Paycom Center (formerly Chesapeake Arena)

[gurantula35]

the pics look awesome!!!

[metro]

The building is coming along great. It's too bad the Chesapeake name is emblazoned across the building. The name just means "corrupt" to many people across the country. You say the name "Chesapeake" in upstate New York, Pennsylvania, parts of Michigan and to many who simply follow business in the news and it's a very negative connotation. When people here want to make it sound cool and call it "The Peake" I just cringe. This team deserves a better brand on their building and it MAY happen sooner than many think. It's not like the co-owners are excited about their team's branding association with Aubrey's shenanigans and that name shining across the building on those all-important nationally televised games and in sports pages across the country. They're not stupid people.

Are you sure? They thought that horrible Doritos logo was good.....

[OKCisOK4me]

MikeOKC, keep it up in the other thread... This is about the outside of a building that was originally called the Ford Center and is now sponsored by Chesapeake. Not once did you ever complain about Ford when it was the Ford Center. Let it go, here...

[betts]

It's nice to see they've been working on the interior as they complete the exterior. I figured it was still a shell. Opening night will be here before we know it and it looks like our new entrance will be as well. Everything looks really good.

[OKCisOK4me]

No doubt Betts!

[Larry OKC]

Here are the photos from their Facebook page:

That tower area in the pic by the crane, looks like it is all window/glass...I take it that they have abandoned the idea of the video board that was in some of the renderings? While this looks good, the video board would have been awesome!

[Bellaboo]

That tower area in the pic by the crane, looks like it is all window/glass...I take it that they have abandoned the idea of the video board that was in some of the renderings? While this looks good, the video board would have been awesome!

I think since they put the big video board up on the Northwest corner, it makes adding another board irrelavent.

[MikeOKC]

The front really is coming along nicely. It's amazing how this change completely updates the look. It almost looks like an entrance to a multi-purpose convention center versus a stand-alone arena. Very classy looking.

[Larry OKC]

I think since they put the big video board up on the Northwest corner, it makes adding another board irrelavent.

respectfully disagree...if it is the one I am thinking of, it is a poor substitute for what they were planning on putting here. IMO

[Spartan]

They had might as well not even put the video boards up if it will serve no community purpose whatsoever...

[jn1780]

The video board was for advertising purposes so you will probably see another video board going up. Lol

[Spartan]

So the city has a moratorium on electronic billboards, and a ban on them along the new I-40, yet the city itself is engaged in blanketing downtown with more of them.... nice

[Snowman]

I thought it was a bit hypocritical when they have a moratorium for them in OKC, then approve them in locations where they are on the edge of town where they are entirely aimed at the suburb beside it.

[ljbab728]

So the city has a moratorium on electronic billboards, and a ban on them along the new I-40, yet the city itself is engaged in blanketing downtown with more of them.... nice

Do you have a problem with the electronic billboards in Times Square or Piccadilly Circus?

[OKCisOK4me]

Do you have a problem with the electronic billboards in Times Square or Piccadilly Circus?

No comparison so not fair. This is not Tokyo or NYC...

[Rover]

So the city has a moratorium on electronic billboards, and a ban on them along the new I-40, yet the city itself is engaged in blanketing downtown with more of them.... nice

Isn't that a driving safety issue and not an aesthetic one?

[Larry OKC]

Rover: from what I recall on it, the ban on billboards in general (don't recall anything specifically about electronic ones) on the relocated I-40 was purely aesthetics (except for the grandfathered ones). Oddly the Mayor stated that we have a hard time getting folks to pull off the interstate when driving thru so they decided to do the eye-catching Skydance Bridge on one hand then banned bill boards on the other (which can certainly serve to get folks to exit off (Cattlemen's etc).

ljbab728: how does OKC's ordinances apply to NYC? i don't think the City should exempt itself (if they have) from the rules it places on others.

[ljbab728]

ljbab728: how does OKC's ordinances apply to NYC? i don't think the City should exempt itself (if they have) from the rules it places on others.

I'm not addressing ordinance issues at this point. It just seems to me that having those kind of electronic signs in a downtown area are representative of a true urban experience whether it's here or NYC. Do I think they should be everywhere? NO
Having those signs along a freeway does nothing to promote an urban atmosphere.

[HOT ROD]

I'm not addressing ordinance issues at this point. It just seems to me that having those kind of electronic signs in a downtown area are representative of a true urban experience whether it's here or NYC. Do I think they should be everywhere? NO
Having those signs along a freeway does nothing to promote an urban atmosphere.

this

[catch22]

This afternoon


Chesapeake Arena by Matthew Bridges, on Flickr

Chesapeake Arena by Matthew Bridges, on Flickr

[Bellaboo]

Extremely nice looking, thanks for the pics.

[iMAX386]

To me it seems they could easily add a video board once this project is done, and and development where the old crosstown was picks up. I'm also bummed there's no video board, but I just look at it as an amenity on hold.

[skanaly]

The Thunder page just posted this on FB

[bombermwc]

Does anyone else think the metal capping looks out of place in real life? It didn't look as weird in the rendering. I'm not sure what else you would do since you can't really put stone up there, but it just looks out of place to me.

[metro]

Does anyone else think the metal capping looks out of place in real life? It didn't look as weird in the rendering. I'm not sure what else you would do since you can't really put stone up there, but it just looks out of place to me.

No