page_title: BOK Center
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: BOK Center / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: Inside the BOK Center
context_page_description: The 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. Designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar events, 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 SMG and named for the Bank of Oklahoma, which purchased naming rights for $11 million. 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.
context_section_description: 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 Chesapeake Energy Arena 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.
caption: The arena's main lobby. Terrazzo flooring features Native American artwork.
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