After breaking ground in the Spring of 1999, construction began on the new downtown arena funded by MAPS, Oklahoma City's visionary capital improvement program to finance new and upgraded sports, entertainment, cultural and convention facilities with a one-cent sales tax. The 581,000-square-foot facility, which can seat more than 20,000, was designed to meet National Hockey League requirements. The state-of-the art venue, which was completed at a cost of $89.2 million, opened its doors on June 8, 2002. The Grand Opening Celebration included a dedication ceremony led by former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, as well as a special “Open House” event for the entire community.
Ford Center is owned by the SMG, which is headquartered in Philadelphia and provides facility services to over 200 public assembly facilities including arenas, stadiums, performing arts theatres and convention and trade centers. With facilities across America, and in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, Europe and the Middle East, SMG controls over 1.5 million entertainment seats worldwide and manages more than ten million feet of exhibition space.
Ford Center is a 586,000 square foot facility featuring four seating levels and a press level with a maximum seating capacity of 20,817 for a concert set in-the-round. Located between the 6,300 Oklahoman Level (or lower level) seats and the 7,700 Oklahoman Bedlam Level (or upper level) seats, is the Cox Communications Club and Suite Level which features 3,380 club seats, as well as 7 Oklahoma State Park Suites and 48 private suites.
Since opening its doors, Ford Center has hosted almost 500 events with attendance of more than 4.9 million. Home to the Oklahoma City Blazers (Central Hockey League) and the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (arenafootball2), the Ford Center also served as the temporary home of the New Orleans Hornets (2005-06 and 2006-07 NBA Seasons) and plays host to major concerts, family events, ice shows, sporting events and the latest in show stopping entertainment.
During its first five years, Ford Center has hosted a number of sold-out events, including concert performances by the Britney Spears, Cher, George Strait, Toby Keith, the Dixie Chicks, Kenny Chesney, Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill and Tool. Not surprisingly, Ford Center made Pollstar’s list of Top Ten Concert Venues for ticket sales in North America during its first year of operation. Ford Center again made the Pollstar charts when it ranked 14th in the United States and 22nd worldwide in total concert ticket sales for the first quarter of 2006. The top 5 grossing shows to be held at the Ford Center featured performances by Paul McCartney, Elton John and Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles.
Major sporting events have included both NHL and NBA preseason games, as well as the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Midwest Regional First and Second Rounds in 2003 and 2005, and the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Wrestling Championships in 2006. The Ford Center and neighboring Cox Business Services Convention Center also hosted Oklahoma City’s first Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships in 2007. The Big 12 has since announced that the Basketball Championships will return to Oklahoma City in 2009. Meanwhile, Ford Center is also scheduled to host the NCAA Women’s Basketball Regional in both 2008 and 2009.
A number of the other major events hosted by the Ford Center have also been televised nationally and/or internationally, including the All-College Basketball Classic, WWE SmackDown! and WWE RAW, the Mission Oklahoma City with Billy Graham Crusade, the And 1 Mix Tape Tour, the McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game and several PBR and IPRA events including Bullnanza, the International Finals Rodeo and the first annual PBR $1,000,000 Challenger Tour Championships.
Family shows and other special events have had a significant presence in the Ford Center’s schedule over the last five years. In fact, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey was the first event to play the Ford Center in June of 2002. The Greatest Show on Earth then returned for a series of June performances in both 2004 and 2006. But, it was not the only “circus” to make repeat appearances. Cirque du Soleil DELIRIUM delivered astounding performances in both 2006 and 2007. The Harlem Globetrotters, Monster Jam, Sesame Street Live, Lipizzaner Stallions and The Wiggles have also made multiple appearances on the Ford Center calendar, as have holiday performances by Mannheim Steamroller, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the Gaither Homecoming.
Source: Ford Center
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| Ford Center Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 6.5 |
| Concessions | | 6.5 |
| Scoreboard | | 7 |
| Ushers | | 6.5 |
| Fan Support | | 9 |
| Location | | 8.5 |
| Banners/History | | 4 |
| Entertainment | | 8 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 5 |
| Bonus: Loud City | | 2 |
| Bonus: Bricktown | | 2 |
| Bonus: Invocation | | 2 |
| Total Score |  | 67 |
April 14, 2006 - The horrific devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 did huge damage to the City of New Orleans. Not only was much of the population uprooted, but significant damage was done to the city's two sports venues, the Louisiana Superdome and the New Orleans Arena. For the New Orleans Hornets it was clear that they would not be able to start the season in their familiar digs, so it was up to the franchise to search for a new home. The solution? Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with a state of the art new arena suitable for a NBA franchise, a sports minded population base eager to embrace professional sports, and for the NBA, a new market to test the waters. After one season playing in Oklahoma City, it is pretty much accepted that the NO/OKC Hornets have been a smashing success here... packed houses, a buzz on the streets, and putting the city and the Ford Center into the national consciousness as a major sports city.
Getting to the Venue
Finding the Ford Center is a snap - it can be seen right off of the I-40 and is about a mile west of I-35 which runs N-S. A parking ramp is adjacent to the arena, and plenty of surface parking can be found in any direction with short walking distance to the arena. Parking fees can be found for $5-$6 just a block away, so that is pretty reasonable. A quaint trolley runs through the downtown core and Bricktown and stops right at the arena so that is also a cool way to ride to the game. Meters aren't monitored after 6pm so if you can snag a spot then your parking is free.
Outside the Venue
The Ford Center is located on the south side of downtown Oklahoma City, immediately adjacent to the Cox Convention Center, which used to be their downtown arena, before that structure was refurbished for convention space. The downtown area is clean, bright and safe, and office and hotel buildings are abundant off to the north. Right next door is a brand new Courtyard by Marriott Hotel which is really striking. But the best area here in downtown OKC is Bricktown, just two blocks east of the Ford Center. The Bricktown neighborhood is a collection of refurbished warehouses mixed with new construction, and plenty of nightclubs, restaurants, patio cafes, retail stores, a new Bass Pro superstore, and the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, a splendid 13,000 seat minor league baseball venue. A canal winds through this neighborhood, sunk below street grade and offering water taxis and paddleboat rides. All connected via old time brick paved streets. An awesome party and tourist destination!
Arena Exterior and Concourses
The exterior of the Ford Center is of a yellow brick façade with two major entrances facing West Reno Street. A statue sits near the west entry celebrating the 1989 Olympic Festival that took place here in Oklahoma City. Once inside the venue one either heads straightforward up the stairs/escalators to the club/upper deck or swings a left/right depending on entry to the arena’s main concourse. Ads from the Ford Motor Company adorn the walls of the two main entry ways.
On game day West Reno is closed off to traffic and serves as a place for fans entertainment with live music, refreshments and a bookmobile for the kids, of all things. The scene is an exuberant and pleasant one.
The signature feature of both upper and lower concourses are a series of murals depicting many of the things that made Oklahoma famous. Pioneer wagons, cowboy hats and so much more. These murals which dot the floor of the lower concourse and emblazon the ceiling of the upper level, greatly enhancing the look of what are otherwise somewhat dark and bland concourses.
Seating Bowl
The bowl is split into two levels sandwiching a club/suite level with total seating capacity at just under twenty thousand. Hovering above center court is a four sided video board with room for the score and basic stats of players currently on the court. The board also has an analog clock on each of the four sides, a nice touch.
An LED board surrounds the seating bowl and enlivens the look of the arena. Out of town scores are occasionally shown above the center court portion of the ribbon board.
Another detail to mention is the relatively low ceiling in the seating bowl. Unlike so many other places with an arched or domed ceiling, here in OKC it is flat and possibly is a reason why the venue’s decibel meter can reach ear splitting levels.
Concessions
A lot of attention was given to make an interesting and varied concession menu happen here at the Ford Center. To begin with, the Jackson Square stand offers a New Orleans style fare including Po Boys and Gumbo. On the upper deck are two grills commemorating the big college programs – Sooner Grille and Cowboys Grill (Oklahoma and Oklahoma State Universities). The grills offer various half pound burgers including the signature Onion Burger. A Potato World stand offers baked potatoes with all the trimmings and we even found fresh made candied apples. Add all this to the usual fare and it is all good stuff. On the lower level there is an exclusive restaurant named the York Ice House with sit down dining, which is available to season ticket holders only.
No true main “team store” but there are a pair of smaller shops on either sideline in the lower level. Can’t find what you want there? Trust us there are plenty of other merchandise stands all throughout the facility.
Premium Seating
The club level here offers an upscale concourse and two premium restaurants, the Sunset Bistro and the Victory Buffet. There is an additional restaurant located on the main concourse called the York Icehouse, which is open to any season ticket holder. Suites and seven larger "state park suites" are also located along the 200 club level.
Banners/Retired Numbers
The franchise's history spans three cities - Charlotte, New Orleans and Oklahoma City, so it would make sense to say that it would be a tall order to carry the team's accomplishments and player icons into this new venue. Gratefully the OKC front office has not manufactured some dumb accomplishment to hang in the rafters. The only banners up in the ceiling pay tribute to "Loud City", exhorting the fans in the upper deck to be noisy and crazy.
Slam Dunks, Assists, Fouls...
Slam Dunk - To "Jackson Square", the concession stand named for the landmark location in New Orleans. Here they are offering fare from the Big Easy such as Shrimp Po-Boys, Gumbo and Cajun Fries. A great tribute to the city that shares this franchise!
Assist - to the fans in the balcony, which is dubbed “Loud City” and they mean it! Thundersticks are passed out to seat holders up there and that just adds to the “Bedlam”. No wonder the upper deck is also named “Bedlam Level”.
Foul - We took advantage of a promotion which gave us a Love’s gas station $5 gas card, which we collected at the team store. When we tried to redeem the card at the pumps, we found it wasn’t activated. Boo!
Slam Dunk - to the fans of OK City in general. When this team escaped the horrors of New Orleans there was absolutely no idea as to how the city would react and how many fans would come to see the NBA in a predominantly college sports town. Boy oh boy they blew away all expectations! Over half of the Ford Center’s 35 games have been sellouts and the venues is being highly touted as being one of the NBA’s loudest venues right up there with Arco Arena in Sactown. The scene here is eerily reminiscent of, dare we say it – Charlotte 1988?
Assist - to the in game entertainment staff in the Ford Center. There were some innovative stunts and games played during breaks in the action. A beach volleyball game between sections, using an actual decibel meter to measure crowd noise.
Assist - to the profuse thanks by the team to the fans, the last home game was dubbed “the FANale” and featured several thank yous from players and manangement on the scoreboard. Also the team wore a special ”OKLAHOMA CITY” jerseys on this night(which Peter has one of) as a thanks for everything gesture.
Foul - to the USRT karma. In what was basically an elimination game for the Hornets and Jazz the Hornets came up a point short as Utah came up with a some critical offensive rebounds resulting in their game winning points for a 105-104 final.
Summary
Make no mistake - Oklahoma City has been a wonderful caretaker for this franchise. Despite not making the playoffs, eager fans have snapped up tickets, and have created a real love affair with this team. The question now becomes - does owner George Shinn and the NBA make this move a permanent one, or does the team return to a city that is still minus 75% of its population? The Hornets will play 35 home games in OKC in 2006-07; from there the league commissioner says that the plan is to return the franchise to New Orleans and honor the lease there. But the leaders in Oklahoma City are saying "not so fast" and argue that their city is very much deserving of an NBA franchise, and clearly has their sites on keeping the Hornets for good. When the suggestion was brought up that sturggling teams in Portland or Seattle might make ideal relocation candidates to OKC, a Hornets front office official replied "I don't think Oklahoma City can support two franchises."
Nonetheless, we give props to Oklahomans for their warmth and hospitality, for a pretty good venue in the Ford Center, and for creating a special environment to enjoy NBA hoops. Attending a Hornets game in OKC is a special and enjoyable experience... we wish you folks the best of luck!
