About 2 1/2 years ago, it was reported Route 66’s distinctive Rose Bowl in Tulsa would become the new home of the One Hope Ministry‘s training center for at-risk youth. Its plans included a basketball court on one section and an artificial turf area on the other.
This week, the Fox23 television station in Tulsa provided an update on how the Rose Bowl was reborn:
The transformation of the facility is remarkable:
“This is the original floor, from when the Rose Bowl was a bowling alley,” said Miriam Boone, Program Director for One Hope Ministries.
Now instead of bowling lanes, you’ll find a basketball court, and artificial turf, both were once used at the University of Tulsa.
“This is actually the floor from the Reynolds Center, which is pretty fun for our kids. It’s pretty inspiring to get to tell them, ‘You’re playing on a court (that) a lot of great basketball players, and particularly local players, have played on,’ so they really enjoy that,” said Boone.
One Hope wants to raise another $1.5 million to finish the renovations on the building.
The at 7419 E. 11th St. (aka Route 66) was built as a bowling alley in 1961 until its closure after two arson fires in 2005. After it closed, AMF slapped the facility with a noncompete clause, rendering it useless to be reopened as a bowling alley. Chris Whinery of Whinery Mortgage renovated the facility and reopened it as the Rose Bowl Events Center in 2008. However, the 33,000-square-foot building opened only sporadically.
I call that re-purposing with a purpose. Good luck to One Hope.