Whitewater rafting facility to be named for Aubrey McClendon

OKLAHOMA CITY – A planned whitewater rafting centre in Oklahoma City will be named in honour of Aubrey McClendon, an Oklahoma City energy industry magnate who died when the sport utility vehicle he was driving crashed in 2016.

McClendon, 56, was killed when his SUV drove “straight into” a concrete bridge embankment at nearly 80 mpg, police said, one day after being indicted on federal bid-rigging charges, which he denied.

The Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation said the main building in front of the facility will be named the Aubrey K. McClendon Whitewater Center. A fundraising campaign is now underway for the project.

McClendon was credited with leading efforts to develop the Boathouse District and served as chairman of the boathouse foundation board from 2005 until his death.

“Aubrey McClendon inspired us to do more, to be more, than we ever imagined possible,” said Mike Knopp, foundation executive director. “Many, many lives have been changed as a result of Aubrey believing early in that crazy opportunity to transform that ditch into a world class water sports destination that is now the envy of cities across the nation.”

McClendon was co-founder and longtime CEO of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp., until stepping down in 2013 over differences with the company’s new board of directors. He then formed a new energy company, American Energy Partners LP, and was a part-owner of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

McClendon was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly conspiring to rig bids to buy oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma.

“He pretty much drove straight into the wall. … There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway and that didn’t occur,” Oklahoma City Police Capt. Paco Balderrama said following an investigation into the crash.

Balderrama said there was no conclusive evidence that McClendon intentionally drove into the concrete wall and that he left nothing behind that could be construed as a suicide note.

“We don’t know if he meant to do it,” Balderrama said. “We could not rule out suicide with 100 per cent certainty, but we just were not able to find any evidence which directly pointed to it.”

Federal prosecutors dropped the indictment after McClendon’s death.