Downtown Trolleys

The smallest of all MAPS 1 projects, $5 million was spent on rubber trolleys that circulate passengers and tourists around the Downtown/Bricktown area. Service has been ongoing since 1999.

Interestingly, this aspect of MAPS was originally planned by Mayor Norick to be full-blown light rail. Funding for that however was stripped by Congressman Earnest Istook who opposed light rail for OKC and refused to send any federal funding its way. Luckily the City today is ready to proceed with full-blown light rail and we anticipate a light rail announcement with MAPS 3 at the end of this year. The original MAPS 1 light rail line would have been 1 mile on the elevated BNSF tracks and then expand out from there. Pictured is a rendering of the proposed stop at 2nd Street.

Bricktown Canal

The Canal was one of the original MAPS 1 projects and has become an OKC landmark that people around the nation recognize OKC by. The mile-long Canal opened in 1999 (with Phase 2 and 3 improvements in 2004) and costed the City $23 mil; it's lined with parks and old warehouses full of restaurants, clubs, lofts, and businesses. The Water Taxis offer sight-seeing tours and romantic date cruises. Over 500,000 OKCers came out for the ribbon-cutting of the Canal back in 1999.

Bricktown Ballpark

Part of the original MAPS 1. The $34 mil project opened in early 1998 as the first of the MAPS projects to open, which began a shifting of public opinion in favor of downtown renewal. The ballpark seats just over 13,000 and is the home of the Oklahoma RedHawks AAA baseball team. It sits at Reno and Mickey Mantle Street in the heart of Bricktown, and features a plaza dedicated to Mickey Mantle. On the northwest side of the ballpark is a Coach's Sports Bar and a Hideaway Pizza.

Other than hosting the RedHawks, it plays host to Bedlam Baseball every year, the Big XII Baseball Tournament every year, major concerts, Bricktown's 4th of July, and other major events that bring thousands into Bricktown frequently.