There’s a growing list of professional celebrity athletes that turn to real estate in retirement—Floyd Mayweather (VADA Properties), Alex Rodriguez (Arod Corp), and Magic Johnson (Magic Johnson Enterprises), to name but a few. Denver Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook founded his real estate group, Russell Westbrook Enterprises, in 2020.
Russell Westbrook Enterprises is behind a forthcoming sports-anchored entertainment district in Oklahoma City, where Westbrook played for a decade. Westbrook’s personal title on the project is creative director.
Westbrook and his investment partners, Echo Investment Capital and Robinson Park, recently selected Populous to design the nascent neighborhood. Populous beat out six other bidders in the national search, the development team said. That office will be the master architect for the future MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium, and the district more broadly.
Russell Westbrook Enterprises
The future district will stitch together multiple planned developments in downtown Oklahoma City. (Courtesy Russell Westbrook Enterprises)
The future, walkable district will have retail and dining options, and public spaces all anchored by MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium, the future home of the Oklahoma City Thunder. It will be built on the former Producers Co-op site north of the Oklahoma River, and link to existing and future downtown areas, like Boardwalk at Bricktown, an ongoing masterplan by AO and Matteson Capital.
Boardwalk at Bricktown renderings were first shared in December 2023, as reported by AN. The project made waves for a proposed supertall by AO that would reach 1,750 feet, what would be the country’s second tallest building. AO subsequently went back to the drawing board and made the skyscraper even taller, at 1,907 feet, what would be the tallest in the U.S.
Westbrook’s and Populous’s goal with their future, adjacent development is to stitch together it with Boardwalk at Bricktown, and other places like OKANA Resort, Boathouse District, and Scissortail Park.
Boardwalk at Bricktown and Legends Tower
The future district by Populous and Westbrook would be close to Boardwalk at Bricktown, and the 1,907-foot Legends Tower. (Courtesy AO)
“We’re not just building a sports-anchored entertainment district—we’re reimagining how a city comes together,” Westbrook said in a statement. “I’m personally bringing everything I’ve seen and experienced around the world—design, culture, energy—to help create something that’s never been done before in OKC.
“I’m proud to be part of a vision that’s not just about buildings, but about belonging—a place where people from every neighborhood feel seen, connected, and inspired,” Westbrook added.
Westbrook has already built a reputation in the design world. Aside from his excellent taste in dress, Westbrook launched his own fashion label in 2017, Honor the Gift. In 2022, Westbrook collaborated with the interiors studio Haus of Design to open Honor the Gift’s first storefront in Los Angeles, his hometown.
In 2024, the NBA star debuted Westbrook Academy in Los Angeles, another hometown project designed by John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects. And this year, Westbrook was a stylist for WNBA first-round draft pick Georgia Amoore.
“This has never happened before—no athlete has ever dressed another athlete for a draft, let alone an NBA player designing for a WNBA Draft,” Westbrook recently told Vogue. “We’re making history right here, breaking down those barriers between men’s and women’s sports.”
A timeline for the Oklahoma City masterplan hasn’t been released.