New Arena (formerly Prairie Surf)

[Pete]

There are increasing uses for recycled concrete as well, and this building has a lot of that.

[Laramie]

Going to miss the Myriad Convention Center's Great Arena. It was the first near big league arena post State Fair Arena that put OKC on the map to eventually
bring better events and entertainment to our city.

Hope they salvage the OK89 statue from the 1989 Olympic Festival and pay homage to some of our NBA greats with sculptured busts of Thunder players.
Would love to see busts honoring Nick Collison, Russell Westbrook, Scott Brooks, Mark Daigneault, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams
and our Thunder Superfan, Judy Love. All Thunder ownership who brought the NBA to OKC (Aubrey McClendon); also mascot, Rumble the Bison. CHL OKC Blazers Joe Burton.
Bart & Nadia Conner, also Mayors Mick Cornett and David Holt. If I missed others, please chime in . . .

As much as I dislike Durant, he was here for us during the tornados. Pay our appreciation while many of these people are still alive.

[Urbanized]

Haha I’ll pass on KD, thanks

[Mr. XXL]

Hope they salvage the OK89 statue from the 1989 Olympic Festival

If you're talking about the statue of the runners carrying the olympic torch, it's across the street outside of Paycom center.

[Laramie]

If you're talking about the statue of the runners carrying the olympic torch, it's across the street outside of Paycom center.

Yes! Thank you for the info.

[HOT ROD]

dont forget about the new Mr OKC Thunder, LUUUUUGENTS DOOORRRT!

[David]

Construction firms hired for OKC new arena

On Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Council approved a contract with two construction companies, Flintco and Mortenson, who will partner to build the OKC new arena, which will be home to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Hiring a construction management team is a major milestone for the new arena project and will allow the City, operators, and architects to work collaboratively with the contractors during design,” David Todd, arena program manager, said. “The Flintco Mortenson team will be an excellent addition to this project, bringing together local and national experience building some of the most iconic venues in sports.”

The City will own and be responsible for maintaining and operating the new arena.

"As a century-old company founded in Oklahoma, we are deeply honored to build the new NBA arena with Mortenson. The Thunder is Flintco’s hometown team!” Dave Kollmann, Flintco central region president, said. “Having built the current arena over 20 years ago, we understand the significance of this project for our city and its future, knowing hundreds of construction jobs will be created to boost our economy. Our employees live, work and play here – and we take great pride in bringing our expertise to a facility that will inspire generations of fans, athletes, and Oklahomans.”

The building will be a first-class, state-of-the-art NBA arena and entertainment venue that meets and/or exceeds NBA specifications and requirements. The area’s budget is at least $900 million and will be at least 750,000 square feet.

"Mortenson, in partnership with Flintco, is thrilled and honored to be selected by Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma City Thunder as the construction management team for their new state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena," Kevin Dalager, vice president of operations for Mortenson’s Sports + Entertainment team, said. "This project is a tremendous opportunity to create a landmark venue that will serve as a hub for community engagement and sporting excellence for generations to come."

Next Steps

The arena will be built on the City-owned site where Prairie Surf Studios, formerly the Cox Convention Center, is located. The existing building will be demolished in spring 2025. Design is underway and construction will start in 2026, with completion scheduled for 2028.

...

[Pete]

Reminder the revised, conservative budget is $1.1 billion, not $900 million:

$976 MM most recent sales tax estimate by City (always low)
$75 MM MAPS 4
$50 MM Owners

$1.101 billion.

[bison34]

Reminder the revised, conservative budget is $1.1 billion, not $900 million:

$976 MM most recent sales tax estimate by City (always low)
$75 MM MAPS 4
$50 MM Owners

$1.101 billion.

Yep! Will be amazing to see. But you dont want to overestimate the amount you will have to play with. It is just as bad as underestimating (see the Zoo).

I like them saying it will cost around $900mm, so when it does go over (because it will), there are safeguards in place.

[BoulderSooner]

Yep! Will be amazing to see. But you dont want to overestimate the amount you will have to play with. It is just as bad as underestimating (see the Zoo).

I like them saying it will cost around $900mm, so when it does go over (because it will), there are safeguards in place.

they have always said "at least 900"

[Pete]

they have always said "at least 900"

That was the wording from the original contract.

To keep repeating it -- even though the budget has been officially revised -- is lazy reporting.

And the City keeps repeating the low, old number because they never, ever create new forecasts and then report against the original budget. I've raised this issue repeatedly as it's completely irresponsible and I can't believe this is allowed. I have never seen financial reporting done this way, and for good reason.