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BOK Center
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. The two current permanent tenants are the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL and the Tulsa Oilers of the Indoor Football League, both teams owned by Andy Scurto. The BOK Center is also 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 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 took place on August 30, 2008.
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 OVG and named for the Bank of Oklahoma, which purchased naming rights for $11 million.
Tulsa city officials asked César Pelli to create an arena that would be an architectural icon. To achieve this, Pelli employed cultural and architectural themes of the city, including Native American, art deco, and contemporary styles. He made heavy use of swirling circular elements in the exterior and interior designs of the building. A 103-foot (31 m), 600-foot (180 m) long glass facade featuring 1,600 350-pound (160 kg) panels wrap around the building in an escalating motion leaning at a five-degree angle. 33,000 stainless steel panels produced and installed by Zahner continue the upward spiraling path around the circumference of the structure. The interior follows the motion, with grand staircases that wrap around a portion of the building from the main lobby. In total, the building's design required 350,000 square feet (33,000 m2) of exterior stainless steel panels, 75,000 square feet (7,000 m2) of glass, 30,000 cubic yards (23,000 m3) of concrete, and 4,000 tons of structural steel.
The arena encompasses 565,000 square feet (52,500 m2) and reaches a maximum height of 134 feet (41 m). Inside, the bowl area's ceiling rises 120 feet (37 m) over the base floor and a 930-foot (280 m)-long HD ribbon screen wraps around the three-level seating area. There are 17,343 fixed seats, each ranging from 20 inches (51 cm) to 22 inches (56 cm) wide—an average width greater than the industry standard, including that of Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Actual capacity fluctuates with configuration patterns, and total seating can vary from 13,644 to 19,199—13,644 for partial-use concerts, 16,582 for arena football, 17,096 for hockey, 17,839 for basketball, and 19,199 for center stage concerts. The bowl area's second floor, an exclusive carpeted level with a complete bar, houses press areas and 37 luxury suites, each with 15 22-inch (56 cm) seats and furnished gathering and kitchen areas. In the main concourse, more than 130,000 square feet (12,000 m2) of terrazzo flooring has aggregate that contains 70% mother of pearl. Private funding exceeded original forecasts, and unexpected increases in revenue from corporate sponsorships, donations, and purchases of box seats and luxury boxes paid for an advanced light display for the glass wall that wraps around the front of the building and the scoreboard.
The BOK Center holds 37 public restrooms—12 men's restrooms, 16 women's restrooms, and 9 family restrooms—with 300 toilets and urinals. Dressing rooms with wooden lockers, hydrotherapy and workout rooms, a players lounge, locker rooms for game officials, and office space for coaches, trainers, and equipment managers are also located within the building. The arena's hanging scoreboard, is suspended above the arena floor and measures 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg) and 30 by 33 feet (9.1 m × 10.1 m), making use of four 8 by 14 feet (2.4 m × 4.3 m) HD screens, four 8 by 8 feet (2.4 m × 2.4 m) HD screens, a wrap-around 9-foot (2.7 m) HD screen, and another 3-foot (0.91 m) wrap-around HD screen. Designed by Forty Forty Agency and manufactured by Daktronics, the project received $3.6 million in private donations, with some funds going toward an advanced video recording system.
There are 14 concession outlets, seven of which belong to Tulsa-area restaurants that supplement typical arena food. Restaurant branches within the building are Billy's On the Square (American fast-casual), Mazzio's, Papa John's, Doc Popcorn, and The Dog House (hot dogs). General concessions serve Mexican food at Wholly Tacomoli, stuffed pretzels and hot dogs at Backstage, gourmet hot dogs at Frank's, chicken baskets and baked potatoes at Fuel and chicken sandwiches and veggie burgers at Roadie's Grill.
Nearly $1.5 million was allocated to artwork within the building in light of a city ordinance mandating that at least 1% of construction costs for any municipal project be used for public art. Tulsa's Arts Commission selected five artists out of nearly 300 applicants to decorate the interior of the building with the intention of capturing the spirit of the city and state. Of their pieces, the largest is a cloud-like cloth sculpture designed by Kendell Buster that weighs 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) and hangs above the main concourse. Four 22-foot (6.7 m) Native American medallions designed by Bill and Demos Glass decorate the main concourse floor, along with a series of 25 paintings of tallgrass prairie landscapes created by Mark Lewis that adorn a wall on the main lobby's third level. A 9 by 24 feet (2.7 m × 7.3 m) black-and-white painting of rearing horses created by Joe Andoe hangs on a wall near a concession stand on the north side of the building, and a light display created by Jenny Holzer is also within the arena.
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BOK Center
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. The two current permanent tenants are the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL and the Tulsa Oilers of the Indoor Football League, both teams owned by Andy Scurto. The BOK Center is also 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 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 took place on August 30, 2008.
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 OVG and named for the Bank of Oklahoma, which purchased naming rights for $11 million.
Tulsa city officials asked César Pelli to create an arena that would be an architectural icon. To achieve this, Pelli employed cultural and architectural themes of the city, including Native American, art deco, and contemporary styles. He made heavy use of swirling circular elements in the exterior and interior designs of the building. A 103-foot (31 m), 600-foot (180 m) long glass facade featuring 1,600 350-pound (160 kg) panels wrap around the building in an escalating motion leaning at a five-degree angle. 33,000 stainless steel panels produced and installed by Zahner continue the upward spiraling path around the circumference of the structure. The interior follows the motion, with grand staircases that wrap around a portion of the building from the main lobby. In total, the building's design required 350,000 square feet (33,000 m2) of exterior stainless steel panels, 75,000 square feet (7,000 m2) of glass, 30,000 cubic yards (23,000 m3) of concrete, and 4,000 tons of structural steel.
The arena encompasses 565,000 square feet (52,500 m2) and reaches a maximum height of 134 feet (41 m). Inside, the bowl area's ceiling rises 120 feet (37 m) over the base floor and a 930-foot (280 m)-long HD ribbon screen wraps around the three-level seating area. There are 17,343 fixed seats, each ranging from 20 inches (51 cm) to 22 inches (56 cm) wide—an average width greater than the industry standard, including that of Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Actual capacity fluctuates with configuration patterns, and total seating can vary from 13,644 to 19,199—13,644 for partial-use concerts, 16,582 for arena football, 17,096 for hockey, 17,839 for basketball, and 19,199 for center stage concerts. The bowl area's second floor, an exclusive carpeted level with a complete bar, houses press areas and 37 luxury suites, each with 15 22-inch (56 cm) seats and furnished gathering and kitchen areas. In the main concourse, more than 130,000 square feet (12,000 m2) of terrazzo flooring has aggregate that contains 70% mother of pearl. Private funding exceeded original forecasts, and unexpected increases in revenue from corporate sponsorships, donations, and purchases of box seats and luxury boxes paid for an advanced light display for the glass wall that wraps around the front of the building and the scoreboard.
The BOK Center holds 37 public restrooms—12 men's restrooms, 16 women's restrooms, and 9 family restrooms—with 300 toilets and urinals. Dressing rooms with wooden lockers, hydrotherapy and workout rooms, a players lounge, locker rooms for game officials, and office space for coaches, trainers, and equipment managers are also located within the building. The arena's hanging scoreboard, is suspended above the arena floor and measures 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg) and 30 by 33 feet (9.1 m × 10.1 m), making use of four 8 by 14 feet (2.4 m × 4.3 m) HD screens, four 8 by 8 feet (2.4 m × 2.4 m) HD screens, a wrap-around 9-foot (2.7 m) HD screen, and another 3-foot (0.91 m) wrap-around HD screen. Designed by Forty Forty Agency and manufactured by Daktronics, the project received $3.6 million in private donations, with some funds going toward an advanced video recording system.
There are 14 concession outlets, seven of which belong to Tulsa-area restaurants that supplement typical arena food. Restaurant branches within the building are Billy's On the Square (American fast-casual), Mazzio's, Papa John's, Doc Popcorn, and The Dog House (hot dogs). General concessions serve Mexican food at Wholly Tacomoli, stuffed pretzels and hot dogs at Backstage, gourmet hot dogs at Frank's, chicken baskets and baked potatoes at Fuel and chicken sandwiches and veggie burgers at Roadie's Grill.
Nearly $1.5 million was allocated to artwork within the building in light of a city ordinance mandating that at least 1% of construction costs for any municipal project be used for public art. Tulsa's Arts Commission selected five artists out of nearly 300 applicants to decorate the interior of the building with the intention of capturing the spirit of the city and state. Of their pieces, the largest is a cloud-like cloth sculpture designed by Kendell Buster that weighs 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) and hangs above the main concourse. Four 22-foot (6.7 m) Native American medallions designed by Bill and Demos Glass decorate the main concourse floor, along with a series of 25 paintings of tallgrass prairie landscapes created by Mark Lewis that adorn a wall on the main lobby's third level. A 9 by 24 feet (2.7 m × 7.3 m) black-and-white painting of rearing horses created by Joe Andoe hangs on a wall near a concession stand on the north side of the building, and a light display created by Jenny Holzer is also within the arena.
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