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City Marks Completion of 2-Year Cox Business Convention Center Renovation

A two-year, $55 million renovation of the Cox Business Convention Center is complete.

The 56-year-old convention center got an overhaul inside and out.

"This is 2020, and this is what 2020 looks like," said Cox Communications Vice President Roger Ramseyer.

The facility has a new eastern entrance and lobby, and its 8,900-seat arena has been replaced with a 41,000-square foot banquet hall.

Tulsa Regional Tourism Board member Bob McGrew hopes that lures more events to Tulsa. He said events’ total economic impact in Tulsa is $1.3 billion since 2014.

"Those numbers go to show the critical role that the Cox Business Convention Center serves not only in the tourism industry but in our whole community," McGrew said.

Mayor G.T. Bynum said while event planners will obviously be interested in the additional space, he’s also looking forward to seeing how nonprofits that hold fundraisers at the convention center benefit from it.

"When our city, our state, our country, our world are able to re-engage in the way that we all want it to re-engage, we’re ready. We have the two biggest ballrooms in the state of Oklahoma, and we will have even more space to build community in our city and move it forward," Bynum said.

The Cox Business Convention Center already had a 30,000-square foot banquet hall.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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