Oklahoma
What’s going on with Oklahoma’s answer to Disney?
A $2.5 billion theme park in Oklahoma designed to rival Disney has stalled after a year of no construction progress.
When announced in 2023, the American Heartland Theme Park and Resort, which was set to occupy a 1,000-acre plot in northeast Oklahoma, had an opening date scheduled for 2026. With a $2.5 billion price tag, the park was planned to be the size of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Florida.
Despite breaking ground on the development last year, the park has not seen progress since, and the opening date has been pushed back by at least three years, according to construction officials.
The park’s design team, which includes former Disney Parks builders and “Imagineers,” told local media that several key permissions were needed before construction could continue.
“We’ll still have to wait a while for Corps of Engineer approvals,” Steve Hedrick, the executive producer, told Tulsa World in October.
“We still have some inspections that they need to do. We did some land swaps for some wetlands,” he continued. “So all of that is yet to be done, but as soon as that’s done—at least on a construction end—we’ll be ready to go. We’re within weeks of getting ready.”
American Heartland Theme Park
Another setback hit the development when Oklahoma state legislators denied a $35 million grant that would have provided water and waste infrastructure to the site.
Newsweek contacted the office of Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt for comment on the development.
According to developer Mansion Entertainment Group, the park—with a planned camping area of 750 RV spaces and 300 cabins—would be the largest camping ground in the central U.S. once completed.
However, several stakeholders in the park have said the project owed them money. In May, the Canadian design firm Forrec filed a lien in an Oklahoma court against Mansion Entertainment, alleging the developers owed it more than $5 million in unpaid invoices.
OGB Holdings, which owns the property and premises of the theme park and camping ground, also alleged the project owed it more than $300,000.
While the project was originally given a $2 billion budget, costs increased to $2.5 billion. In May, Kristy Adams, Mansion’s senior executive vice president of marketing, told NonDoc Media that the company was “working on a new timetable.”
“We’re confident with the team that we have, if we get rolling, that we can still produce the park in time,” Adams said. “So, and I know that’s an optimistic approach, but we do have a world-class team together.”
She added, “We always said we were going to open in 2026, so probably later in 2026, but yeah, we haven’t announced any delays.”
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Oklahoma
Crews respond after fireworks stand catches fire in Broken Arrow, no injuries reported
Crews responded to a fireworks stand after it caught fire in Broken Arrow Saturday night.
Authorities urged people to avoid E. Kanosha Street near S. 236th E. Avenue as the road is closed and fireworks could spread in the area due to the fire.
Broken Arrow Fire Department released a statement confirming no injuries were sustained as a result of the explosions or fire.
Fire crews quickly controlled the fire in about 20 minutes according to Broken Arrow Fire Department.
The initial cause of the fire is under investigation.
Viewer Leslie Maxey, who lives close to the fireworks stand, sent in video of the ongoing fire.
“We were putting our daughter to bed with a book when we heard an explosion that was gradually getting louder and louder,” Maxey said.
This is a developing story.
Oklahoma
Scouting the Oklahoma Sooners ahead of UNC matchup
What you need to know about Oklahoma ahead of the College World Series
North Carolina will face a dangerous Oklahoma team that is on a roll.
Oklahoma (41-22) has been just as dominant. The Sooners, making their 13th College World Series appearance and first since 2022, surged through the postseason as road warriors. They won the Atlanta Regional by upsetting No. 2 seed and ACC champion Georgia Tech in the final, then swept Big 12 champion and No. 15 seed Kansas by a combined score of 21-3 in the Lawrence Regional.
The Sooners, who are 3-0 in Omaha after beating No. 7 seed Alabama and knocking off No. 3 seed and SEC champion Georgia twice, are seeking their third national championship. Oklahoma won titles in 1951 and 1994 and finished as runner-up to Ole Miss in 2022.
Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma:
Best player: Catcher Deiten LaChance
LaChance is Oklahoma’s most powerful hitter. He is batting .333 with 12 doubles, two triples and team highs of 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Throughout the postseason, he is hitting .326 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In Omaha, he is 5-for-14 (.357) with one home run and five RBIs.
Strengths
Like North Carolina, Oklahoma is a balanced team that is good at a little bit of everything and is built to frustrate opponents.
Oklahoma is a balanced hitting team like UNC, but the Sooners have hit a few more homers with 91, compared to the Tar Heels’ 82. That is largely due to the Sooners smashing 26 home runs in their 10 postseason games. In Omaha, OU has homered eight times, including five homers in its win over Georgia in its previous game.
The Sooners have stolen 129 bases this season. That is good for 24th nationally and second in the SEC.
Pitching-wise, OU is 18th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and leads the SEC in shutouts.
Weaknesses
The most glaring weakness is the pitching staff, despite its ability to strike out opposing batters and record shutouts.
The Sooners have a 4.98 ERA as a staff. Only one pitcher with 10 or more appearances has an ERA under 3.60.
They also allow 4.51 walks per nine innings, which ranks 138th nationally.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Football Target Israel Hammons Commits to Cowboys
It was a Friday Night Lights in June kind of moment for the Oklahoma State Cowboys as Israel “Izzy” Hammons made his commitment announcement.
The Choctaw, Okla., rising senior announced his decision to commit to Oklahoma State on Friday during an Instagram Live session. The Cowboys beat out a roster of schools vying for the linebacker, most notably Texas.
Hammons made just two official visits — one to OSU and one to Texas last week.
His commitment pushed the Cowboys’ 2027 recruiting class back to nine players after the defection of Mount Carmel (Chicago, IL) offensive lineman Chase Clark to Purdue.
Commitments are non-binding. The earliest that Hammons can sign with OSU is in December.
Izzy Hammons to OSU
Hammons is the first four-star player to commit to the Cowboys this cycle. Their previous commitments all came from three-star players. The 6-3, 225-pound linebacker was considered a Top 200 player in the country by both On3/Rivals and 247Sports. Both services had him ranked as a Top 10 player in the state of Oklahoma at any position. He’s also considered the No. 1 linebacker in the state.
He also runs track and field, competing in the high jump and the 100-meter days, with a personal best of 11.30 seconds in the latter.
The Longhorns came in hot at the end but already had linebackers committed to the program this cycle. For the Cowboys getting a pledge from a player like Hammons is key to shore up a position where they didn’t have a commitment and where they plan to use senior transfers as starters in 2026. That means OSU and head coach Eric Morris must start building a pipeline now.
OSU’s Class of 2027
After Clark’s decommitment the Cowboys were down to eight recruits for 2027 entering Friday, most of which were on the offensive side of the ball and starting with Iowa Colony (Texas) quarterback Carson White, who was the cycle’s first commitment in April.
Up front, OSU has two offensive line commitments Jake Baker of Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tenn., and Sonny Mullen of Troy, Texas. When it comes to skill positions players the Cowboys have three commitments as well, including two wide receivers — Cooper Hooker of Pryor (Quapaw, Okla.) High School and Ake O’Neal of Argyle, Texas. Oklahoma State also has a pledge from tight end Talan Scott of Queen City, Ariz.
Defensively, the Cowboys have commitments from safeties Chayce Davis of Euless (Texas) Trinity High School and Bryson Brown of Broken Bow, Okla.
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