Ground Broken For Oklahoma Sports Hall Of Fame

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Ground was broken Thursday on a site near the state Capitol that will be the eventual home of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame & Jim Thorpe Memorial Museum. <br/><br/>Plans call for

Thursday, September 6th 2007, 12:30 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Ground was broken Thursday on a site near the state Capitol that will be the eventual home of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame & Jim Thorpe Memorial Museum.

Plans call for the hall of fame to be housed in a two-story, 30,000-square foot museum that will cost about $6 million to renovate.

The first of two floors dedicated to exhibits of Oklahoma sports heroes is expected to open in April, with the second floor to be completed by the end of next year. A courtyard area will be used for meetings and banquets, while offices and archives will be in the building's basement.

The Oklahoma City-based Jim Thorpe Association, which each year presents an award bearing Thorpe's name to college football's top defensive back, purchased the building in 2003 and still has about $1 million to raise to finish the project.

``There are great halls of fame to celebrate sports in other states, but no state has the unique sports heritage that Oklahoma does. So this hall of fame also is long overdue,'' Thorpe Association president Lynne Draper said. ``The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame & Jim Thorpe Memorial Museum is finally becoming a reality and will be a source of pride and inspiration for all Oklahomans.''