Spokane International Airport.
College, club and high school teams all around the area utilize the facility for year-round training and competitions. The Podium hosts collegiate conference indoor track and field championships, middle school basketball championships, USA Volleyball national qualifying tournaments, professional indoor track and field championships, USA Wrestling championships, US Open and Junior National Handball Championships and USA Badminton Junior National Championships to name a few.
The Podium cost $53 million to construct and opened in December 2021. The facility generated more than $45 million in its first year of operation and is expected to generate more than $101 million in economic impact in its first five years of operation. From December to March of 2023, The Podium hosted 13 indoor track and field events, bringing tourists into the area during what was traditionally considered their slow season. This one facility has created the need for up to 33,000 hotel room nights per year.
Building on Success
Eugene, known as TrackTown around the world, has built a legacy around the sport of track that began over 100 years ago. The 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field was the eighth and fifth consecutive Olympic Trials held in TrackTown, and the Prefontaine Classic is the only U.S. stop on the World Athletics Diamond League tour. TrackTown Events, LLC, which produces many elite events each year, rallies volunteers, officials and fans to create the Hayward Magic experience.
Track and field events alone contribute over $20 million in direct spending to local businesses annually. In 2024, running and track and field injected over $50 million into the local economy.
Our Ditch
The majority of annual track and field revenue is generated only in June and July each year. While this greatly benefits the community and helps businesses tremendously for a few weeks each year, the tourism void during the winter months makes it challenging for businesses.
“Imagine if we created an economy where restaurants, hotels and retail businesses could rely on 12 months of business,” Carney said. “Business owners wouldn't have to reduce hours or layoff employees.”
This is the goal for Lane County.
The Tourism Area Life Cycle chart helps communities gauge where they are in their own life cycle—exploration, development or stagnation. Our community is at a crucial stage where we could either go into a phase of development and growth or fall into a period of decline.
While other communities have continued to build more hotels over the last decade, Lane County has fallen behind in the development of lodging. While some hotels were being built in the last decade, others were closing including hotels with convention space, meeting rooms and restaurants.
“If we look at the last 10 years, we've lost over 21,000 square feet of meeting space attached to a hotel,” Carney said. “That's significant in being able to take care of these major events. Because of the situation we're in, if we don't change and solve winter demand, our communities are at risk of declining.”
If the city and county choose to invest transient lodging tax in a way that directly benefits tourism by building indoor multiuse facilities that drive year-round demand, then the trajectory of the community shifts to development and community-wide benefit.
Sports tourism is a $52 billion industry and when sporting events come to Lane County, participants’ spending isn’t solely on hotels. Other direct spending includes transportation, retail, restaurants and recreation and even extended family vacations before or after their respective sporting events.
Visitor spending makes up 30% of total restaurant revenue, and that spending comes mainly in summer. Imagine the impact this has during the winter when there is a decline in visitation, and restaurants are at risk of laying off employees and potentially closing.
Statistics also show that sport facilities that both encourage and accommodate winter play have benefits to resident health as well.
In an environment that models and is built for an active lifestyle, one in 10 kids are less likely to be overweight, kids’ test scores are 40% higher, 15% are more likely to go to college and the overall lifestyle of adolescents is improved. This emphasis on living an active life leads to lower healthcare costs in adults, nearly 8% higher annual earnings, a third the rate of disability and more productive employees at work. Active kids are statistically six times more likely to become active adults.
Our Riches
Travel Lane County, with the help of other local partners, has done multiple feasibility studies on a multiuse indoor facility and the potential economic impact it could generate for the community. The most recent study showed an estimated project cost of $80 million with an estimated annual economic impact of $20 million.
“This facility would not only bring visitors year-round that would eat at local restaurants, stay in local hotels and shop at local businesses,” Carney said, “These visitors are also generating additional lodging tax that can then be reinvested in future development projects that generate lodging tax for a long-term, sustainable year-round visitor economy.”
Plans for a multiuse indoor facility in Lane County include a 6-lane, 200-meter hydraulically banked indoor track that is convertible for court-based and flat-floor tournaments and events. This space could also be converted to accommodate 21 wrestling rings, 16 volleyball courts, nine basketball courts, 20 pickleball courts, gymnastics, cheerleading, martial arts, conferences and meetings. Facility programming during the week could support residents, local leagues and youth sports, while weekends could host meets, tournaments and events that drive tourism and provide economic impact. This indoor facility could also serve as a primary emergency shelter.
Building a multiuse indoor facility will drive economic impact, help solve the winter demand gap, spark additional hotel and retail development, and help improve community health and wellness, while also building on the historic success of track and field and helping to cement Eugene's legacy as TrackTown.
Additional Information
For more information on the proposed multiuse indoor track and events center, visit Sports for All Seasons.
To learn about other sports facility development projects in the region, read If We Build It, They Will Come.
How You Can Help
Email the Eugene City Manager, Mayor and City Council to voice your support for an indoor multiuse track and events facility.
Support the Travel Lane County Charitable Fund.
