On Tuesday, April 29, a packed house dodged thunderstorms and flooding to fill the Haney Center Lecture Hall at Seminole State College to view final presentations by the University of Oklahoma departments of Civil Engineering & Environmental Science (CEES) and Landscape Architecture (LA) for what is known as a university Capstone Project.

A Capstone Project allows students to study and prepare materials for a realworld project as part of their college course study. Tuesday’s Capstone, the result of analysis and field study over the winter semester, worked up plans, renderings and solutions for an ambitious resort proposed by Maple Leaf Resorts, to be initiated through a prospective partnership with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

Thirty-five students and their supervising professors from both OU departments attended, as well as members of the Seminole Nation General Council. Seminole Mayor Cory Crabtree, Seminole City Manager Steve Saxon, President of SSC Lana Reynolds, and City Council member Dana Miller were also in attendance. Chair of Maple Leaf Resorts Oklahoma, K.C. Schulberg, hosted and organized the event.

A prestigious panel of industry experts attended to evaluate the students’ work, including Brandon Brooks, Capital Projects Engineer for the City of Norman; Shellie Chard, Water Quality Division Director Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; Lew Goidell, retired U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Restoration Division Director; Jason Holuby, President New Fire Native Design and Executive VP of FSB Engineering; Tanner Pipher, Project Engineer at Jacobs. Shanon Philips, Water Quality Program Director Oklahoma Conservation Commission, couldn’t attend, but will evaluate remotely. Final panel members were Saxon and Schulberg.

After introductory remarks and welcome by Schulberg, the presentations were divided into 2 one-hour blocks for CEES and LA, including oral presentations, slide shows and Q&A with the audience. The LA team brought 18 posters depicting renderings and study findings that were displayed in the lobby.

This Capstone was the culmination of study devoted to a proposed resort which would encompass 1,800 acres spreading south and west at the corner of I-40 and Highway 99, nine miles north of Seminole.

The OU student teams made six site visits over the winter months, collecting groundwater, surface water, and soil samples, studying water sourcing, resourcing and reuse, sustainable and renewable energy, native flora and fauna, landscaping and master planning.

Once fully built out, the resort would include three hotels, a convention and welcome center, a multi-purpose arena, a casino, movie studio, athletic excellence academy, and an 18-hole golf course. The resort will also include condominiums, a fueling station, an RV park, wildlife getaway cabins, and an extensive nature preserve and bison refuge – all while respecting and celebrating Seminole lore and culture. Phase two would include a water park and retail mall.

“We are honored to benefit from immense brain power of this great group of students, who worked so hard to develop creative and innovative solutions for the resort,” Schulberg said. “We want to thank Seminole Nation General Council Members, Mayor Crabtree, our expert panel and all who braved daunting weather to support the students and be with us Tuesday night.”