OKC For Soccer, the organization looking to bring professional soccer back to Oklahoma City, has announced the architect behind the planned MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium that will house the city’s soccer team.
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The organization’s main owners, including local real estate firm Robinson Park and Russell Westbrook Enterprises and majority-owner Echo Investment Capital, announced Wednesday morning the new stadium would be built by Populous, one of the largest architecture firms in the world.
OKC For Soccer says it selected Populous, which also designed the Oklahoma City Convention Center and Oneok Field in Tulsa, to be the project’s architect after a national search.
Additionally, former Thunder star and NBA MVP Russell Westbrook has been named the Creative Director of the project.
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News 9 spoke with OKC For Soccer President Court Jeske on Wednesday to learn more about the project, which is set to be one of the largest sports entertainment districts in the entire United States.
Q: One of the largest in the country, this is in terms of acreage, right?
A: Absolutely. When Echo Investment Capital and the OKC For Soccer movement started, we knew that the downtown stadium that was going to be built wasn’t just going to be a stadium; it was going to be a hub for Oklahoma City. It was going to be a new area, a new development for people to interact and come and enjoy all the beautiful amenities that we’ve built downtown.
Q: Looking at a map of it right now, it’s just crazy that that area is available.
A: It’s the final, last puzzle piece if you think about this fantastic downtown vision that the people of Oklahoma City had 30 years ago to revitalize what we had here.
Q: Tell us about Populous.
A: We’re super fortunate to work with one of the best in the entire world. They’ve just completed some of these master developments in London, Hong Kong and are now choosing to take on their next big project here in Oklahoma City. So part of the synergy for us is the fact that they are also building the stadium, so as the architects that are envisioning how this is going to look and how it will shape this quadrant of Oklahoma City, they will also be able to make sure it ties in to the 50 acres you mentioned that surround the stadium and everything around it. How do people come downtown? How do they interact? How do they use the parks there? It’s a really exciting time if you think about the way downtown and Bricktown have evolved over the years; this is the opportunity for the next decade or so.
Q: What does an entertainment district like this do for Oklahoma City?
A: First thing is we want to be complementary to what has already been built, right? We’ve been complementary to our neighbors at the Convention Center. The Bricktown area, the new Thunder arena that wil be built will be a quarter of a mile away, so we want to make sure that this is a connector for all those other areas and really allows people to come enjoy downtown in a lot of ways, and a lot of that means living there. So we know that this development will be vital. As we kind of finish off the downtown development of Oklahoma City and we also want to make sure the multi-purpose stadium within it doesn’t just serve women’s and men’s soccer. We’ve been on this show and talked a lot about the movement for professional soccer, and it is time in Oklahoma City, but we want to make sure that we have other sports. High school football, potentially lacrosse, rugby, anything that will fit in a rectangular field outdoors, we need to host it in downtown Oklahoma City, and we want to make that the anchor of this district. I think one other important thing to note is when you put 8,000 people on the field, what you can do for a concert, plus the 10 to 11,000 seats that will ultimately land at, you’re going to have the largest concert venue in the state. That will allow us to attract new acts to Oklahoma and Oklahoma City that, before, would simply pass through on their way to Dallas or Kansas City.
Q: We knew he was an investor, but you guys just named Russell Westbrook the Creative Director as well. What does that mean?
A: Great question, we get that all the time as well. What is he going to do? Well, he’s certainly not an architect, but we know two things, right? One, he’s got tremendous fashion and eye for design and style, not to mention a global following that he can help explain what is going on here in Oklahoma. City. The second most important thing Russell brings is the fact that he is fully invested in Oklahoma City. So for him, this is not a project about soccer, it’s not even a project about the development, it’s about making Oklahoma City better. Because he will tell you over and over again, this is where he grew up. So while he was born in LA, he grew up here in Oklahoma City.
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