Paycom Center (formerly Chesapeake Arena)

[OKCRT]

I feel as if I were lied to so they could get my vote.

Seriously,I really don't care where they put the damn thing as long as they do it right.

[Snowman]

When they were showing the renderings of the refurbished arena they had a big screen at the Grand Entrance. Looked pretty cool IMO. I said OK I am in for that so cast my yes vote. Now they are putting the video board on the north side? I guess when they drumming up support the arena rendering would have been rather plain if they showed a video board somewhere other than the Grand Entrance. The video board is what gave it the cool factor and I am sure pushed some to vote in favor of the tax. So it appears to me that we were misled.

I think the plan originally was to put video screens in both locations, in any case renderings you vote on in the past and in the future are concepts that may change and may look nothing like what you get. The current convention center concept looks nothing like the one people voted on, and the park will not look like what was render (except for the boundary the park stops at). The tax did not cover the amount they expect costs to be so decisions needed to be made on what they would not be spending money on since they did not want to ask for more money during a recession.

[Larry OKC]

When they were showing the renderings of the refurbished arena they had a big screen at the Grand Entrance. Looked pretty cool IMO. I said OK I am in for that so cast my yes vote. Now they are putting the video board on the north side? I guess when they drumming up support the arena rendering would have been rather plain if they showed a video board somewhere other than the Grand Entrance. The video board is what gave it the cool factor and I am sure pushed some to vote in favor of the tax. So it appears to me that we were misled.

Which tax?

If you are talking about the Ford/NBA tax, I don't think the original renderings of the Grand Entrance had the video board (think that showed up in a revised rendering after that vote passed). But I may be wrong about the chronology of the different renderings.

If you are talking about the MAPS 3 tax, the Grand Entrance/Video board isn't a part of MAPS 3.

I am curious as to where others are saying there were always plans for 2 boards (one on the North & South sides). I only recall reading about the South Grand Entrance one until now. Does anyone have a link?

[betts]

I agree with Larry. I don't ever remember reading about a north video board. And my recollection is that there was a south video board on the original drawing, and then they took it off before the vote and then have sometimes showed it back on. I'm willing to concede that my memory may be faulty however. I also remember that originally there were three potential renderings of what the renovation might look like and I'm not sure we were told which one would be the actual design prior to the vote.

[ljbab728]

In any case, thinking you were lied to about a video board means you should have voted no instead is laughable.

[Rover]

I thought the core to shore sidewalks would be brown, so that is why I voted for Maps. If they do any other color then the city staff and the mayor are cheats and crooks and I want my vote back.

[dmoor82]

The new video board is almost all up on the SW side!http://www.news9.com/story/15049633/...oma-city-arena

[Dustin]

Wow. Thats pretty big.

[dmoor82]

^^It looks like its about 3/4th's of the way done,there are more brackets above in that pic!

[okcphotoguy76]

Looks like the new Oklahoma City Arena video Marquee is hanging on the building now. This was taken today around 6:30pm.

Oklahoma City Arena Marquee by okcphotoguy76, on Flickr

[Larry OKC]

This is not a complaint, just an observation.

Interesting, orientation is landscape rather than portrait (as it was in the renderings I saw). Unless this is the 2nd one that ya'll have been talking about.

ON EDIT: While looking in the thread for the rendering showing the video board on the new "Postcard" Grand South Entrance, I did run across the talk about a screen on the NORTH side by Council. My apologies to that point. I presume the pic posted above is on the North side?

Here is the only image I found in the thread (doesn't show the video screen, but essentially the Video Screen was to be the portrait orientation space in the pic right above the words "Ford Center"

Looks like Rover had posted the rendering I was thinking of that showed the Video Screen but it isn't displaying now.

The City's website shows an earlier totally different rendering from a slightly different vantage point...located here:
http://www.okc.gov/fordcenter/index.html
If someone knows how to post the pic directly to the forum, please do!

My attempt just got the link
http://www.okc.gov/images/ford_635.jpg

[metro]

The new video board is almost all up on the SW side!http://www.news9.com/story/15049633/...oma-city-arena

Looks like the NW side to me, as originally indicated. The photo below yours also clearly shows it's NW corner, with the cox across the street

[dmoor82]

Looks like the NW side to me, as originally indicated. The photo below yours also clearly shows it's NW corner, with the cox across the street

I stand corrected!Thank you!

[OKCRT]

Why is that FORD Center on that pic? I demand a revote!
That video board is clearly on the NW side of the building. I don't think we are getting one at the Grand Entrance.

Now,is the new name going to be Mid-First Arena?

[jn1780]

Well, a horizontal screen is more practical than a vertical screen. Any live video shown on a vertical screen would leave a big black bar on the top and bottom. So if there is a vertical screen on the south side it would be used mostly for advertising purposes.


On another note, does anyone else think its funny that you can't go north on Robinson after they went through the effort of moving the off-ramp. You have to loop around and you then run straight into project 180 construction.

[Watson410]

There is a picture of the new entrance on the Robinson exit billboard (pretty close to the same entrance that is shown above minus the "Ford Center")

[okcphotoguy76]

Yes, the photo I took is on the NW side of building. It somewhat faces Myriad Gardens, but not directly at that corner of the building. Its above where the hockey team store was and small Thunder store is now in the building facing Reno.

[MikeOKC]

Why is that FORD Center on that pic? I demand a revote!
That video board is clearly on the NW side of the building. I don't think we are getting one at the Grand Entrance.

Now,is the new name going to be Mid-First Arena?

My bet is on Midfirst...though we could be surprised and it be branded with something none of us have even thought of. I think since the Four Million Dollars of CHK shareholder money that went into official sponsorship of the Thunder (which Aubrey personally owns 20%) was in with the list of problems with corporate governance going into the last shareholders meeting - I think that Chesapeake Arena is probably out of the question. However, if he has the Chutzpa to try it, it really wouldn't surprise me. But he's being pretty careful right now with all the criticism. That would raise the roof off of shareholders patience and I doubt he'd even try it. But, who knows?

[Larry OKC]

Well, a horizontal screen is more practical than a vertical screen. Any live video shown on a vertical screen would leave a big black bar on the top and bottom. So if there is a vertical screen on the south side it would be used mostly for advertising purposes.


On another note, does anyone else think its funny that you can't go north on Robinson after they went through the effort of moving the off-ramp. You have to loop around and you then run straight into project 180 construction.

If not mistaken, that is the intended purpose, as the Team gets all or the majority of advertising revenue from those sorts of things now. I haven't gone back and read the lease agreement to verify but that goes along with something I saw in the City Budget report where they mentioned how much the City received in Arena Board advertising and that item was missing in the next years report (unless I just missed it which is a possibility)

[Urbanized]

The video board is oriented so that people walking in from the Myriad Gardens can see it as they come down the diagonal walkway from the heart of the gardens. Should be a spectacular approach.

[Pete]

Here's another photo of the video board on the north side:

[Pete]

Here's a rough representation of where it is being installed (shown in bright blue):

[okcfollower]

http://www.nba.com/thunder/?tmd=1

Call it Chesapeake Energy Arena!

[betts]

Here too:

http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-city-.../1069724629001

[SoonerQueen]

http://www.nba.com/thunder/news/rele...na_110721.html