Oklahoma City Council Approves Agreement With Consulting Firm For New Arena

The Oklahoma City Council has approved an agreement with CAA ICON to provide professional consulting services for the city's new arena, according to a press release.

They said CAA ICON will provide services for both the design and construction of the arena.

“The construction of the arena is an extremely important four-year-long project for the City,” Director David Todd said. “It requires more manpower and specific expertise in professional event facility design and construction than what the City has.”

The press release said CAA ICON is a division of CAA Sports, a strategic management consulting firm for public and private sports, entertainment facility owners and operators, professional franchises, and leagues.

The company has offices in Denver, Charlotte, Manhattan and London.

Oklahoma City will select an architect for the arena by this fall.

The arena will be built on the City-owned site where Prairie Surf Media, formerly the Cox Convention Center, is located.

The existing building is expected to be demolished in 2025.

The new arena will be funded by a 72-month, one-cent sales tax starting when the MAPS 4 tax ends and will not increase the sales tax rate.

The arena will also be paid for with $70 million in MAPS 4 funding and $50 million from the Oklahoma City Thunder ownership group.

According to the press release, the $900 million arena will be at least 750,000 square feet and be built to:

1. Benefit the residents of Oklahoma City.
2. Meet NBA specifications and requirements.
3. Maximize team revenues, ensuring the sustainability of major league professional sports in Oklahoma City.

The City will own and be responsible for maintaining and operating the new arena, home to the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team.

The Thunder will continue to play home games at the Paycom Center until the new arena opens.

They said the target completion date is June 2028.