Ford Center
The Ford Center is a multipurpose indoor sports/concert arena located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The arena opened on June 8, 2002; three years after construction began.
The 586,000 square-foot facility seats 19,675 on four seating levels and features 3,380 club seats, seven party suites and 49 private suites. Ford Center is owned by the city. The facility is the premier project of Oklahoma City's visionary capital improvement program (MAPS) to finance new and upgraded sports, entertainment, cultural and convention facilities with a one-cent sales tax.
Architecturally, Ford Center shares likeness with its sister stadium Ford Field, an indoor stadium in downtown Detroit that was home to Super Bowl XL in February 2006. The venue's name comes from a naming rights deal with the Ford Motor Company. It is located adjacent to I-40 Crosstown's interchange with Robinson Avenue in downtown Oklahoma City, just across the street from the Cox Convention Center.
Its primary tenant is the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets of the National Basketball Association. It is also home to the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League and the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of af2, but they occasionally play in the Cox Convention Center when Ford Center is not available. Ford Center is also used for other events, notably professional wrestling shows such as Unforgiven 2005, and touring concerts.
The Hornets have leased the facility for the 2005-06 season, and have exercised the option to extend for the 2006-07 season. Ford Center received a $200,000 renovation as part of the Hornets' lease.
