The city of Oklahoma City has announced the architectural team that will design the Thunder's new arena. A final draft is expected sometime next summer.

Six decades ago, before the first MAPS projects were approved by voters, the city hired world-renowned architect IM Pei to revitalize downtown Oklahoma City. You may recognize his work; He designed the pyramid in the Louvre in Paris.

The main target was an area called “Hell’s Half Acre.” It was a playground full of saloons and domino parlors. Using a 3D model designed by Pei as a guide, the city began demolishing buildings throughout downtown.

“An important part of the plan was the need for superblocks,” said Lisa Chronister, the city’s deputy planning director.

Chronister says the superblocks represent a new beginning for projects like the Myriad Convention Center and Botanical Gardens, the Bank First building and the Oklahoma Towers.

But to make room, the original Criterion theater, the historic Huckins Hotel, and OKC's version of the Venetian Palace, the Baum building where News 9 is now located, had to go. “When you tear down so much history, you lose the heart and soul of the city,” said journalist and author Steve Lackmeyer.

But city leaders went a step too far and fired dynamite at buildings that Pei never intended to raze. More than 500 buildings in downtown OKC were reduced to rubble.

Steve Lackmeyer, author and longtime journalist at The Oklahoman, has been covering OKC's renaissance for decades. He says the Pei plan called for more office space and more parking garages to accommodate an increasingly car-centric community. But amid the destruction, the city center turned into a ghost town. “If you came on the weekend, everything was dead,” said Lackmeyer.

“We lost a lot of old buildings that allowed small businesses to come here. And now everything is one big company or corporation,” added Judie Matthews, special collections librarian.

With the oil crisis of the 1980s, any remaining hope for the Pei plan faded, leaving the downtown it was supposed to save worse than before. “He was blamed for everything,” Lackmeyer said. “But the truth is, he did a lot of things right.”

Three decades after the Pei Plan began, voters went to the polls with a new vision to fill the deep scars in the inner city. Oklahoma City residents approved the first MAPS plan in 1993, paving the way for nine projects, including the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, the Cox Convention Center and the Civic Center Music Hall.

2024 City Council approval for the new arena

In 2024, the City Council voted last Tuesday to approve the contract with the team that will establish the new home of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“It's a big day on this journey and of course there are many more big days ahead,” said Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt. “This is one of those days where you can really see how far the city has come.”

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt says the city's future is bright and constantly changing. “It truly is a day for dreamers,” said Mayor Holt. “The next step is to really see what we can create.”

At the helm of this dream team are two firms, Manica Architecture and TVS, which are now tasked with designing the city's new arena.

“Of course, with the budget we have and the ambitions we have, we really have the opportunity to be on the cutting edge in every way,” Mayor Holt said.

The new $900 million arena will be designed using digital models and virtual reality. “You can literally walk through the building and see all the rooms and see how they interact with each other,” project manager David Todd said of the software. “

Project manager David Todd is confident the team will give the city something special. “It's really a good marriage between the two of them and they've done it before,” Todd said.

It's their previous work that helped seal the deal. The team, which specializes in sports and entertainment venues, designed several projects together, including the Chase Center in San Francisco, Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and a new stadium for the Chicago Bears. “It's really exciting that we can begin the design and that we'll be able to see what this building will look like very soon,” Todd said.

The arena will be at least 750,000 square feet, meet NBA specifications and requirements, and maximize team revenue to ensure the sustainability of Major League professional sports in Oklahoma City. The city will own and operate the new arena, which will be home to the NBA team Oklahoma City Thunder.

In a statement, Oklahoma City Thunder chairman Clay Bennett said:

“Oklahoma City is in the midst of exciting change and evolving in ways we have never seen before. The prospect of our new arena signals even greater milestones ahead and heralds continued success and success for our city and state.

Partnering with David Manica and his outstanding architectural team provides an exceptional opportunity for an innovative venue that promises to enhance Oklahoma City's sports, entertainment and cultural landscape. His visionary approach, combining cutting-edge design with functionality and aesthetics, has resulted in award-winning architectural achievements that promote community engagement.

Each of David Manica's projects has significantly transformed the geography and skyline of its location while significantly increasing the potential for an exceptional guest experience.

Personally, I am really looking forward to the creative process and to learning how our new arena will be thought and designed and to creating a concept that every citizen will be proud of.”

Todd says the design process will begin immediately and construction will begin in 2026. The arena will be built where Prairie Surf Studios, formerly the Cox Convention Center, is located. The existing building is expected to be demolished in 2025.

The Thunder will continue to play home games at Paycom Center until the new arena opens. The planned completion date is June 2028.