Steve Lackmeyer The Oklahoman

The Oklahoma City Council is being asked to approve $4.75 million in tax increment financing to build out Wiley Post Park and a planned USS Oklahoma City memorial along the north shore of the Oklahoma River. 

The memorial has been in the planning stages since first being announced in 2017. Wiley Post Park was chosen after the originally announced location along boathouse row was determined to be a less desirable spot. 

Once completed, the park and plaza will feature the sail of the decommissioned USS Oklahoma City submarine, a navy dive plane and other displays commemorating Oklahoma’s naval history.  

Parks Director Melinda McMillan-Miller estimated the park and plaza will be completed in 2026, though a replica of the submarine’s sail will be needed because of the time it takes to cool down the decommissioned ship’s nuclear reactor. 

“We’ve found a wonderful location,” McMillan-Miller said in a recent presentation to the Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust. “The memorial itself will include not just the USS Oklahoma City and dive plane, but other items of significance including plaques honoring crew members on this vessel.” 

The north shore park improvements are the third of five phases of work planned at Wiley Post, which is named after the famed Oklahoma City aviator who completed a solo flight around the world in 1933. 

The entire budget for the project is $8,186,490 which includes $3,645,000 from ARPA pandemic recovery funding. The tax increment financing is intended to cover a shortfall that currently stands at $4,541,490. 

If the funding is approved by the city council on Oct. 8, construction is set to start in January. The monument itself is being paid for through private donations. 

What to know about the USS Oklahoma City submarine

The project was first announced in 2017 by retired Rear Adm. Greg Slavonic, retired Navy Cmdr. Jon “Tucker” McHugh and architect Don Beck, the same group that led the establishment of a memorial for the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor.   

The USS Oklahoma City submarine was decommissioned in 2022 after 34 years of service during which it supported missions including submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. 

The memorial also will commemorate the USS Oklahoma City Cruiser, which was commissioned in 1944 and was converted to a guided missile cruiser in 1957. The ship played a supporting role in the Okinawa, Western Pacific, South China Sea and Vietnam campaigns. 

The tax increment funding request notes the memorial and park is likely to draw tourists and will serve as a connection between other destinations along the Oklahoma River and nearby Scissortial Park. 

The north shore section of Wiley Post Park consists of a lawn and parking area connecting to the city’s trail system. The improvements are designed for families and veterans. 

Improvements at Wiley Post Park include amphitheater, seating and playgrounds

Improvements are set to include an amphitheater, a covered stage, terraced lawn seating and seating along the shoreline, shade structures, bench swings, benches and tables, a sculpture garden and playgrounds designed for ages 2 through 5 and 5 through 12.

McMillan-Miller said the parks department employs two security officers along the river and that the city is determined to keep it well maintained. 

“You won’t be able to get on top of the dive plane; it’s very tall,” McMillan-Miller said. “But we can’t keep children from trying to climb up on the full side of the submarine.”