Ron Norick: The Bricktown ballpark stands as a reminder of what we can do in OKC
Today, Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark is a centerpiece in the complex economic mosaic that is the Bricktown District and, to a larger extent, downtown Oklahoma City. Fans stream in by the thousands to enjoy Oklahoma City Dodgers baseball and the ballpark experience, perhaps after riding a water taxi, visiting a nearby retail store or catching a movie.
For 25 years, the ballpark has stood as a reminder of what we can do in Oklahoma City when we invest in ourselves. Many of the amenities we take for granted in our city in 2023 — a successful NBA franchise, a gleaming convention center, the beautiful Scissortail Park, the Bricktown Canal, the downtown library and many others — might not exist if not for the success of the ballpark. In the early 1990s, our city was slowly dying. I’ve often said you could fire a cannon down a street in downtown at 5 p.m. and not hit anybody. We needed something to change. As the city’s mayor at that time, I knew we needed to be bold for our city to prosper. I proposed the MAPS (Metropolitan Area Projects) idea to a small working group of civic leaders, which led to the original MAPS vote in 1993. A 1-cent sales tax for five years would pay for all the MAPS projects, without the city accruing any debt.
Nearly five years later, public sentiment on MAPS had soured. People wanted to see results. We knew that and so we wanted the ballpark — the first major MAPS project to come online — to be outstanding. After the first architectural plan didn’t have the open-concourse design we’d asked for, we found another architect. That delayed the project by a year, adding to the pressure to get it right. We hoped the final product would impress the public, and that’s what happened. The ballpark opened and that turned on the light for people, who saw what MAPS was about and bought in. That led to MAPS for Kids, MAPS 3 and MAPS 4, programs that have continued to grow and improve Oklahoma City. The ballpark was the catalyst for it all.
A quarter-century later, Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark remains one of the nation’s top Minor League Baseball stadiums, in good part because we chose our partners wisely. Corporate partners including Southwestern Bell and the Chickasaw Nation have worked with us on naming rights. The Oklahoma City franchise has spent time during that period as the top minor-league club for the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and now the Los Angeles Dodgers. We’ve seen many former players go on to success at baseball’s highest levels. Our local partners — including the Oklahoma City Dodgers — have recognized the ballpark as a crown jewel and have taken care to invest in, maintain and improve it, working with the city. Within the past year, the ballpark has seen about $1.5 million in updates to modernize the player facilities, including expanding locker rooms, improving lighting in hitting cages and enlarging the bullpens.
The simple design has proved exceptionally functional, as you can get up to buy a beer or a pop and still see what’s happening on the field. The stadium still looks new. Tickets are reasonably priced and, it’s a family friendly atmosphere, with a lot of other activities besides baseball available for fans. If you haven’t been to a Dodgers game recently, it’s certainly worth the trip.
Our city — and the ballpark — have come a long way together. Bricktown and downtown are thriving with homes, hotels, restaurants, bars and so many other things. My hope is that 25 years from now, people still will be flowing into the ballpark and recalling what a key role its opening played in the history of Oklahoma City.
Ron Norick was Oklahoma City mayor when ground was broke for the Bricktown Ballpark. Norick threw out the first pitch at the new Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark for the Oklahoma RedHawks' opening night in 1998.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ballpark marks 25 years as former Mayor Ron Norick revisits its start
