Oklahoma City soon will have a world class home for the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame & Jim Thorpe Memorial Museum.
Groundbreaking ceremonies today marked the beginning of renovations and reconstruction of the museum’s home at 4040 N. Lincoln. Located in the ‘Capitol Beautification Area’ just north of the State Capitol Building, the museum is in the center of Oklahoma City’s tourism corridor with Bricktown on the south, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Remington Park and the Omniplex to the north and east.
The two-story, 30,000 square feet building, to be named the Oklahoma Sports Heritage Center, was purchased by the Jim Thorpe Association four years ago. The first and second floors will be used for state of the art exhibits depicting the lives and accomplishments of Oklahoma’s greatest sports heroes. A courtyard area will be enclosed to provide an events center that can be leased for meetings, banquets, weddings, etc. Offices, archives, research facilities and storage will be located in the basement.
Plans call for the first floor of the museum to be open to the public in April of next year, with second floor exhibits to be completed by the end of 2008. Total renovation and exhibit costs are estimated at $6 million. The Thorpe organization has approximately $5 million raised and pledged and expects the balance within the next 12 months.
As a young sportscaster in 1986, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett was the lead organizer of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Jim Thorpe Association president Lynne Draper provided the same function for that organization, also in 1986. The vision of an Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame & Jim Thorpe Memorial Museum has been a shared goal since the two organizations merged in 1989.
"The two greatest Oklahomans are generally recognized as Will Rogers and Jim Thorpe," said Draper. "There is a great memorial in Claremore for Will Rogers and one for Jim Thorpe is long overdue. There are great halls of fame to celebrate sports in other states, but no state has the unique sports heritage that Oklahoma does. So this hall of fame also is long overdue. The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame & Jim Thorpe Memorial Museum is finally becoming a reality and will be a source of pride and inspiration for all Oklahomans."