Q&A: Lead OKC planner discusses what's next for Olympic preparation

Oklahoma City is gearing up for the 2028 Olympic Games.

With Oklahoma City set to award medals in seven events in the next Summer Games, preparations are already being made to ensure the city is prepared for the international sporting event.

SEE ALSO: Oklahoma City to award medals in 7 events for 2028 Olympics

On Tuesday, the Greater OKC Chamber named former President and General Manager of the Oklahoma City Comets, Michael Byrnes, to lead OKC's efforts to stage two events during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

RELATED: Michael Byrnes selected to lead OKC's efforts to stage 2028 Olympic events

News 9 spoke with Byrnes on Thursday to learn more about his strategy ahead of the games, which are just over three years away.

Q: This is a big job. How are you feeling right now?

A: It's so exciting. I mean, the opportunity to have a hand in what this is going to mean for our community, it's very humbling, and I'm actually really grateful for the opportunity. Now it's time to really start getting to work.

Q: How do you start thinking about the to-do list?

A: There are many buckets of information, right? Beginning to just kind of build that list by each one. I think it's important that we take on tasks while we can move that planning process along. We're going to have great partners with LA 28. [We] will be very close with them, and I take some leadership from them on working through the process. There'll be some veteran folks who have worked on previous Olympics within their host committee as well, and then we have great people here. The two venues have very established staff and have done international competitions many times here in Oklahoma City, so they will be great resources. Over time, we'll build a staff that will work alongside me to make this all come together.

Q: You have been with the Comets since 2010. What did you learn there? How is that going to translate to this new role?

A: There are so many stakeholders that go into operating a Triple-A baseball team. There's the partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers, there is the responsibility to Major League Baseball. We had an ownership group, our fans and our team members, our staff, and so throughout the experience there, many lessons were learned on how to best think of our staff. First, how do we think of our fans? How do we make sure that we're great partners with the Dodgers and Major League Baseball? So many similarities to how we'll be doing this. How do we become great partners with LA 28? How do we work with the IOC (International Olympic Committee)? All kinds of interested stakeholders. The venues, I can tell you today, they're going to have a day out at the ballpark. What I'll miss is being out there with the staff, being face to face with our fans, and so we'll have plenty of opportunities when we host our events here.

Q: Transportation, parking, hotels, just making sure they can get to the venues safely, there are a lot of tedious things that have to take place, right?

A: Absolutely. The venues have a way of operating on a day-to-day basis, but when we think of it in this instance for the Olympics, well, there may be certain logistics around how we're going to build out the transportation and arrival, how we're going to work through security, how we're going to get them into the building and begin to experience what the Olympics can be for them. It won't just simply be the competition on the field, it would be the overall experience and how do we bring in some shoulder programming. How are we going to use the next two years leading into the Olympic competition here to make sure it's accessible to as many Oklahomans as possible? So many ways to make the opportunity to touch and feel the Olympic experience and the Olympic movement, I think will be really critical.

Q: One of the big things that a lot of Olympic cities deal with is the infrastructure that comes along with it. Can people expect to see that? Is there enough time?

A: There is time, and our plans have already been in process. There have been some great individuals who have already spent a lot of time on this already partnering with LA 28. When I think from a security and logistics standpoint, there's been great minds already spending some time and effort on that, and now it will be how we begin to coordinate that and put those plans in place. There will be time for us to be ready.

Q: Is it timed out with certain milestones to hit?

A: There will be, yes. Some of that planning is in place, and much of that planning will continue to be put in place, but you're right. There'll be plenty of milestones along the way, and all of it in an effort to celebrate Oklahoma City. We're gonna have international attention on our community, and it's gonna be historic.

MORE: Oklahoma City is set to host softball and watersport events for the 2028 Summer Olympics.