The Sccop
This is a big one. The airport just put real money behind a plan to more than quadruple its size, the Thunder tip off a new season at Paycom Center, HalloWest brings a western style trick or treat to the Cowboy Museum, Heritage Hills opens up sixty years of history for a walkthrough, the Oklahoma Home Show fills The Pavilion for free, and mortgage rates finally stopped climbing, at least for a week. Here is everything on my radar for October 19 through October 25, and what each one actually means if you are anywhere near a buying or selling decision.
Will Rogers World Airport Just Bet Big On The Next Twenty Years
Airport leaders unveiled a plan this week called Cleared for Takeoff, and it is not a small one. Will Rogers World Airport serves about 4.6 million passengers a year right now. The plan is built to take that number to 20 million, with expansion phases tied to passenger milestones along the way at 6 million, 8 million, and 20 million. Long term, that means more curbside space, expanded ticketing and baggage claim areas, and an eventual total of 40 gates.
Some of it starts almost immediately. A new parking garage, built over the existing surface lots and estimated around $90 million, is expected to break ground within the month, which means parking will be tighter than usual while that work gets underway. Inside the terminal, the tile floors in the tunnel, baggage claim, ticketing, and concourse areas are already being replaced with terrazzo, work that began back in September. A weather canopy is also planned for the rideshare pickup area, something anyone who has stood out there in a surprise thunderstorm will appreciate.
On the timeline: the parking garage and a roundabout project at Terminal Drive and Amelia Earhart Drive are both expected to start construction soon, with the roundabout finishing around February 2028, at which point the Will Rogers statue moves to the center of it. Baggage claim and ticketing restroom renovations are targeted to wrap up by December 2027, and the terrazzo flooring project is expected to finish around January 2028. A lot of this is being timed with an eye toward 2028, when the city expects extra attention with the Olympics.
Here is why I am putting this at the top of the list instead of burying it as a traffic note. Cities do not commit tens of millions of dollars to an airport they expect to shrink. When the people who run your main airport start talking about 20 million passengers instead of 4.6 million, that is a long term bet on this region continuing to grow, and growth at the airport tends to show up a few years later in housing demand, new jobs, and new rooftops across the metro. If you are weighing whether Oklahoma City is still a good place to plant roots, this is one more data point that says yes.
The Thunder Open Their Home Schedule Thursday
The Thunder’s 2026 to 27 season starts on the road Tuesday, October 20, at the San Antonio Spurs, but the home schedule kicks off two days later. On Thursday, October 22, at 8:30pm, the Thunder host the Denver Nuggets at Paycom Center in the first home game of the season, and it airs nationally on ESPN. They are back home again Sunday, October 25, at 6pm against the LA Clippers, so it is a two game week downtown if you want to make a night of either one.
Whatever your take on this past season, there is nothing quite like opening week energy downtown. Bricktown restaurants get busier, parking fills up earlier, and the whole area has a different pulse on game nights. If you have clients looking at condos or lofts near downtown, this is a good week to remind them what that walkable, game night lifestyle actually feels like in person.
HalloWest Takes Over The Cowboy Museum Thursday Night
That same Thursday, October 22, from 5:30 to 8pm, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum hosts HalloWest, its annual Halloween event at 1700 Northeast 63rd Street. The museum actually closes early that day, at 4pm, so staff can get the halls ready. Members and kids under 12 get in free, and while advance tickets are available through the museum’s site, they are not required to attend.
Come in costume if you want to. The event includes trick or treating through Prosperity Junction, the museum’s recreated turn of the last century town, plus HalloWest crafts, face painting, fast draw target practice, and a magic show. Chester Scissortail, the museum’s mascot, makes the rounds, and there are spooky themed Western stories told throughout the night. Treat bags include both candy and non candy items while supplies last. It is an easy, low stress Halloween option if you have younger kids and want to skip the long lines of a neighborhood trick or treat night.
Heritage Hills Historic Homes Tour Hits Its 60th Year
This one is a milestone. The Heritage Hills Historic Homes Tour celebrates its 60th year this Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25, both days running from 1 to 5pm. Tickets are $30, and you walk the tour at your own pace, moving between homes on your own schedule rather than following a set group. Volunteers stationed at each home share the architectural details, the family histories, and the stories behind some of Oklahoma City’s most significant residential architecture. Mercedes Benz of Oklahoma City provides free shuttles between tour stops, so you do not have to worry about parking at every single house.
Proceeds benefit Historic Preservation, Inc. and the Henry and Anna Overholser Museum, so your ticket is doing some good beyond a nice Saturday afternoon. If you have any interest in historic architecture, or you are a buyer trying to understand what genuine character and craftsmanship actually look like before you go shop for it, this tour is one of the best, cheapest educations you can get in this city. Sixty years of a neighborhood committing to preserving its own history says something about how that part of town has held its value, too.
The Oklahoma Home Show Fills The Pavilion This Weekend
The Oklahoma Home Show runs that same Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25, at The Pavilion, and it is free to get in. If you are weighing a renovation before you list your current home, or you just want ideas before you buy your next one, this is exactly the kind of event worth a free weekend afternoon. You get to talk directly with the people who actually do the work, rather than guessing from online photos or secondhand recommendations.
Mortgage Rates Held Steady For A Second Week
Mortgage rates did something they have not done in a while: they stopped climbing, at least for now. The 30 year fixed rate averaged 7.4 percent for the week of October 15, the same number it held the week before, on October 8. Before that, rates had been climbing for weeks, up from 7.28 percent at the start of October and 7.03 percent before that, putting them at their highest point since November 2023.
Holding steady is not the same thing as dropping, and I am not going to tell you it is time to jump just because the number stopped going up. But if you have been sitting on the sidelines because rates felt like a moving target, two weeks of the exact same number is worth a real conversation, not just a passing thought.
Let's Just Tell It Like It Is
An airport betting on the next twenty years, the Thunder tipping off a new season, a western style Halloween night, sixty years of historic homes open for walking, a free weekend for home shoppers, and rates that finally held their ground, there is no excuse to stay home this week. Whether any of this has you thinking about buying, selling, or just wondering what your house is worth with rates doing this, I’ll listen first, then we’ll figure out the plan together. You don’t have to be an expert on any of it. That’s my job.
Book a free consultation: calendly.com/troythrash/consultation
