Floating Away, Tulsa's Floating Stage Being Sold Or Demolished

It's a stage unlike any other and it could soon be floating away. Tulsa's one and only floating stage will be auctioned off Saturday.

Tuesday, May 27th 2014, 9:49 pm

By: News On 6


It's a stage unlike any other and it could soon be floating away. Tulsa's one and only floating stage will be auctioned off Saturday.

The stage was once the place to be in Tulsa. Now, it's time for it to find another riverbank. Washed out and empty, birds are the only ones belting it out there these days.

In the late 80s and 90s the floating Festival Park amphitheater was buoyed up by bands big and small.

5/27/2014 Related Story: Floating Stage For Sale At Tulsa Surplus Auction Saturday

Hundreds wrote to News On 6, sharing nostalgia from the stage built in 1984. Telling of times they took in the sounds of The Ramones, Moody Blues, Hall and Oates and Huey Lewis.

The stage even played host to a few weddings.

So what's changed over the years?

"What has changed in the last 30 years is there are a bunch of indoor venues," said Matt Meyer with the River Parks Authority.

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Indoor venues don't get rained out. Their floors don't warp with water, they don't get stuck in the mud and don't get vandalized.

"The old stage is kind of fraught with problems and needs to go away," Meyer said.

Meyer said it will be replaced by a stage, built on land, along with a new playground, restrooms, trails and infrastructure.

"You have the same view. The crowd, the spectators, can sit on the grass in sort of a semi-amphitheater. Still look at the same downtown view of Tulsa," said Meyer.

The City of Tulsa will auction off the floating stage Saturday. Bidding is easy; the hard part is getting it home.

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"You may have to take it apart to move it, or at least in chunks," Meyer said.

Even if it floats away, piece by piece, it'll carry with it years of music and memories.

"I guess we'll see if anybody bids on it," said Meyer.

If you want to take this stage home the auction starts at 9:30 Saturday at the city's surplus facility. If no one buys it, the stage will be demolished.

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