Along the Oklahoma River, a row of boathouses forms the Boathouse District, a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site. This is the Boathouse District: a managed collection of recreational and elite rowing and kayaking venues, fitness facilities, private event spaces and RIVERSPORT Adventures, an outdoor adventure park. The Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation runs the district and has been named a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The development of this riverfront began in the early 1990s as part of a revitalization of a seven-mile stretch of the North Canadian River, later renamed the Oklahoma River. As rowing grew popular on nearby Lake Overholser, Mike and Tempe Knopp of the Oklahoma Association for Rowing saw that this river’s length and layout would suit competitive rowing and organized a grassroots effort to create a permanent rowing facility here. The project drew financial backing from local business leaders, including Aubrey McClendon and Clay Bennett, who helped secure funding.
Stand here and feel the sense of community effort that shaped this place. Out on the water, rowers and kayakers keep that community effort alive.