Full name | Bank of Oklahoma Center |
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Location | 200 South Denver Avenue West Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
Owner | City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Public Facilities Authority |
Operator | SMG |
Capacity | Central Stage: 19,199 Basketball: 17,839 Hockey: 17,096 Arena Football: 16,582 End Stage: 13,644 |
Construction | |
Broke ground | August 31, 2005 |
Opened | August 30, 2008 |
Construction cost |
$196 Million ($218 million in 2014 dollars) |
Architect |
Pelli Clarke Pelli MATRIX Architects, Inc. Odell Associates |
Structural engineer | Thornton Tomasetti |
Services engineer | Lancorp Engineering |
General contractor | Tulsa Vision Builders, a joint venture between Flintco Inc. and Manhattan Construction Company |
Tenants | |
Tulsa Oilers (ECHL) (2008–present) Tulsa Talons (AFL) (2009–2011) Tulsa Shock (WNBA) (2010–2015) |
The BOK Center, or Bank of Oklahoma Center, is a 19,199-seat multi-purpose arena and a primary indoor sports and event venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. Designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar events, the facility was built at a cost of $178 million in public funds and $18 million in privately funded upgrades. Ground was broken on August 31, 2005 and a ribbon-cutting ceremony involving Tulsa musicians Garth Brooks and Hanson took place on August 30, 2008. The arena's schedule of concerts and other events began on August 31 with a community choir hosted by Sam Harris.
Designed by César Pelli, the architect of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, the BOK Center is the flagship project of Tulsa County's Vision 2025 long-range development initiative. Local firm, Matrix Architects Engineers Planners, Inc, is the architect and engineer of record. The arena is managed and operated by SMG and named for the Bank of Oklahoma, which purchased naming rights for $11 million. The only current permanent tenant is the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL.The BOK Center was the former home of the Tulsa Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association and the Tulsa Talons of the Arena Football League. The facility will also host NBA preseason games and college basketball matchups on a regular basis and seek to attract national and regional sporting tournaments.