Rowing and other sports and activities in Oklahoma City’s Boathouse District aren’t all about attracting visitors and boosting the city’s image, although those issues are important, says Elizabeth Laurent, senior director of marketing at the OKC Boathouse Foundation.

The district also is making a huge economic difference to a city quickly becoming famous worldwide for its oncedry river. The Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau estimated the U.S. Rowing Masters National Championships generated approximately $1.8 million.

RIVERS OF DOLLARS
Since its inception with Chesapeake Boathouse in 2006, the Boathouse District and Riversport — which includes all the community activities on the Oklahoma River and Lake Overholser — have experienced a steadily growing membership.

“We have well over 1,000 participating in the different Riversport programs, like the high school rowing leagues and the corporate rowing leagues,” Laurent says. “In our corporate league, we have 40 to 50 teams with, on average, 10 team members apiece. Our youth outreach kids may not be members, per se, but they are counted as part of those numbers, and it adds up.”

Couple membership and community programs with the Olympic-level and national events, and Oklahoma City is reaping rewards through in spending in the district.

CVB calculates estimated direct spending as what an out-of-town visitor would spend per day and an in-town/day-tripper visitor would spend. This includes hard and soft costs.”

For the past five years, that spending has been approximately $85 million, she says.

“This number includes just boathouse-related events, and does not include other Oklahoma River events, drag boat races, wakeboard competitions, et cetera,” she says.

Head of Oklahoma
By far, the largest event at Oklahoma Boathouse District is the Oklahoma Regatta Festival, held Sept. 29 to Oct. 12. This year, because it is the year prior to the Olympics in London, Oklahoma City played host for the USA Rowing World Challenge again. The city hosted in 2007, as well, bringing 1,200 rowing and kayak/ canoe Olympic hopefuls worldwide.

This year, says Laurent, athletes from Italy, China, Canada, Germany and the U.S. will compete, bringing dollars to local eateries, hotels and other auxiliary services. In addition, the USA Dragon Boat Nationals was held in Oklahoma City for the first time, alongside the annual Oklahoma City University Head of the Oklahoma Regatta.

“Last time we hosted the World Challenge, we had 50,000 spectators,” Laurent says. “On Thursday night is the Blue Party, which is a fundraiser. We average 1,000 attendees for that party, and tickets are $75 for individuals and $120 for a couple.”

But for Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma River means more than just money. It’s about reputation.

“OKC Riversport has impacted the community in many more ways than just monetarily,” Hollenbeck says. “First, the Oklahoma River is a designated Olympic training site, so our reputation within the U.S. Olympic community is very good and very well-received. This allows other national governing bodies to look at Oklahoma City with interest and viability for other sporting events.”

With a good reputation, says Laurent, comes good opportunities.

“It’s changing the way the world sees Oklahoma City,” she says. “All the athletes and visitors from other countries say such positive things about the city. People want to come here, spend time here and talk about our city. It puts Oklahoma City on the map in ways we’ve never expected.”