Campgrounds at Lake Texoma will get a $75,000 face-lift as state officials attempt to revive the area after a lackluster travel season last year.
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Members of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission voted Wednesday to use $75,000 to renovate campgrounds at Catfish Bay.
The campground was damaged during three floods last year, said Kris Marek, interim state parks director.
The capital infusion will pay for the renovation of a rest room and will provide electricity to 35 of 123 campsites at the park. Three shelters — all of which had their roofs ripped off in the floods last year — will be turned into basketball courts, Marek said.
Poor weather and a closed state park lodge nearly wiped out the travel season at Lake Texoma. The park was down about $176,000 in revenue compared with the previous year, said Hardy Watkins, executive director of the state Tourism Department.
"We want to make sure Lake Texoma has a travel season this year,” Watkins said.
Renovations are expected to be completed by May 1.
The lodge at Lake Texoma State Park closed in late 2006 to make way for private development. However, the sale to developer Pointe Vista has taken longer than expected. Sale on a portion of the land closed last month. Officials still are trying to finalize the sale of another parcel.
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instead of fixing the shelters they are turning them into basketball courts??? Give me a break! People don't go camping to play basketball!!!! How about some more boat slips, or fire pits?
That's what was missing! Why didn't we think of that? Basketball courts! That should bring them in. Thank you, tourism commission. Meanwhile the commission has spent many times that on salaries and associated costs in a basically closed park because they can't decide whether to fix them or not. Maybe they'll get to improve their free throw percentage, at least. Oh, Yeah!
Tourism Department chief Hardy Watkins told commissioners that nearly $6 million of funds generated from usage fees had been transferred into a trust fund, as mandated by legislation. Projects approved include:
•$153,000 for repairs of Tucker Tower at Lake Murray State Park.
•$50,000 to restore Caver's Cabin at Alabaster Caverns State Park.
•$70,000 for restoration work on buildings at Robbers Cave State Park.
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Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.