Cox Convention Center

The Cox Business Services Convention Center (also known as the Cox Convention Center, the Cox Center, or The Cox and colloquially referred to by its original name, The Myriad) is a large multipurpose convention, arena, and meeting complex located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

History
Cox Convention Center's name comes from a naming rights deal with local telecommunications giant Cox Communications. The complex was formerly known as the Myriad Convention Center.

The Myriad Convention Center was the centerpiece of Oklahoma City's first major urban renewal project, the Pei Plan. 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, located directly west of the Myriad.

Arena information
The Cox Convention Center's primary use is that of large scale convention and meeting facility. It also hosts 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 (one of the city's three major arenas).

The arena in the Cox Convention center is home to the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz Arena Football League team, in addition to the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League. The Cox arena has also hosted numerous state and college basketball events, including the 2007 and 2009 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament and UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard on September 16, 2009.

Improvements
The Myriad received a major renovation as part of the city's 1993 Capital Improvement Program, known as Metropolitan Area Projects Plan (or "MAPS"), which financed new and upgraded sports, entertainment, cultural and convention facilities primarily in the downtown area with a temporary 1-cent sales tax assessed. Despite the "metropolitan" moniker of the improvement program, the tax was only assessed inside city limits.

The MAPS Project also funded construction of the Ford Center arena (located just south of the Cox Convention Center) and the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.

The Cox Convention Center will receive another upgrade, budgeted at $4.5 million, to accommodate the move of the Edmonton Oilers' top farm team, the Oklahoma City Barons and set to begin play in fall 2010.