A Deal They Couldn’t Refuse
Land Swap Gives Knights Council  1038 Massive Fitness Club;
Members Want to Create Catholic Life Center

 By Ray Dyer
The Sooner Catholic

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Knights of Columbus Council 1038 has struck gold. Actually it was more like oil, but the results are the same after members of 1038 agreed to swap properties with a major Oklahoma energy company. The move will provide the Knights with an incredible new home, and it’s a home they plan to share with the entire archdiocese.

The ever-expanding campus of Chesapeake Energy Corporation got a little larger after the Knights agreed to trade their 6,000-square- foot hall at 6501 Classen Blvd. to Chesapeake in exchange for the 58,000-square-foot Santa Fe Fitness and Racquet Club. The Santa Fe complex is located at 6300 N. Santa Fe Ave. According to Bill Cathey, an attorney and one of the Knights who helped pull the deal together, Chesapeake bought the Santa Fe fitness center after it learned the Knights might have some interest in trading properties if such a deal were proposed. Chesapeake moved quickly and negotiations went back and forth for several weeks before  members of Council 1038 agreed to the property swap. The deal was made even sweeter when Chesa-peake added $1 million in cash to the equation.

“This was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said longtime 1038 member Mike McAuliffe.

Council 1038 has been at the Classen location for 46 years. In recent years it has become home to dances for young Catholics. But the chance to create an even larger center that can serve all ages was too good to pass up.

Joe Dunaway, current president of the 1038 Building Corporation, said fellow Knight Stan Tawdry probably coined the name that will be attached to the new site. An       attorney and longtime Knight, Tawdry suggested the new location be called “The Knights of Columbus Catholic Life Center.”

Cathey said the new Council 1038 location presents all kinds of possibilities for the future.

“Oh, this has opportunities to serve the larger community in ways we could have never dreamed of before,” he said. “Imagine the youth gatherings and the tournaments that can be held here. The sky is the limit,” he said.

More than 700 members are currently using the Santa Fe fitness center and Cathey said the Knights hope to retain those memberships and add more. The current management of the club will be kept in place and Cathey said the numbers show the Knights should actually turn a profit from the operation.

A number of improvements are planned and one of the first will be the construction of a junior Olympic size swimming pool. The Santa Fe has a number of indoor and outdoor tennis courts. It also features areas for aerobics, a wide assortment of weights and exercise equipment and three squash courts. A sand volleyball pit is located outside.

Cathey said he is confident the existing Santa Fe management will prove to be an asset.

“This club has been running for 18 years with this management,” he said. “They know what they are doing.”