BOK Center
Channel: the aleatoric learning channel
Date: 2021-11-28

The only current permanent tenant is the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL. The BOK Center was the former home of the Tulsa Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association and the Tulsa Talons of the Arena Football League. Tulsa city officials asked César Pelli to create an arena that would be an architectural icon. The arena's hanging scoreboard, considered one of the most advanced in the country, is suspended above the arena floor and measures 50,000 pounds and 30 by 33 feet, making use of four 8 by 14 feet HD screens, four 8 by 8 feet HD screens, a wrap-around 9-foot HD screen, and another 3-foot wrap-around HD screen. The city of Tulsa owns the arena but has a five-year management contract worth $950,000 with SMG property management, the largest arena manager in the world. Although voters rejected tax packages for arenas in 1997 and 2000, a third plan for a downtown arena was the brainchild of the conference, along with dozens of other projects throughout Tulsa County, including a renovation of the nearby Tulsa Convention Center costing $42 million. The BOK Center is home to one minor league professional sports team, the Tulsa Oilers ice hockey team of the ECHL. The arena was formerly the home of the Tulsa Talons Arena Football League team from 2009 to 2011. The stop in Tulsa was McCartney's first in Oklahoma since 2002 and was the only arena show of his 2009 Summer Tour. City officials estimate there are 12,000 parking spaces within a 10-minute walk of the BOK Center with a city-owned parking garage diagonally across the street from the arena. During major events, Tulsa Transit runs free shuttle bus services to and from the arena and downtown Tulsa. Through a program instituted by the Tulsa Convention and Visitors Bureau, 50 guides are stationed within dozens of blocks of the arena during major events to help with parking and provide general information about shuttle services, events, and downtown Tulsa.