City Council members approved a multi-million dollar demolition project of the building that used to be Prairie Surf Studios and the Cox Convention Center.
The council received four bids for the project with the lowest bid coming in at $11.5 million from the demolition company Midwest Wrecking.
“We’ve removed nostalgic items from the arena like a medallion that was embedded in the floor, light fixtures with section numbers on them, flags and some of the seating,” David Todd, the arena program manager, said. “The center will be torn down wall by wall over the next few months.”
The demolition is making way for the new Thunder arena downtown that must be opened by June of 2030.
With the new arena, the Thunder are committed to staying in Oklahoma City for a 25-year contract.
According to a news release, demolition of the former Cox Convention Center will begin in the next few weeks and is expected to take 6-8 months.
In December 2023, Oklahoma City voters overwhelmingly approved a penny sales tax to build a new, publicly owned arena.
The new arena will be funded by a 72-month, one-cent sales tax starting when the MAPS 4 tax ends.
