With much of Oklahoma City still feeling the excitement coming off the Thunder’s first NBA title, the entire community is experiencing how much the city has grown and is expected to continue growing.
Joining the News 9 team on Thursday to share more about the development of our city is Mayor David Holt.
Q: This is the first time we’ve gotten to speak with you since the parade. How exciting was that? Have you recovered from it yet?
A: Not really, I’m still replying to messages. You know, I think what I have settled on saying, and I really do, I am sort of anti-hyperbole. I want to mean what I say and say what I mean, and I would say, though, that was the single greatest day in the history of the city. Yes, it was a sports accomplishment, and that’s a superficial thing on its face, but it was the culmination of so many things we’ve done over these last 30 years. It was sort of the full and total and complete and final validation of everything we’ve worked towards as a community. It became, for the whole world, a prism through which they would view that progress. We’re seeing stories being written, and that great stuff. I can’t get tired of it either. We are seeing stories being written around the world about how far we’ve come, and if they’re not about basketball rosters, they’re about everything that we’ve done, and the stories wouldn’t have been written if we hadn’t beaten the Indiana Pacers in Game 7. That’s just sometimes how life works. If you go down to the newsstand, The Economist, which is the most-read news magazine around the world, has got a feature in it, saying that Oklahoma City has been transformed since the bombing in 1995 … It’s just this amazing moment. It’s a historic moment. We’ll all remember it the rest of our lives, except for maybe those who I understand weren’t there and need us to win another championship.
Q: There’s so much still happening. The Thunder here till 2053, we’ve seen progress right now in the destruction of the old Convention Center to make way for a new arena, where does that stand this morning?
A: Another amazing thing upon another amazing thing; we’re not done yet. We still have most of MAPS 4 to roll out. We just cut the ribbon on the new State Fair Coliseum, the OG&E Colosseum, but most of the other projects are underway, so that’s exciting. It’s like a billion dollars worth of quality of life projects. I mean the arena, let me break some news, I’m delivering my State of the City address on Wednesday, and this has always been a moment where I try to make news. I try to save some cool things for that moment, and we’re going to be able to share some pretty exciting details about the design of the new arena, which, of course, is just across the street from your studio here. Then, in the midst of this whole NBA Finals thing, we signed the deal with the Thunder to keep them here till at least 2053. So, at least for the last couple of years, since the arena vote, that had kind of just been a verbal promise. We take people at their word here in Oklahoma City, but we did want it in writing, and we got it done. It almost looked like we had planned it that way, but in reality, we finally got the negotiations done after a year and a half. So that’s now a signed deal. 2053, there’s penalties if the team relocates in the early years, so it’s a pretty good lease from our perspective in terms of accomplishing the core mission, which was to keep the team here. And then, of course, we still have the Olympics coming in three years.
Q: You were just named the President of the US Conference of Mayors. Can you explain what that conference is and what this honor is for you?
A: I had a heck of a day on, I guess it was the 22nd, Game 7 Sunday. I became the President of the US Conference of Mayors in Tampa. And that night, my city won an NBA championship. This is the official, nonpartisan organization of America’s mayors. It has a 93-year history, Mayor Cornett was the president 10 years ago. We’ve become one of a handful of cities that have had two presidents, at least 2 presidents in its history, and for the next year, I speak for America’s mayors. That’s an amazing opportunity, and I think America’s mayors and this organization have a really great track record of influencing public policy in this country, advocating for cities, which are the nation’s chief economic and cultural engines. There’ll be a lot of appearances, the face of the mayors this year. Then, of course, I convene and preside over the meetings that we’ll have in January in DC and then next June in Long Beach. I’ll also welcome the mayors and leadership here in Oklahoma City in September. So yeah, it’s something I’ve worked towards ever since I got elected seven years ago, and it’s something. That’s a group of leaders [who] I consider to be America’s finest. I’m honored here by the trust they’ve put in me, and I’m honored to serve with them.
Q: I want to ask, what was it like to ride on that float?
A: It was hot, first of all. I was testing my physical limits; it was a 45-minute ride, and I took every opportunity to pump up and be a hype man, lead some O-K-C chants. I was really almost overheated, but I reached the end of it. It was amazing and it exceeded my expectations. I knew there’d be a lot of people, I had said, “There’s going to be a lot of people.” I thought there might be lulls. I’ve been in a lot of parades downtown, and there’s usually a half-block with nobody. There were no lulls there; it was 50 deep for two miles. You couldn’t take a break, you know? It was amazing. It was just absolutely amazing. I think it was the greatest day in most people’s lives, other than kids in marriage, that’s that’s what I would say.