Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt delivered his 2026 State of the City address Wednesday.
Mayor Holt's focus was on the challenges that come with rapid growth, and the importance of sports in the city.
Holt predicts Oklahoma City will hit 1 million residents as early as 2050. He said there needs to be a sense of urgency around improvements to transportation infrastructure, including a proposed commuter railway between Norman, OKC and Edmond being developed in collaboration with ONE Transit.
"We want a high quality of life in Oklahoma City," said Holt. "We are unapologetic about that. But when you have a high quality of life people are going to move here. And the first place you’ll feel it is on our roads."
Holt also unveiled Oklahoma City’s new professional soccer club, OKC United.
"We are almost surely the only city in the world currently building both an arena and a stadium just a few blocks away from each other. That stadium paves the way for the return of professional soccer in OKC," Holt said.
The team will play at the new MAPS 4 multipurpose stadium upon its completion, in time for the 2028 USL Championship league.
