Something for everyone

Gathering Place Park Director Tony Moore hopes his team over-delivers

Mary Noble: How would you describe the difference between working on a project that generates revenue as opposed to a project like the Gathering Place?

Tony Moore: Mission is so important, and Tulsa is fortunate to have this investment with a mission behind it about unifying the city … making Tulsa that place to live, work, play. The mindset is different—you are making decisions based primarily on experience and value to the visitor, and not so much cost control.

It’s important that we think into the future, from an accommodation point of view, from hotels to the supporting infrastructures that will be needed as other businesses and entities associated with tourism start to get online. But to be clear, this is a park for Tulsans by Tulsans, and our number one focus is making sure we fulfill our objective from a civic point of view. Regardless of your income or zip code, this is Tulsa’s park where all Tulsans will feel engaged [and] welcome.

Noble: I hear you love soccer. Have you been able to attend any Roughnecks F.C. or Tulsa Athletic games? Will soccer have a place at the Gathering Place?

Moore: I have been able to attend a few games and am a huge fan of the Roughnecks. I was able to play on a team the coach was a part of called Empire Soccer—we played together last season and won the Tulsa championship.

We have a sports realm at the Gathering Place, five sports courts that are universally positioned for volleyball, basketball, street soccer, street hockey—so there will be some soccer. I’m sure on our Great Lawn kids will want to kick around in a more leisurely way. In addition to that, we have a BMX pump track and a skate park, so sports and health and wellness will be a major part.

Noble: What other kinds of activities will the park host?

Moore: From toddlers to seniors, there’s something for everyone to do. There’s over 100 unique experiences someone can have at the park.

We have a goal to have signature programming that will make a strong statement for all our Native American friends by having an awesome festival here. Same for African Americans. We will have festivals that will highlight Hispanic and Latino cultures. Beyond that, we will have a lot of food festivals, beer and wine, and art.

Education is at the forefront of everything we do. We will have a lot of workshops, [like] our reading tree challenge, where we are challenging Tulsa County elementary schools to read over 2,000,000 books. We are also actively looking to find laser light shows and just some awesome programming that will bring a lot of Tulsans out.

Noble: What have been some of the greatest challenges you have faced as executive director of the Gathering Place? 

Moore: We’ve been fortunate to find a lot of talented Tulsans to be a part of this project, and not being able to hire everyone that wants to be a part of the team is certainly a challenge.

Obviously the unforeseens with weather; last year we suffered some setbacks with rain—it’s just those elements you have no control over. That pent-up anticipation, anxiety to see the park, and the pressure to deliver. I won’t lie. We have to deliver; this has to be a quality experience, and we are hoping we won’t overpromise but that we’ll certainly over-deliver.

Noble: What phase of completion has the Gathering Place reached?

Moore: We are in the last run. We would like to thank all our Tulsans for their patience with Riverside and [for] waiting. It will be worth the wait, I can guarantee. We are in the last quarter of the run, positioned to open in late summer, and we are excited about it. I can’t wait to show this park to Tulsa and Oklahoma.