The Expo Square Pavilion, sometimes called simply The Pavilion, and formerly known as the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion, is a 6,311-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

, in the

Tulsa State Fair The Tulsa State Fair is an annual event held at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The modern fair takes place in late September (occasionally beginning early October) and lasts 11 days. History The local fair officially began in the late 1890s as a ...

grounds in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. It was built in 1932; the architect was Leland I Shumway. The building is in the PWA Art Deco style, built of blond brick with

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

ornamentation, and is considered one of the prime examples of Art Deco architecture in Tulsa. It was home to the

Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of T ...

men's basketball team from 1947 until the opening of the

Tulsa Convention Center The Cox Business Convention Center (formerly the Tulsa Assembly Center, Tulsa Convention Center, and Maxwell Convention Center) is a 310,625 square foot convention center located in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Cox Business Convention Center (C ...

in 1964, the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

team in the 1983–84 season and the

Tulsa 66ers Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

, until they moved to the

SpiritBank Event Center The SpiritBank Event Center was a 4,500 seat multi-purpose arena and convention center in Bixby, Oklahoma built at a cost of $50 million. The center contains . of arena floor space and . of banquet rooms/ballrooms. History Since opening in 2008 i ...

in 2008. The

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

of the NASL used it for

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

until the league's demise in 1984. The Tulsa Crude of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

played there in 2001 and 2002 before folding. It was home to the

Tulsa Revolution The Tulsa Revolution was a professional indoor soccer team from Tulsa, Oklahoma, which began play in the Professional Arena Soccer League with the 2013–14 season then segued to the Major Arena Soccer League for the 2014–15 season. The team ...

MASL The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

for the latter portion of the 2014–15 season, the team's last. It was also used as the venue for ''

UFC 4 ''UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on December 16, 1994, at the Expo Center Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. The event was seen live on pay-per-vi ...

'', which was held on December 16, 1994. Currently, it is used for numerous events throughout the year, including the annual Akdar

Shrine Circus The Shrine Circus is a circus founded in Detroit, Michigan on Woodward Avenue in 1906. It travels to roughly 120 cities per year in the United States and a separate unit travels to about 40 in Canada. It is affiliated with the former Ancient Ara ...

References

External links

Tulsa Expo Square website - The Pavilion
Dead link, February 13, 2022.
Tulsa Preservation Commission - Fairgrounds Pavilion
Indoor arenas in Oklahoma Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States p Defunct indoor soccer venues in the United States Buildings and structures in Tulsa, Oklahoma Sports venues in Tulsa, Oklahoma Economy of Tulsa, Oklahoma Defunct NBA G League venues Mixed martial arts venues in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor venues Tulsa 66ers Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) 1932 establishments in Oklahoma Sports venues completed in 1932 Tulsa State Fair {{Oklahoma-stadium-stub