Prairie Surf Studios facts for kids

For the arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma, see Cox Business Center.

Quick facts for kids
Prairie Surf Studios
Construction

Former names	Myriad Convention Center (1972–2002) Cox Convention Center (2002–2021)
Address	1 Myriad Gardens Oklahoma City, OK 73102-9219
Location	Downtown Oklahoma City
Public transit	OKC Streetcar Century Center OKC Streetcar Arena
Owner	City of Oklahoma City
Operator	SMG
Capacity	Basketball: 13,846 Ice hockey: 13,399 Arena football: 13,231 Concerts: 15,634
Broke ground	1969
Opened	November 5, 1972
Construction cost	$23 million ($184 million in 2022 dollars )
Architect	Bozalis, Dickinson & Roloff
General contractor	H.A. Lott Inc.
Tenants
Oklahoma City Blazers (CHL) (1973–77) Oklahoma City Stars (CHL) (1978–82) Oklahoma City Cavalry (CBA) (1990–97) Oklahoma City Blazers (CHL) (1992–2002) Oklahoma Coyotes (RHI) (1995–96) Oklahoma Wranglers (AFL) (2000–01) Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (af2/AFL) (2009–10) Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) (2010–15) Bricktown Brawlers (IFL) (2011) Oklahoma City Blue (NBA G League) (2014–2019)

Prairie Surf Studios (originally Myriad Convention Center, later Cox Convention Center) is a film production complex located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was formerly a convention center and the home of the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League.

History
Arena information
Improvements
Events
- Concerts
- Other events
See also

History

City of Oklahoma City contracted with Prairie Surf Media to take over the convention center space for sound stages and production offices for their film company. On January 1, 2021, the building was renamed Prairie Surf Studios. The complex was formerly known as Cox Convention Center (2003-2020) and Myriad Convention Center (1972-2002).

The facility originally was the centerpiece of Oklahoma City's first major urban renewal project, the Pei Plan. In addition to the Convention Center, the project included the removal of blighted sections of the southern downtown area. The project also began the process for the design and construction of the Myriad Botanical Gardens, located directly west of the Myriad.

It is located adjacent to the Renaissance and Sheraton Hotels and borders Robinson Avenue, Sheridan Avenue, Reno Avenue, and EK Gaylord Blvd in Downtown. Immediately across the street to the south is the Chesapeake Energy Arena, the city's largest multipurpose arena, as well as the Courtyard Hotel.

Arena information

Currently, the facility is used as a closed production space for Prairie Surf Media production company, including sound stages, set design, and production offices.

Prior to 2021, the facility's primary use was that of large-scale convention and meeting space. It also hosted major concerts, conferences, and other large-scale events. The complex houses multiple meeting rooms, conference and convention space, dining halls, and a 15,000-seat multi-purpose arena. When it opened in 1972, it replaced the Oklahoma State Fair Arena as Oklahoma City's main indoor sports and concert venue. It would retain this status for 30 years until the opening of the Ford Center (now the Chesapeake Energy Arena) in 2002.

The arena was home to Oklahoma City Blazers hockey in the 1970s and then again from 1992 to 2002, Bricktown Brawlers Indoor Football League team, and Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League from 2014 to 2020; previously the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League used to play their games there before their relocation to Bakersfield. The Cox Convention Center has also hosted numerous state and college basketball events, including early rounds of the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament and also the 2007 and 2009 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament and UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard on September 16, 2009. The NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were held at the arena from 1986 to 1988.

Improvements

As the Myriad, the facility received a major renovation and expansion. The US$55.8 million project was designed by Glover Bode. Flintco, who served as the renovation's general contractor, began construction in June 1997. The work was completed in August 1999.

The MAPS Project also funded construction of the Chesapeake Energy Arena (located just south of the Cox Convention Center) and Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

As the Cox Convention Center, the facility received another upgrade, budgeted at $4.5 million, to accommodate the Edmonton Oilers' top farm team, the Oklahoma City Barons, which began play in fall 2010.

Events

Prior to the opening of the Ford Center, the Myriad was Oklahoma City's premier sports and entertainment venue.

WCW Thunder aired live from the Myriad Convention Center on February 12, 1998. The event can be viewed on the WWE Network.

Concerts

List of concerts

Neil Young – March 1, 1973, with The Stray Gators and March 17, 1991, with Crazy Horse and Sonic Youth
Elvis Presley & The TCB Band – July 2, 1973, July 8, 1975 and May 29, 1976
Jerry Lee Lewis – October 6, 1973
The Beach Boys – May 4, 1975, with Chicago and May 10, 1990, with America and Three Dog Night
Eric Clapton – August 22, 1975
The Osmonds – September 3, 1975 and December 18, 1985
KISS – March 4, 1976, November 15, 1977, March 23, 1983, August 25, 1990, with Slaughter and Winger, September 11, 1996 and April 4, 2000, with Ted Nugent and Skid Row
Fats Domino – March 6–7, 1976
The Who – March 15, 1976
Yes – August 10, 1976, October 3, 1977, June 5, 1979, with Donovan and The Dukes and March 14, 1984
Neil Diamond – October 10, 1976, February 17, 1987 and November 23, 2001
The Electric Light Orchestra – February 16, 1977, with Steve Hillage and July 3, 1978
Led Zeppelin – April 3, 1977, with Rick Derringer
The Eagles – July 6, 1977, with Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band, February 14, 1980, with The Amazing Rhythm Aces, October 4, 1994 and January 25–26, 1995
Alice Cooper – August 13, 1977 and April 14, 1979
Rod Stewart – November 30, 1977
Foghat – March 16, 1978
REO Speedwagon – July 8, 1978, with Rainbow and Ultra, October 3, 1979, January 4, 1981 and August 18–19, 1982, with John Mellencamp
Kansas – August 12, 1978, with Thin Lizzy and Crawler
Aerosmith – October 12, 1978, with Exile, February 15, 1986, February 25, 1988, with Dokken, July 14, 1990, June 4, 1993, with Jackyl, December 20, 1997, with The Talk Show and December 9, 2001, with The Cult
Styx – November 3, 1978, February 11, 1981 and May 13, 1983
Black Sabbath – November 20, 1978, with Van Halen
The Moody Blues – December 4, 1978, with Jimmie Spheeris and October 6, 1993
Boston – February 14, 1979, with Sammy Hagar
Billy Joel – March 19, 1979 and April 11, 1984
Kenny Rogers – April 3, 1979, with Dottie West and The Oak Ridge Boys, November 22, 1981, with David Frizzell and Shelly West and Gallagher and October 29, 1982, with Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers Band
Jethro Tull – April 25, 1979, with UK
Journey – July 14, 1979, with Thin Lizzy and December 4, 1986, with Glass Tiger
The Bee Gees – August 4, 1979, with The Sweet Inspirations
Kool & the Gang – October 19, 1979, with Cameo, The Bar-Kays and Mass Production
Rush – February 1, 1983, with Max Webster, April 25, 1981, March 4, 1983, with Golden Earring, May 1, 1986, with Blue Öyster Cult, January 23, 1988, with Tommy Shaw and May 25, 1992, with Mr. Big
Cheap Trick – April 8, 1980, with The Babys
Little River Band – June 24, 1980, with Pure Prairie League
Queen – August 8, 1980, with Dakota and August 27, 1982, with Billy Squier
Fleetwood Mac – August 22, 1980, with Rocky Burnette and September 26, 1982, with Men at Work
Jackson Browne – September 17, 1980 and August 23, 1983
Elton John – October 9, 1980, with Judie Tzuke, September 25, 1984, November 19, 1997 and October 30, 1999
The Cars – October 10, 1980, with The Motels
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – October 21, 1980
Conway Twitty – May 16, 1981 and May 15, 1982, with Ronnie McDowell
The Jacksons – July 10, 1981
Barry Manilow – September 21, 1981 and January 4, 1985
Loverboy – November 3, 1981
The J. Geils Band – April 18, 1982, with The Jon Butcher Axis
Genesis – August 15, 1982
Van Halen – September 21, 1982, with After the Fire, June 15–16, 1984, with The Velcros, July 16, 1986, with Bachman–Turner Overdrive, February 2, 1992, with The Baby Animals and October 3–4, 1995
Olivia Newton-John – September 22, 1982, with The Tom Scott Quartet
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – January 26, 1983, with Nick Lowe & His Noise To Go and November 4, 1991, with Chris Whitley
Stevie Nicks – September 17, 1983, with Joe Walsh and April 16, 1986, with Opus
The Police – November 20, 1983, with UB40
Duran Duran – April 9, 1984
Tina Turner – October 25, 1984, with Mr. Mister and October 25, 1985
Iron Maiden – March 2, 1985
Chicago – April 3, 1985
AC/DC – October 10, 1985, with Yngwie Malmsteen, February 7, 1991, with King's X and August 22, 1996
John Mellencamp – February 12, 1986
Heart – May 4, 1986 and September 11, 1987
Run–D.M.C. – August 1, 1986, with The Beastie Boys and LL Cool J
Bon Jovi – February 24, 1987 and April 11, 1989
Bad Company – June 7, 1987 and March 23, 1989
Mötley Crüe – June 30, 1987, with Whitesnake and January 3, 1990
The Beastie Boys – July 23, 1987, with Run–D.M.C.
Whitney Houston – November 4, 1987, with Kenny G and May 30, 1991, with After 7
Metallica – November 30, 1988, with Queensrÿche; January 24, 1992; and May 11, 1997, with Corrosion of Conformity
Poison – January 22, 1989, with Tesla
Cinderella – March 28, 1989, with Winger and The BulletBoys
Tesla – September 13, 1989
R.E.M. – October 28, 1989, with Pylon
Bad English – November 16, 1989
Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band – January 20, 1990, with Little Feat and Zachary Richard
Whitesnake – May 1, 1990
Janet Jackson – July 3, 1990, with Chuckii Booker
The Black Crowes – July 14, 1990 and February 10, 1993
ZZ Top – December 13, 1990, with The Jeff Healey Band and November 12, 1999, with Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
Don Dokken – January 30, 1991
Jane's Addiction – February 1, 2003
Scorpions – March 26, 1991, with Trixter
Hank Williams, Jr. – April 28, 1991, with Tanya Tucker and Mark Collie
Queensrÿche – April 30, 1991
Anthrax – October 10, 1991, with Public Enemy
Pantera – March 22, 1992 and March 20, 2001, with Nothingface
Bryan Adams – April 2, 1992
Guns N' Roses – April 6, 1992, with The Smashing Pumpkins
Megadeth – December 10, 1992, with Pantera and ... Tendencies
Lynyrd Skynyrd – October 5, 1995
The Smashing Pumpkins – November 23, 1996, with Garbage
Bush – May 6, 1997, with Veruca Salt
Garth Brooks – July 3–5, 1997
Prince & The New Power Generation – August 5, 1997
Page & Plant – June 4, 1998
Shania Twain – October 28, 1998, with Leahy
NSYNC – April 9, 1999, with Divine and Tatyana Ali
The Rolling Stones – April 10, 1999, with Jonny Lang
KoЯn – February 24, 2000, with Staind and Mindless Self Indulgence
The Red Hot Chili Peppers – April 29, 2000, with The Foo Fighters and March 12, 2007, with Gnarls Barkley
The Dixie Chicks – August 5, 2000
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill – October 15, 2000
Creed – October 18, 2000
KJYO KJ–103's Jingle Ball – December 17, 2000
The MTV Total Request Live Tour – August 2, 2001
Matchbox 20 – September 12, 2001, with Train
Slipknot & System of a Down – October 5, 2001, with No One, American Head Charge and Rammstein
Tool – October 23, 2001, with Tricky and November 16, 2002, with Meshuggah
The Family Values Tour – November 11, 2001
Vince Gill – December 2, 2001
Kid Rock & Twisted Brown Trucker – April 21, 2002
Music as a Weapon – April 8, 2003
John Mayer – November 14, 2003 and February 3, 2007
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra – November 21, 2004
Audioslave – October 14, 2005, with Seether and 30 Seconds to Mars
Nickelback – March 7, 2006, with Chevelle and Trapt and September 11, 2009, with Hinder, Papa Roach and Saving Abel
Brave Combo – December 31, 2006
KBRU 94.7's The Buzz Fest – April 13, 2007
The Newsboys – April 21, 2007, with Kutless and Stellar Kart
tobyMac & The Diverse City Band – April 20, 2007 and November 23, 2008, with Relient K, Family Force 5 and B. Reith
Three Days Grace – November 9, 2007, with Breaking Benjamin, Seether and Red
Ronnie Milsap – November 10, 2007
R. Kelly – December 6, 2007, with Keyshia Cole, J. Holiday and Ne-Yo
The New Year's Eve Freakout Fest – December 31, 2007, December 31, 2008, December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2010
The Gaither Homecoming – March 19, 2009
Lil Wayne – March 23, 2009, with T-Pain, Keri Hilson and Gym Class Heroes
The All-American Rejects – November 24, 2009, with Taking Back Sunday
Alegría – December 22–26, 2010
Leeland – July 2, 2011
American Idol Live! – July 19, 2011
BarlowGirl – November 25, 2011
The Barb Wire Dolls – April 13, 2012
Mindless Behavior – January 26, 2013
The Casting Crowns – October 23, 2014, with Mandisa and The Sidewalk Prophets

Other events

National Finals Rodeo (1979–1984)
1983 Billy Graham Oklahoma Crusade at the arena
NBA and NHL exhibition games
1989 U.S. Olympic Festival events
Boxing
Tennis
UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard – September 16, 2009
Indoor Track meets
American Bycycle Association: Grand Nationals
First and second-round games for the 1994 and 1998 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship (Bryce Drew's famous buzzer beater took place here during the 1998 tournament)
Talk show host Phil Donahue taped his show in the Great Hall of the Myriad for a week in 1981
Pro Wrestling (Mid-South Wrestling, WWF and WCW)
OKC Oilfield Expo
It hosted the beatification of Stanley Rother on September 23, 2017, the first native-born American to be proclaimed a martyr of the Catholic Church.

Events and Tenants
Preceded by SpiritBank Event Center (as the Tulsa 66ers)	Home of the Oklahoma City Blue 2014–2020	Succeeded by TBD
Preceded by Rose Garden Arena	Home of the Oklahoma Wranglers 2000–2001	Succeeded by Franchise folded
Preceded by Ford Center	Home of the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgs 2009–2010	Succeeded by Franchise folded
Preceded by Rexall Place (as the Edmonton Road Runners)	Home of the Oklahoma City Barons 2010–2015	Succeeded by Rabobank Arena (as the Bakersfield Condors)