Ford Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the rehabilitation facility in California, sometimes referred to in the media as the "Ford Center," see Betty Ford Center.
| Ford Center | |
|---|---|
| "Loud City" | |
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| Location | W Reno Ave & S Robinson Ave Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102 |
| Broke ground | 1999 |
| Opened | June 8, 2002 |
| Owner | City of Oklahoma City |
| Operator | Spectacor Management Group |
| Construction cost | $89 million |
| Architect | The Benham Companies |
| Tenants | New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (NBA) (2005-2007) Oklahoma City Blazers (CHL) (2002-present) Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (af2) (2004-present) |
| Capacity | 19,599 (Basketball) 18,036 (Hockey) 17,868 (Football) 20,817 (Concerts) |
The Ford Center is a multipurpose indoor sports/concert arena located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The arena opened on June 8, 2002; three years after construction began.
The 586,000-square-foot (54,400 m²) facility seats 19,675 on four seating levels and features 3,380 club seats, seven party suites and 49 private suites. Ford Center is owned by the city. The facility is the premier project of Oklahoma City's capital improvement program (MAPS) to finance new and upgraded sports, entertainment, cultural and convention facilities with a one percent (1%) sales tax.
Architecturally, Ford Center shares likeness with its brother stadium Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The venue's name comes from a naming rights deal with the Oklahoma Ford Dealers. It is located adjacent to Interstate 40 Crosstown's interchange with Robinson Avenue in downtown Oklahoma City, which is across the street from the Cox Convention Center.
It is a permanent home to the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League and a part-time home of the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of af2. Ford Center is also used for other events, notably professional wrestling shows such as Unforgiven 2005, RAW and Smackdown!. There are current plans to host RAW on June 30th, 2008, and touring concerts. The arena hosted the 2007 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time in 2007. The Ford Center will host the 2009 Big 12 Conference men's basketball tournament.
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[edit] NO Hornets
After the city of New Orleans was devastated by Katrina in 2005, the New Orleans Hornets reached a deal with the city of Oklahoma City for the franchise to temporarily move to the Ford Center, while the New Orleans Arena and the city of New Orleans recovered from the aftermath of the hurricane. The New Orleans Hornets leased the facility for the 2005-06 season and exercised the option to extend for the 2006-07 season. Ford Center received a $200,000 renovation as part of the Hornets' lease.
Attendance for Hornets games at the Ford Center averaged 18,716 in 2005-06 (36 games) and 17,951 (35 games) in 2006-2007.
The Hornets played their last game at Ford Center, a preseason game for the 2007-08 season, on October 9, 2007.
[edit] Arena Improvements
On March 7th, 2008, a 121.6 million dollar bond was passed to add-on to the Ford Center and to build a practice facility in the event that an NBA team relocates to Oklahoma City. The most possible tenant is the Seattle Supersonics but Seattle is legally fighting Oklahoma native team owner Clayton Bennett's relocation plans if the city failed to give him a new sports facility. The current naming rights deal will apply to whichever tenant occupies the arena in the future. Planned upgrades include restaurants, clubs, suites and new locker rooms. If no team relocates to Oklahoma City before June 2009, the sales tax will run out after 12 months and the practice facility and any NBA-specific improvements to the Ford Center will not be built. [1]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by New Orleans Arena |
Home of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets 2005 – 2007 |
Succeeded by New Orleans Arena |
| Preceded by Cox Convention Center |
Home of the Oklahoma City Blazers 2002 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 2004 – present |
Succeeded by current |
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