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 A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

located in

downtown Tulsa Downtown Tulsa is an area of approximately surrounded by an inner-dispersal loop created by Interstate 244, US 64, and US 75. The area serves as Tulsa's financial and business district, and is the focus of a large initiative to draw tourism, wh ...

, Oklahoma. The Cox Business Convention Center (CBCC) was originally named Tulsa Assembly Center. It was later renamed Maxwell Convention Center after former mayor James L. Maxwell. In February 2013,

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...

acquired the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...

to the facility, and renamed it the Cox Business Center, to sync with their Cox Business brand. In 2020, "Convention" was added to the name.

2018 CBCC's banquet hall renovation

The CBCC began renovations to convert the arena into a banquet hall in 2018, with a scheduled completion date of 2020. The CBCC's banquet hall was the largest in the state at 30,000 square feet, however, the venue's $55 million renovations replaced the center's arena with the Grand Hall, a second Banquet space with 41,470 square feet, and 38' ceilings. It also added a new South Plaza at the main entrance on the east side. This includes a three-story glass atrium, valet drop off, and over 4,000 square feet of pre-function event space. The venue now offers over 275,000 square feet of total rentable space. The renovation is part of Vision Tulsa, a community improvement initiative funded by a 0.6% increased sales tax in Tulsa County.

BOK Center

The Bank of Oklahoma Center, or BOK Center, which is owned by the City of Tulsa, is the sister venue to CBCC, with both being managed by ASM Global. Together, they comprise the ASM Global-Tulsa. The

BOK Center The BOK Center, or Bank of Oklahoma Center, is a 19,199-seat multi-purpose arena and a primary indoor sports and event venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. Designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar ev ...

is a 19,199-seat arena, and home to the ECHL

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 ...

. It also hosts major concerts and entertainment shows. It was designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar events. The BOK is the former home of the Tulsa Shock of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Nati ...

and the

Tulsa Talons 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

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. It cost $178 million in public funds to build, as well as $18 million in privately funded upgrades. The center was completed on August 30, 2008.

CBCC sport team history

The original Tulsa Roughnecks used the CBCC's building for indoor soccer in 1978. In November 2013, it became the home arena of 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 w ...

of the

Professional Arena Soccer League A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

. The team relocated to the Expo Square Pavilion in January 2015. The center was home to the

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 oper ...

ice hockey team, and to the

arena football team before the opening of the new BOK Center in 2008. It was a regular stop for

Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939) is a retired American professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a promoter in the Mid-South Un ...

' Mid-South Wrestling and its successor, the Universal Wrestling Federation, until shortly after the UWF was purchased by

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

in 1987. It hosted the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

men's basketball tournament title game in 1982 and from 1984 to 1987. It was also the home to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane basketball team until the program moved to the

Reynolds Center Donald W. Reynolds Center is an 8,355-seat multi-purpose arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Designed by HOK Sport (now known as Populous Co.), the arena opened in 1998 and is named for Donald W. Reynolds. Located on the University of Tulsa campus, it is ...

in 1998. The

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, the ...

(PBR) circuit hosted a

Built Ford Tough Series The Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) was the elite series tour name of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competitions from 2003 to 2017. The BFTS kicked off its tour on November 16, 2002 with the Mohegan Sun Invitational in Uncasville, Connecticu ...

event at the Convention Center between 2005 and 2008; since 2009, the event has been held at the BOK Center. From 2009 through 2012, the Convention Center was the home arena for 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 minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

. In 2013, the team returned 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 nearby Bixby. In March 2012, the now-defunct

Oklahoma Defenders The Oklahoma Defenders were a professional indoor football team and a charter member of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL). Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Defenders played their home games at the Cox Business Center. It was ...

of the

American Professional Football League The American Professional Football League (APFL) was an indoor football league that was founded in 2003. After the 2012 season, most of the teams left to start the Champions Professional Indoor Football League. The league consisted of profes ...

played their first game at the arena.

Musical history

The

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 20 ...

detailed the arena's history and previous musical guests in a 2018 feature article and noted: "Who graced the old arena? Everybody from A (Aerosmith) to Z (Zig Ziglar). Let's mention a few names: The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Bon Jovi, Louie Armstrong, Led Zeppelin, Charley Pride, Sonny & Cher, the Carpenters, B.B. King, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings, Cheech & Chong, Van Halen, and George Strait."

References

External links

* {{Coord, 36, 8, 56, N, 95, 59, 50, W, type:landmark, display=title Arena football venues Basketball venues in Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Tulsa, Oklahoma Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Indoor arenas in Oklahoma Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Indoor soccer venues in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor venues Defunct NBA G League venues Sports venues in Tulsa, Oklahoma Oklahoma City Blue Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball Tourist attractions in Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa 66ers Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) 1964 establishments in Oklahoma Sports venues completed in 1964