Prairie Surf Studios (originally Myriad Convention Center and later Cox Convention Center) is a

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

complex located in downtown

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, Oklahoma. It was formerly a convention center and the home of several minor league teams.

History

The facility, known as the Myriad Convention Center, originally was the centerpiece of Oklahoma City's first major

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

project, the

Pei Plan The Pei Plan was an urban redevelopment initiative designed for downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, in the 1960s and 1970s. It is the informal name for two related commissions of noted architect and urban planner I. M. Pei — namel ...

. 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 The Myriad Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden and interactive urban park located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the Unit ...

, located directly west of the Myriad. 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. It was later named Cox Convention Center via sponsorship with telecommunications company

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

. When it opened in 1972, it replaced the

Oklahoma State Fair Arena Jim Norick Arena (formerly Fairgrounds Arena) is a large multi-purpose arena located at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Completed in 1965 at a cost of $2.4 million, it was the largest indoor facility in Oklahoma City until the constru ...

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

Paycom Center Paycom Center (originally known as the Ford Center from 2002 to 2010, Oklahoma City Arena from 2010 to 2011, and Chesapeake Energy Arena from 2011 to 2021) is an arena located in Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It opened in 200 ...

) in 2002 directly across the street. As the Cox Convention Center, the facility received another upgrade, budgeted at $4.5 million, to accommodate the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

' top farm team, the

Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11 AHL season, 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. H ...

, which began play in the 2010–11 season. The arena was home to Oklahoma City Blazers hockey in the 1970s, another Blazers team from 1992 to 2002, the Bricktown Brawlers

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

team, the

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

, and the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center. The franchise began as ...

of the

NBA G 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 ...

. It was also home to the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National F ...

’s

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier rodeo event by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the fi ...

from 1979 to 1984. The Cox Convention Center 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 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

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 The NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate indoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their i ...

were held at the arena from 1986 to 1988. 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.

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

Other events

(1979–1984) *1983

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

Oklahoma Crusade at the arena *

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

and

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

exhibition games *1989 U.S.

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Festival events *

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

* UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard – September 16, 2009 *

Indoor Track Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

meets * American Bycycle Association: Grand Nationals *First and second-round games for the 1994 and 1998

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

(Bryce Drew's famous

buzzer beater In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...

took place here during the 1998 tournament) *Talk show host

Phil Donahue Phillip John Donahue (born December 21, 1935) is an American media personality, writer, film producer and the creator and host of ''The Phil Donahue Show''. The television program, later known simply as ''Donahue'', was the first talk show forma ...

taped his show in the Great Hall of the Myriad for a week in 1981 *Pro Wrestling (Mid-South Wrestling, UWF, WWF and WCW) *

OKC Oilfield Expo The OKC Oilfield Expo was an annual oil and gas industry exhibition focused on providing a venue for industry professionals to network, view new oilfield technologies, compare products and services, and make business deals. The event was held each ...

*It hosted the

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

Stanley Rother Stanley Francis Rother ( ; March 27, 1935 – July 28, 1981) was an American Roman Catholic priest from Oklahoma who was murdered in Guatemala in 1981. He had worked as a missionary priest there since 1968. He held several parish assignments as ...

on September 23, 2017, the first native-born American to be proclaimed a martyr of the Catholic Church.

References

External links

Prairie Surf Media official website
{{Authority control Arena football venues Athletics (track and field) venues in Oklahoma Basketball venues in Oklahoma Boxing venues in the United States Buildings and structures in Oklahoma City Convention centers in Oklahoma Gymnastics venues in the United States Indoor arenas in Oklahoma Indoor track and field venues in the United States Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Mixed martial arts venues in the United States NBA G League venues Sports venues in Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Barons Tourist attractions in Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Blazers (1965–1977) 1972 establishments in Oklahoma Sports venues completed in 1972