A nearly $17 million beautification plan will face the Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday. It’s part of MAPS 4, which voters passed in 2019 and provided an allocation of $32.8 million for citywide beautification projects.

Most of the projects focus on improving areas surrounding high-traffic streets and entrances to the city through landscaping and public art. In the words of MAPS program manager David Todd, the city has “company coming” and needs to “spruce things up.” 

Tourism booms are expected through the end of the decade, which the city attributes to upcoming international flights at OKC Will Rogers International Airport, what will be the newest NBA arena in the league, two 2028 Olympic events, and a more aggressive strategy recruiting conferences, conventions, trade shows, and concerts.

“It’s to beautify those spaces,” Todd added. “If even if just a little bit. It’s not big streetscapes. It’s not major renovations or landscaping, but it’s some trees here and there. It’s some hardscape here and there. And where we’re concentrating are places like right as you come out of the airport; first impression places, well-traveled areas.”

There are 16 projects included in the master plan, which represent 7 of the 8 wards across Oklahoma City.

One of the proposals is more structural than the rest. 

Consultants for the city have proposed creating a plaza and erecting a statue of Ralph Ellison at Northeast 23rd and Martin Luther King, directly across from the Ralph Ellison Library.

Currently, the space is an empty lot.

Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice said the proposal, as it stands, does not reflect any of her input or that of nearby stakeholders.

“We wanted to acknowledge all of our leaders that came from this part of our community,” Nice said. “That’s what that corner is supposed to do.”

In discussions she has been part of, Nice said the goal had been to erect a Ralph Ellison statue in Deep Deuce, where Ellison was born.

Despite being listed as a potential stakeholder in the project plan, Ralph Ellison Foundation executive director Michael Owens said he was not consulted on the proposal. But as a steward of Ellison’s legacy, he supports the effort to further memorialize his name.

“It’s magnificent to see the city turn their attention to [it],” Owens said. “We have great sports, and we have great entertainers. But also, we have an intellectual capital here in Oklahoma City. And for the city to recognize that with Ralph Ellison and his legacy and how that legacy, not just looking past but looking forward, is something for the future.”

The area has already seen MAPS 4 investment in the form of the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center and city-supported renovation of the Freedom Center which will be the operating partner when the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center opens.

“It shouldn’t just be in this community,” Nice said about the proposed statue. “It should be all of the places of the footprint of Ralph Ellison. And [Deep Deuce] was a core footprint of Ralph Ellison, because that’s where he grew up.”

A monument outside of the Freedom Center commemorates several civil rights figures. Nice hopes that the concept can be expanded when it comes time to develop the NE 23rd and MLK lot.

“There are a lot of unsung heroes in our community that should be lifted up,” she said. “Not to slight anything of Ralph Ellison’s legacy, because we all know who he is and other people should know if they don’t, but how we approach that is where my concern is about this MAPS 4 beautification plan.”

Freedom Center executive director Christina Beatty has worked with Nice to develop a vision for the area’s ties to civil rights history.

“We have so much to be proud of in this city and in this state,” Beatty said. “In terms of our contributions to the civil rights movement here in the city, in the state, and nationally.”

While Beatty said the Freedom Center had received notice from the city consultants about the proposal for the lot, she said the organization was not substantively included in the process.

Her focus is making sure there’s a space for young people to gather and learn wide-ranging lessons about important civil rights leaders.

“That’s the legacy that will continue here at the Freedom Center,” she said. “To teach young people about those who came before them and to teach them how they can contribute to continued efforts moving forward.”

While Nice opposes the current iteration of the proposal near NE 23rd and MLK, she said there are other proposals included in the beautification master plan that she appreciates.

“I am comfortable with how we are able to use and balance and leverage other dollars to have a beautiful street enhancement project for NE 23rd,” she said, referencing the Clara Luper corridor project. “That’s what we want. That’s the intent of street enhancement projects, to get all of the things that we can for this part of our community and for it to look good.”

If the City Council approves the master plan, individual projects are likely to still require further council action in the future as the vision starts to take shape

“The master plan is really just a guide,” Todd said. “As we start to actually design on each of these projects, they could change a little bit. But it’s a guide of what can be done out there.”

A master plan related to MAPS 4 funding for city parks will also be considered during Tuesday’s Council meeting.

It wasn’t quite an easy Week 2 for Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys advanced to 2-0 in a 39-31 win over Arkansas. The two overtime contest left fans on their heels, but Ollie Gordon heroics propeled Oklahoma State to a win in the Big 12/SEC contest.

For a veteran squad, the Cowboys had struggled on both sides of the ball. Still, win and advance — now Oklahoma State can gear up for Tulsa to try and remain perfect through non-conference play. Now ranked No. 13 in the nation, Oklahoma State’s resume should get a boost.

Offense:

Alan Bowman, 73.3 offensive grade: Somehow, someway, Bowman was the highest-graded Cowboy on the offensive side of the ball. He completed 27 of his 48 passes for one touchdown while throwing one interception. He added seven yards in five rushes. Bowman’s performance was far from eye-popping.

Brennan Presley, 70.5 offensive grade: The star Oklahoma State wide receiver hauled in nine passes for 91 yards and one touchdown, adding a rushing touchdown. His two scores helped propel the comeback, setting the Cowboys up for the two-overtime victory.

Defense:

Collin Oliver, 82.6 defensive grade: Oliver was Oklahoma State’s best defender, though he also went down with a season-ending injury. It was a tough blow for the Cowboys, and now the defensive playmaker will miss the season, leaving Oklahoma State with a void to fill. He played just 24 snaps in the game, though he was efficient in doing so.

Lyrik Rawls, 79.6 defensive grade: Playing just 23 snaps, the safety was sound on Saturday with two tackles and two passes defended — being targeted just twice. He moved all over the field, too, lining up in the box, secondary and slot on different occasions.

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Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said several times Saturday night that his team deserved to lose to Houston because of its performance. It was ugly, but the Sooners still prevailed 16-12 to improve to 2-0 on the young season. 

“Thankful for victory,” Venables said. “I appreciate our players – their strain and their fight until the end to figure out a way to win – but disappointed in a lot of things that we did today. We did enough things wrong where we deserved to lose and fortunate to find a way to win.” 

A look at the numbers reveal it was a disappointing win, if there is such a thing, for the Sooners, especially compared to Week 1. A close game meant less young players getting experience before SEC play starts and those opportunities dwindle significantly. And Pro Football Focus seemed to have agreed for the most part with Venable’s assessment. 

Here’s a look at some OU numbers – Pro Football Focus grades, snap counts and more – coming off the Sooners’ Week 2 win over former Big 12 foe Houston. 

Pro Football Focus

Pro Football Focus’ grading system doesn’t believe the Sooners’ offensive performance Saturday was all too different from Week 1 against Temple, which on the scoreboard was a 35-point difference, but six forced turnovers and great field position could get a lot of credit for last week’s offensive success. PFF gave the OU offense a grade of 62.8 for Week 2, compared to 64.5 the week before. The passing grade was actually exactly the same (71.4) even though Jackson Arnold had a 4-0 TD-INT ratio last week and 2-1 on Saturday night. 

Speaking of Arnold, just as the passing grade wasn’t much different, neither was his personally, according to PFF. After a 72.2 grade in his home debut, Arnold went down a tick with a 71.9 this week. His grade as a runner actually improved from 58.4 to 62.6. His passing grade dipped, though, from 74.7 to 71.4. 

Tight end Jake Roberts, who made his first start and recorded his first reception as a Sooner on Saturday night, has the best season PFF grade so far on offense at 86.9. He’s the only offensive player who has played in both games that has a grade higher than 80. The next is offensive lineman Michael Tarquin, also a transfer, at 78.2. 

With that grade in 113 snaps this season, Tarquin is fourth on the team and third on the o-line in snap count. Fellow offensive linemen Jacob Sexton and Febechi Nwaiwu have played more snaps than anyone on offense with 120 apiece. Arnold is third with 116 after not finishing Week 1’s blowout. 

Arnold, Sexton, Nwaiwu, Tarquin and Joshua Bates were the only players to play all 62 offensive snaps Saturday night. That’s a lot of snaps for four of your offensive linemen, though. 

Week 2 specifically, Roberts also had the best game grade – contributing to that top season grade – at 91.8. Tarquin was second with a 76.1. Although Arnold takes the brunt of a poor offensive performance, he actually had the third-best grade, according to PFF, with a 71.9. 

Deion Burks was the top-graded receiver and fourth offensive player at 67.6, according to PFF.

Playing 53 snaps, tight end Bauer Sharp received the worst grade on the offense with a 33.7, as the guy in front of him at tight end, Roberts, had the best offensive grade. 

Defensively, OU got a PFF grade of 75.2, a big drop from its 87.7 last week. However, Week 1 included six turnovers. 

Defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings, who had an intersection late in the game, was the highest-graded defender at 87.9 in 56 snaps, according to PFF. 

Fellow defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. led OU defenders in snap count at 66. The next highest was 61 from linebacker Danny Stutsman. Leaders on this defense, Bowman and Stustsman were given grades of 70.1 and 66.8, respectively. 

Kip Lewis, playing next to Stutsman at linebacker, had the worst grade at 53.5. 

Redshirt Report 

Of the 44 players who logged a snap Saturday night, according to PFF, eight were true freshmen. That included Jayden Jackson, David Stone, Reggie Powers III, Jaydan Hardy, Michael Boganowski, Eugene Brooks, Taylor Tatum and Zion Ragins. 

For all of them, it was their second appearance this season, meaning they’re now halfway to reaching their redshirt game total, not including postseason. 

Of those freshmen, Jackson had the highest PFF grade defensively at 62.4, while, offensively, Tatum received a 66.4, which was the fifth-best overall offensively.