Skip Navigation

Scissortail Park Opens After 10 Years of Planning

Scissortail Park concert.

Scissortail Park Opens After 10 Years of Planning


Date

September 30, 2019

Tags


Did you know that the Scissortail Park concept was shaped by Gibbs College students in a course taught by dean Hans E. Butzer more than 10 years ago?

Now, after years of saving and planning, Oklahoma City has officially opened the park in downtown! In fact, more than 28,000 people turned out to the grand opening of Scissortail Park on Friday, September 27, 2019.

Butzer and his firm, Butzer Architects and Urbanism (BAU), worked with Hargreaves Associates to bring the park to life. BAU designed the park structures, including a stage, event pavilion and more, while Hargreaves Associates provided landscape architecture services.

“We’re all trying to create the best possible space in the history of the city, and you don’t sleep, you keep going,” said Butzer.

Part of the 2007 “Core-to-Shore” master plan, Scissortail Park functions to connect the downtown Oklahoma City area to the Oklahoma River. The park is comprised of an “upper park,” which opened last Friday, and a “lower park,” which will open in the coming years.

When completed, the two parks will total 70-acres of public space, and feature a variety of engaging experiences for visitors including ornamental gardens and woodlands, a 3.7 acre lake, children’s playground and water fountains, seasonal roller rink, dog park, picnic grove, and more.

 

Scissortail Park in the News:

 

Featured image: The Associated Press


Recent Gibbs College News

October 12, 2026

200 Digital Drawings on Display in Gould Hall

Gibbs College is pleased to present the exhibition 200 Digital Drawings by Professor Tiziana Proietti, currently on display in the Gould Hall Living Room.


October 12, 2026

Design 7 Studio Travels to Dallas

Gibbs College of Architecture Professors Amber Brown and Amy Leveno led 29 students to Dallas, Texas, in September for a learning experience as part of their Design 7 Studio course.


October 05, 2026

Gibbs Professor and IQC Director’s Book Receives Two Honors

Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture professor and Institute for Quality Communities Director Dr. Amber N. Wiley’s book, Model Schools in the Model City: Race, Planning, and Education in the Nation’s Capital, has received two major honors from the Urban History Association.