Boathouse Row is better than Boathouse District. With the word Row
you get a double meaning that fits with the area. Why the change?

That’s okay, Steve… we’ll all still call it ‘Boathouse Row’… just like we’ll always call ‘SoSA’ ‘MidTown’.

Have seen the posts about Boathouse District and thought I might shed some light on why it is “district” and not “row.” We did consider going with “row” for all the reasons noted here. However, in the rowing world, “Boathouse Row” already exists in Philadelphia. Philly has been home to historic Boathouse Row for 150 years, so we thought it appropriate to choose a different name out of respect for their history.

We also selected Boathouse District because it references the “districts” across the metro: Arts District, Plaza District, Adventure District, Bricktown Entertainment District, etc. We’ve not publicized the new name yet, but will be soon.

Thanks for following the developments on the Oklahoma River – Elizabeth (marketing director for the OKCBF)

Elizabeth, thanks so much for responding!
Is this a question of identifying the audience? The reason I ask is obviously “Boathouse Row” has already taken root with locals, and I suspect it’s going to be difficult to to turn that around. Sure, district is definitely part of the name with Plaza District, Arts District and Adventure District, but Bricktown is definitely known as Bricktown, no matter what the formal name might be. Not sure there was ever a grand plan to have every area identified as a district – just sort of happened, right?
If the marketing is to locals, why worry about the naming of a spot 2,000 miles away? I’ve seen the Bricktown name copied in places like Iowa and elsewhere. And certainly there’s more than one Film Row in this country.
Maybe the Boathouse District name will stick – but it sure does seem as if you’re fighting against what’s already become an established brand for your area.

Steve,
On a local basis, I think you’re right. We could call it boathouse row and all would be well. But we are on the world stage when it comes to rowing – because of our events, our venue and our status as a US Olympic & Paralympic Training Site. So we want to take that into account as we move forward.

In the rowing world, both nationally and internationally, Philadelphia’s Boathouse Row is revered as an iconic destination.  While we are committed to being innovative in rowing here in OKC, we also want to respect the history of the sport and the rowers who’ve come before us.

I understand the confusion over this – without some background on the discussion it doesn’t seem to make sense. We’re hoping to get the word out and appreciate the discussion you’ve started.