What to know about the Thunder championship parade, the biggest celebration in OKC history

Yahoo

23-06-2025

Oklahoma City is scrambling to host a parade and festivities less than 48 hours after the Thunder won the NBA Championship, and organizers are hoping it will draw record crowds while also warning fans to prepare for sweltering heat, long walks, traffic jams, cell phone disruptions and limited downtown parking.
City crews started closing sections of the parade route, notably Harvey Avenue, as construction started on viewing stands to be placed at Scissortail Park, 300 SW Seventh St.
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Mayor David Holt said downtown access during the parade and festivities on Tuesday, June 24, will be limited, but the opportunity for the city to be showcased on the world stage will be worth any inconvenience.
'Our team has achieved sports immortality,' Holt said. 'That opens doors for us as a community that we'll be walking through not just for years to come, but for decades to come.'
Plans were detailed at the Oklahoma City Convention Center by representatives of EMSA, EMBARK, Oklahoma City Police and Fire Departments. They disclosed extensive planning was done before Game 7, but some details were not sorted through until after the championship win late Sunday night, June 22, when the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91.
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'This is a Herculean effort, especially if you want to do it right,' Holt said. 'So many amazing people have been working on this for weeks. We understood that it might not happen, and that's part of the deal.'
More: OKC Thunder parade 2025: See championship parade route, road closure schedule
When to arrive, when to celebrate
Festivities will start at 9 a.m. inside Paycom Center with a team event closed to the public but aired on local television, online and on large screens to be placed at various viewing spots along the parade route. The 90-minute parade will start at 10:30 a.m. at NW 10th and Harvey Avenue in Midtown and end at Scissortail Park.
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A brief closing program will be presented on the stage of Scissortail Park at the end of the parade and will also be televised.
Holt advised anyone wanting to see the parade arrive early and predicted those who arrive after 8 a.m. may have trouble navigating the crowds and detours to view the parade. Two of the city's public downtown garages will be closed with the only parking available at Century Center at Sheridan and Robinson avenues and the Convention Center Garage at SW Fourth and E.K. Gaylord Boulevard.
Those spaces are expected to fill up fast and early.
Fans leave the stadium after Oklahoma City won the NBA Finals in game 7 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center on Sunday, June 22, in Oklahoma City.
'Things that you would think are absurd, like parking in Paseo and walking 10 blocks into downtown may be necessary,' Holt said. 'Expect lots of walking, lots of time and just be good to each other. And bring water. Don't expect to stop at a gas station on the way to get some water — their shelves will probably be empty.'
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EMBARK Director Jessie Rush urged Thunder fans to consider using off-site park-and-ride operations, with buses running every 15 minutes to stops along the parade route between 7 and 9:30 a.m. Shuttles from the drop-off locations back to the park-and-ride lots will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For those parking in State Fair Lot R, the drop-off and return stop will be at Main Street and Lee Avenue by the recently painted mural of MVP star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Those parking at Remington Park West Lot at Martin Luther King Avenue and Remington Drive and Capitol South Lot at NE 21st and Lincoln Boulevard will have a drop-off and return stop along Broadway between NW Seventh and NW Eighth.
Those using park-and-ride shuttles will be required to use the same bus link to and from the celebrations.
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Rush said streetcar operations will not run until the parade is over. The EMBARK transfer center also will be closed, with connections to instead take place Tuesday at the park-and-ride lot at the fairgrounds.
More: Here's where you can buy our OKC Thunder championship commemorative editions in person and online
Ecstatic fans celebrate as they leave Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which the Oklahoma City Thunder won against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, June 22.
Getting around downtown will be difficult
Streets were already closing Monday and vehicular traffic will not be allowed to cross parade routes along NW Fourth, NW 10th, Robert S. Kerr Avenue and Reno Avenue after 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
'It's already getting a little rough downtown,' Holt said. 'If you own a downtown office or entity, normal operations are not possible. Analogize it to a weather closure, like an enormous snowstorm.'
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Holt, also dean of Oklahoma City University School of Law, said the college in Midtown is closing during parade day as is all nonessential operations at City Hall.
'If you are downtown, you simply cannot continue your normal operations on Tuesday,' Holt said. 'And we'll have to act accordingly.'
Handicap accessible viewing areas, including sign language interpreters, will be centered at Bicentennial Park, 500 Couch Drive.
The parade route will be blocked off and street crossings of any type will not be allowed until the event is over. Holt advised parade goers to plan in advance and pick viewing locations all along the two-mile parade route instead of gathering at the most popular spots like Scissortail Park.
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'Two miles sounds like a long way, but dropping hundreds of thousands along that is going to create situations where its many people deep,' Holt said. 'Your parade strategy is probably best executed by trying to be in some of the places further from Scissortail Park.'
Communications will be difficult
Downtown's daytime workforce is estimated at 80,000, far less than the 500,000 or more expected at the parade and cell phone service is expected to be spotty at best. Parade goers are being urged to attach contact information to children in case they get lost.
Oklahoma City Police Chief Ron Bacy urged people to report anything they see that might be suspicious, including unattended bags, and to do so by contacting officers who will be posted all along the parade route.
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'Have a plan on how to get back together if you get separated,' Bacy said. 'Make sure your children know your contact information.'
Public safety and health safety a 'priority"
Holt called safety a priority for emergency responders.
The parade coincides with a heightened terrorism alert nationwide following the U.S. bombing attack on Iran. Bacy said law enforcement agencies at the city, county and state level from throughout Oklahoma, including the National Guard, will be helping police during the parade.
'Being Oklahoma City, we consider these things in advance for any incident or event that we are planning,' Bacy said. 'We're monitoring things as we progress and we will adjust as we need to.'
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Drone and helicopter access in the skies over downtown will be prohibited, and any cars parked along streets along the parade route will be towed.
Fire Chief Richard Kelley and EMSA public affairs officer Michael Parrish said they are ready to handle health emergencies that can be expected with record-sized crowds in the middle of an Oklahoma summer
Parrish said EMSA is drawing additional paramedics and emergency medical technicians from across the state and country. He said arrangements have been made with nearby hospitals and first aid stations will be placed along the parade route.
'Weather will be in the 80s, and closer to the 90s,' Kelley said. 'Make sure you are hydrated. Wear appropriate clothes — loose clothes, good shoes — and use sunscreen.'
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Hydration stations will be established at Scissortail Park and the basketball court at Reno and Walker avenues; Together Square, 400 W Sheridan; OCU Law School, 800 N Harvey; and Bicentennial Park, east of the Civic Center Music Hall.
'Bring a thermos; bring water that you can keep cold,' Kelley said. 'We're going to make sure you stay safe in our city. If you see someone who is having an emergency, find a police officer, find a firefighter, an EMSA paramedic or someone in city uniform, and tell them, because you may not have cell service.'
In the case of a public emergency, shelter-in-place locations will be provided at Dowell Center Parking Garage, National Memorial Parking Garage, Arts District Parking Garage, BOK Parking Garage, Sheridan/Walker Parking Garage, Santa Fe Parking Garage, the Oklahoma City Convention Center and the Convention Center Parking Garage.
Funding to be detailed at a later time
City Manager Craig Freeman said the cost of the parade itself is being funded by the Thunder while arrangements on funding of public safety and emergency responders are going to be split by the team, the city and the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber through sponsorships and other sources.
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Holt confirmed the authenticity of video of open-top parade buses painted with Thunder championship logos that was posted online Sunday and mentioned by Pacers coach Richard Carlisle.
'We appreciate the early announcement on that,' Holt joked. 'In addition to the players, there will be members of the Thunder family (on the parade buses). It's not the Centennial Parade, where it was intended to capture the entire spectrum of Oklahoma. It's about the Thunder and we will see what's awesome about Oklahoma City.'
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma City Thunder parade what to know: Route, weather, traffic