The new BOK Center, in addition to attracting entertainment and concerts, will provide a new venue for Oklahoman sports teams. The AF2 Tulsa Talons and the CHL Tulsa Oilers will play in the new arena, and the NBA will have a preseason game there in October.
The Tulsa Talons and Oilers are preparing to move to a new home starting Sept. 1 when the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa opens for business.
The teams currently share a home at the Tulsa Convention Center, which is next door to the new BOK Center.
The Talons, who won the Arena Football 2 championship last year, will finish their 2008 season at the Convention Center in July and will begin their 2009 season in the BOK Center.
The Oilers, from the Central Hockey League, finished their 16th and final season at the Convention Center in March and will begin the 2008-2009 season at the new arena.
The $178 million BOK Center was designed to host concerts, sporting events and other world-class entertainment, such as the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus.
The new arena can seat 18,041 people, as opposed to the Convention Center, which seats 7,111. This upgrade should provide more revenue from ticket sales.
The Oilers signed a 10-year contract to play in the arena with a guarantee of a minimum $3.2 million in rent over the period, according to the Tulsa World.
“This contract will further ensure the success of this new venue and provide a world-class facility where Tulsans can enjoy their local professional hockey team,” Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor said.
Oilers owner Jeff Lund said he hopes the move to the new arena will boost fan turnout and give the team an advantage in the recruiting field.
The Talons signed a 5-year contract that will begin in 2009. Both the Talons and Oilers contracts stipulate they will pay $10,000 to $15,000 per game in rental fees, depending on what day of the week the game is played.
This is a large increase in rent for the Oilers, who were paying $1,500 to $2,500 per game at the Convention Center.
The teams will receive $22,500 per game in revenues from ticket sales from the club seats, loge boxes and suites.
Rob Ross, managing partner of the Talons, said he expects the new arena will draw more attention to the team and increase ticket and merchandise sales. Ross also said the big games could attract as many as 6,800 people to the new arena.
The BOK Center is owned by the city of Tulsa and is part of Vision 2025, a project to stimulate economic and community infrastructure in the future. The city hired SMG, a company specializing in venue management, marketing and development, to manage the facility.
The new arena will be equipped with a $3 million state-of-the-art scoreboard system that will allow fans to view the action up close. The arena will also be provided with a network of video-monitoring systems set up around the arena so fans can witness the event from concession areas.
The first event to be held in the arena is a Kenny Chesney and LeAnn Rimes concert on Sept. 10. Other big names scheduled to perform in 2008 include Neil Diamond, Celine Dion and Carrie Underwood.
The Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic will face off in the first sporting event held in the arena Monday Oct. 13, for a preseason game.
The University of Tulsa will compete against the University of Oklahoma in the first men’s college basketball game at the BOK Center on Dec. 7.
The 2010 Conference USA men’s basketball championship will also be held in the BOK Center. The 2009 championship will be played in Memphis for the fifth straight year before moving to Tulsa.
Loading ...
All Articles