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The soon-to-be-demolished home of Prairie Surf Studios, originally known as the Cox Convention Center.

A new arena for the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team costing about $900 million is set for Oklahoma City in the years ahead, but major demolition is required first.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, Prairie Surf Studios will move out of the old Cox Convention Center, with demolition set to begin in March in preparation for the new arena. The building, which has stood between Sheridan and Reno arenas since 1972, will be demolished over six to nine months, News9 reported.

"That demolition is not going to happen overnight," David Todd, the program manager for the arena project, told News9.

"It's not going to be explosions," David Todd, the program manager for the arena project, told koco.com. "It will be a traditional mechanical demolition. There is going to be some issues in there just because of the nature of demolition. But also, the size of the building. It's a million square feet in there. There is a lot of underground in there because of the garage."

Todd said the demolition process will require some short street closures. In addition, part of Sheridan Avenue will close temporarily to allow crews to remove the sky bridge connecting the convention center to the Wyndham Garden Hotel, Todd said.

Construction on the new $900 million arena will begin once demolition is complete. The new arena is estimated to open in the summer of 2028, according to News9.

The Oklahoma City Council approved contracts with MANICA Architecture of Kansas City, Kan., as the design architect and TVS Architecture and Interior Design of Atlanta as the architect of record in October to design the new arena. The firms will work on plans during demolition to avoid construction delays.

Oklahoma City voters approved a penny sales tax in December 2023 to build a new, publicly owned arena. The building is expected to be at least 750,000 sq. ft., according to an Oklahoma City Council press release.

A demolition contractor hasn't been hired yet.

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