Business and civic leaders recently gathered for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s State of the Region event, which offered a clear, data-focused look at where Central Oklahoma stands—and where it needs to improve. The event featured a regional economic overview presented by Chamber President and CEO Christy Gillenwater.
Originally an industrial and warehouse district, Bricktown has transformed over the last few decades into one of Oklahoma City’s most visited neighborhoods.
Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) and Metro Technology Centers marked the opening of the new Aviation Center at Southeast High School with a ribbon cutting earlier this month. The center is among the first “flex spaces” funded through the $1 billion OKCPS bond package approved by voters in 2022.
Improving Oklahoma City’s air service is the goal of a new task force formed by the Chamber. Chaired by Burns Hargis, former chair of the Chamber and former president of Oklahoma State University, the task force is comprised of airport representatives, Airport Trust members, and business leaders interested in working together to provide valuable information to airlines as they consider expansion in the market.
Oklahoma City’s tourism economy reached record levels in 2024, according to a new report by the Tourism Economics group within Oxford Economics. The study found that 24.5 million visitors came to OKC last year, driving $2.8 billion in direct spending and fueling a total economic impact of $4.6 billion.
Visit OKC is the official destination marketing organization for the Greater OKC region, promoting the city as a top destination for conventions, sports and leisure travel. Through targeted sales and marketing, Visit OKC aims to raise the city’s national profile.
Oklahoma City has grown into the nation’s 20th largest city, but as a region, central Oklahoma is positioned at 41st. That gap tells a bigger story—our future depends on how well central Oklahoma works together. Closing that gap requires collaboration across communities and counties, and the State of the Region event is where leaders take on that challenge, looking past city limits to build a stronger, more connected economy.
In this month’s Leadership Notes, Chamber President and CEO Christy Gillenwater emphasizes the importance of Oklahoma City’s visitor economy as a powerful catalyst for investment, talent attraction and long-term growth.
