New Arena (formerly Prairie Surf)

[Laramie]

Our city is very fortunate to be one of 30 communities with an NBA franchise.

Our current branding, team name 'Thunder' is reminiscence of a thundering herd of buffalos. Our logo was
hastily put out during the relocation process--much like our DT arena was built to lure the NHL.

You will probably see a slightly improved version of the Thunder logo upon completion of the new Oklahoma City downtown arena (site: Prairie Surf Media) 4 square block site.

Merchandizers will reap the benefits of marketing the latest Thunder memorabilia.

[Dob Hooligan]

Our city is very fortunate to be one of 30 communities with an NBA franchise.

Our current branding, team name 'Thunder' is reminiscence of a thundering herd of buffalos. Our logo was
hastily put out during the relocation process--much like our DT arena was built to lure the NHL.

You will probably see a slightly improved version of the Thunder logo upon completion of the new Oklahoma City downtown arena (site: Prairie Surf Media) 4 square block site.

Merchandizers will reap the benefits of marketing the latest Thunder memorabilia.

I'm not saying I think the current Thunder logo is the best ever, but, I fear OKC, not being a leader in hip and trendy, will wind up on the tail end of a fad. Like the purple and turquoise on every uniform or warm up of the 1990s; the elliptical logo with the fat accent on the right side (ESPN, Petty Motorsports, etc.); camo on every available inch for Military Appreciation Day, etc.

Or, the Thing I Fear The Most On Earth...The Detroit Pistons "Flaming horse logo".

[Laramie]

A new home for the Thunder comes with its perks. The new arena is expected to total roughly 750,000 sq. ft.,
25% larger than the current Paycom Center. With a bigger arena comes bigger crowds. And bigger crowds
come more ready to scream at the top of their lungs to support their team destined to rule the NBA
moving forward.--INSIDE THE THUNDER

The current Paycom Center seats 18,203, are we expecting the seating capacity to slightly exceed
the current Paycom arena capacity?

Anxious to see what the specs are for the new arena, and estimated costs--when the actual
bids go out. These firms have put their names in the hat; AECOM, Gensler, HKS, Overland Partners,
Perkins and Will, Populous and Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates all tossed their
names in for consideration.

Interviews with selected firms will be held in the first week of September.

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[Laramie]

I'm not saying I think the current Thunder logo is the best ever, but, I fear OKC, not being a leader in hip and trendy, will wind up on the tail end of a fad. Like the purple and turquoise on every uniform or warm up of the 1990s; the elliptical logo with the fat accent on the right side (ESPN, Petty Motorsports, etc.); camo on every available inch for Military Appreciation Day, etc.

Or, the Thing I Fear The Most On Earth...The Detroit Pistons "Flaming horse logo".

Envy Detroit--she has four major professional sports franchises NFL (Lions), MLB (Tigers), NBA (Pistons) & NHL (Red Wings).

The Thunder relocation timeline:

One April 18, 2008 in a 28–2 vote by the league's Board of Governors approved the move to Oklahoma City for the 2008–2009 season after reaching a settlement with the city of Seattle.

April 23, 2008: Schultz files suit to rescind his sale of the Sonics to Bennett, saying Bennett was dishonest in his promise to keep the team in Seattle.

June 20, 2008: The trial between the city and the Sonics ends after six days in the courtroom.

(Less than two months preparation to move to OKC)

July 2, 2008: Mere hours before Pechman is scheduled to render her verdict, Bennett and Greg Nickels, then mayor of Seattle, call simultaneous news conferences to announce a settlement. The Sonics are allowed to leave immediately in exchange for a $45-million payment and no promise of a replacement team.

September 3, 2008: The new name and branding identity for the Oklahoma City NBA team was introduced.

September 14, 2008: OKC Thunder sells out season tickets

Here's a report from JW - Jason Watson, Professor of Design: https://www.jamesrobertwatson.com/th...203%2C%202008.

The Professional Basketball Club, LLC investments - $395 million [$350 purchase, $45 million to break the lease].

[Hayden]

I have been to 10 different NBA stadiums for games, including the United Center. The United Center is ranked 9 out of 10 for me. I hope we can build something better than a partially renovated 30-year-old arena.

[bombermwc]

Laramie, i do not think that they are planning to increase the seating capacity very much, if any. Remember we had to slap things on the side of the Paycom to get shops/eateries/etc. It's an oval with after-the-fact protrusions. Any new arena built from the ground up will have the ability to have those things integrated into the design much better. They will also have more land to do it in so they don't have so much of a constraint on how it's designed. It wouldn't take much to increase the footprint and with the way the bowl designs are changing, you may have a very different type of box situation than today and different way of doing the tiers too.

[Swake]

Laramie, i do not think that they are planning to increase the seating capacity very much, if any. Remember we had to slap things on the side of the Paycom to get shops/eateries/etc. It's an oval with after-the-fact protrusions. Any new arena built from the ground up will have the ability to have those things integrated into the design much better. They will also have more land to do it in so they don't have so much of a constraint on how it's designed. It wouldn't take much to increase the footprint and with the way the bowl designs are changing, you may have a very different type of box situation than today and different way of doing the tiers too.

The same or fewer seats in a larger volume of space usually means LESS noise inside. Which is bad and will need to be addressed in the design.

[SEMIweather]

The same or fewer seats in a larger volume of space usually means LESS noise inside. Which is bad and will need to be addressed in the design.

There’s little to no chance that the new arena will have a better environment than the current one, IMO. Would expect more suites, and would expect them to be closer to the court than the current ones. With a college arena, you can make up for this in unique ways such as Baylor putting five rows of student seating behind the benches at Foster Pavilion. But with how similar most NBA arenas are to each other, I think the best we can hope for is marginal improvements related to the fact that this one will be purpose-built for basketball, whereas Paycom was built to attract either an NBA or an NHL team. And that’s okay, IMO. The new arena will be a notable improvement in many other ways, the modern-day NBA isn’t exactly known for raucous crowds, and the Thunder will probably never be able to capture the initial “Loud City” magic that was largely the result of the city finally getting a big league team and that team immediately turning things around and contending for titles.

[PhiAlpha]

There’s little to no chance that the new arena will have a better environment than the current one, IMO. Would expect more suites, and would expect them to be closer to the court than the current ones. With a college arena, you can make up for this in unique ways such as Baylor putting five rows of student seating behind the benches at Foster Pavilion. But with how similar most NBA arenas are to each other, I think the best we can hope for is marginal improvements related to the fact that this one will be purpose-built for basketball, whereas Paycom was built to attract either an NBA or an NHL team. And that’s okay, IMO. The new arena will be a notable improvement in many other ways, the modern-day NBA isn’t exactly known for raucous crowds, and the Thunder will probably never be able to capture the initial “Loud City” magic that was largely the result of the city finally getting a big league team and that team immediately turning things around and contending for titles.

There are teams doing what you suggest similar to colleges to improve arena noise and the lower dollar ticket fan experience. The Clippers new arena being the best example I can think of off the top of my head. There may be some suites closer to the floor but I have a feeling getting the fans in seats closer to the floor is going to be the priority. We’ve seen what happens when you stack two many rows of suites together in the middle (staples center or whatever it’s called now) if there are suites closer to the floor, I would imagine them being better versions of the bunker type suites/club we have now. The main thing I expect to improve is spacing between seats (both front/back and sides). Paycom feels extremely cramped even for me and I’m not a big or tall person. For an organization that is known for a great/loud fan environment and that is usually very thoughtful and strategic in everything they do, I have little doubt that fan experience and environment will be at the top of their list and will be able to marry that with ways to increase revenue. Those things don’t have to be mutually exclusive and to get the average modern sports fan with a 75 inch (and growing) HD flat screen off the couch and into the arena, they will have to think that way as will everyone else from here on out. They are very aware of that.

All of that to say, I disagree. They can build something with an environment that is as good or better if they do it right.

[SEMIweather]

There are teams doing what you suggest similar to colleges to improve arena noise and the lower dollar ticket fan experience. The Clippers new arena being the best example I can think of off the top of my head. There may be some suites closer to the floor but I have a feeling getting the fans in seats closer to the floor is going to be the priority. We’ve seen what happens when you stack two many rows of suites together in the middle (staples center or whatever it’s called now) if there are suites closer to the floor, I would imagine them being better versions of the bunker type suites/club we have now. The main thing I expect to improve is spacing between seats (both front/back and sides). Paycom feels extremely cramped even for me and I’m not a big or tall person. For an organization that is known for a great/loud fan environment and that is usually very thoughtful and strategic in everything they do, I have little doubt that fan experience and environment will be at the top of their list and will be able to marry that with ways to increase revenue. Those things don’t have to be mutually exclusive and to get the average modern sports fan with a 75 inch (and growing) HD flat screen off the couch and into the arena, they will have to think that way as will everyone else from here on out. They are very aware of that.

All of that to say, I disagree. They can build something with an environment that is as good or better if they do it right.

These are all good counterpoints, appreciate your insight on this.

[Anonymous.]

I wonder if the new arena is going to just get the existing (new) center scoreboard? I think it was like 8 million dollars, so that would be a solid saving to put money elsewhere.

[citywokchinesefood]

I wonder if the new arena is going to just get the existing (new) center scoreboard? I think it was like 8 million dollars, so that would be a solid saving to put money elsewhere.

I hope not considering how nice several of the other new scoreboard concepts are by comparison. I don't want to waste money by any means, however the new arena needs to wow not cut corners because it is cheaper to do.

[SEMIweather]

Yeah I don’t see the point in moving the scoreboard over, especially given that it’ll be used for the next five seasons.

[PhiAlpha]

Someone will buy it.

[jn1780]

Yeah I don’t see the point in moving the scoreboard over, especially given that it’ll be used for the next five seasons.

Yeah, they are not going to want to immediately go back and ask for more money. Its easier just to bury that in the capital expenses of a new arena.

[Pete]

Yeah, they are not going to want to immediately go back and ask for more money. Its easier just to bury that in the capital expenses of a new arena.

There is always the possibility of moving some of the video panels and then incorporating them into the new internal signage.

[HFAA Alum]

There is always the possibility of moving some of the video panels and then incorporating them into the new internal signage.

I was about to say this. Most of the scoreboard is consistent of multiple LED panels placed together and wired by means of a DMX ethernet cable linked from one node to the next in the back. It could be utilized on the exterior, probably the interior for some elements, maybe even integrated into the new scoreboard if they retain the same manufacturer to make installations a bit smoother.

Working at my church, we have LED panels on the stage, but they can be broken down and arranged differently. The only crux is that those panels are rather heavy.

[Timshel]

That's what they did with the old scoreboard. Given how modular they are, surely there will be a way to sell or re-use the panels in some form or fashion.

[Laramie]

Someone will buy it.

Move the current scoreboard from Paycom Center to the new State Fair Coliseum.

Our new downtown arena will need a Daktronics LED Halo Board.

[warreng88]

For the record, the halo scoreboard at the new Clippers stadium reportedly cost around $100 million... about 10% of the total project cost of our new arena...

[caaokc]

I love the idea of two screens similar to what Seattle did with their arena.

[Hayden]

I really hope we do not build a halo board…I was looking at some of the footage in the upper deck and it makes it feel like you are separate from the crowd.

[Hayden]

The Denver nuggets score board is pretty amazing. Went to a game there last year and it was a very enjoyable experience

[PhiAlpha]

For the record, the halo scoreboard at the new Clippers stadium reportedly cost around $100 million... about 10% of the total project cost of our new arena...

And it’s cool but man…it seems like a bit too much. I like to at least feel like I should watch the game being played on the floor lol.

[Laramie]

For the record, the halo scoreboard at the new Clippers stadium reportedly cost around $100 million... about 10% of the total project cost of our new arena...

Now way will OKC install a 'halo' board at that price--sounded like a good idea; but for $100 million, leave that 'hot potato' on the burner.

Like CaaOKC's idea with the double screens:



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