Tulsa Rowing Club Re-Opens After Devastating Fire

The Tulsa Rowing Club is close to re-opening their boathouse on the West bank of the Arkansas River. The old one burned three years ago, in a fire that was set by an arsonist, who was never found.

Wednesday, April 24th 2019, 9:05 pm

By: Emory Bryan

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Tulsa Rowing Club Re-Opens After Devastating Fire

The Tulsa Rowing Club is close to re-opening their boathouse on the West bank of the Arkansas River. The old one burned three years ago, in a fire that was set by an arsonist, who was never found.

Tulsa Rowing Club Building Demolished Following Arson

The new building is on the same footprint as the old one in RiverParks - 75 by 100 feet - but this one is much taller. The club has a donor, matching contributions, to build a mezzanine that will overlook the river.

Reward Offered In Tulsa Rowing Club Building Fire

According to Mike Kneafsey, the club's membership had dropped while they were without a boathouse, and while the river was low during construction at Gathering Place.

"Our membership is way down, as is the high school program, their membership is down, but all of a sudden people are coming back now that there's water in the river with the Gathering Place done," he said.

The new building has large windows facing the river, in a design change forced by new requirements for buildings along the river.

"It will be a wonderful exposure because people came by on the jogging trail and said what is that building, and now we'll boats up against the windows," said Kneafsey.

While the building is still a shell they're already moving in boats. In a month or two they will be ready to move in and put the boats back in the water.

Emory Bryan

Emory Bryan is a general assignment reporter for News On 6. He began his news career covering the school board for his hometown radio station and worked on the newspaper staff in college before making the switch to television. Emory joined the News On 6 team in 1994.

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