Prairie Surf Studios (originally Myriad Convention Center and later Cox Convention Center) is a
film production complex located in downtown
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was formerly a convention center and the home of several minor league teams.
The facility, known as the Myriad Convention Center, originally 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. 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.[4]
It was later named Cox Convention Center via sponsorship with telecommunications company
Cox Communications. 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. When it opened in 1972, it replaced the
Oklahoma State Fair Arena 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) 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' top farm team, the
Oklahoma City Barons, which began play in the 2010–11 season.
Oklahoma City contracted with Prairie Surf Media to take over the convention center space for sound stages and production offices for their film company.[5] On January 1, 2021, the building was renamed Prairie Surf Studios.
Production studio
The building became retrofitted into a film production studio in early 2021 under the ownership of Matt Payne and Rachel Cannon. The building has five
sound stages, with its largest stage sitting at 35,000 square feet.[6] The studio was used for some of the filming of Killers of the Flower Moon and the first season of Tulsa King.[7][8] Other productions to take place at the studio include American Underdog[9] and Twisters,[10] amongst other productions.[11]
In September 2023, Prairie Surf Studios launched a creative division that aims to create original projects with Oklahoma-based productions.[12] Some of its first projects include a documentary about
Clara Luper.[13] Prairie Surf Creative's first feature film project, a documentary about
The Manhattan Project called The Accelerator, debuted at the
deadCENTER Film Festival in June 2024.[14]
The Osmonds – September 3, 1975 and December 18, 1985
KISS – March 4, 1976, November 15, 1977, March 23, 1983, August 25, 1990, with
Slaughter and
Winger, September 11, 1996 and April 4, 2000, with
Ted Nugent and
Skid Row
The
Eagles – July 6, 1977, with Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band, February 14, 1980, with the
Amazing Rhythm Aces, October 4, 1994 and January 25–26, 1995
Aerosmith – October 12, 1978, with
Exile, February 15, 1986, February 25, 1988, with
Dokken, July 14, 1990, June 4, 1993, with
Jackyl, December 20, 1997, with
Talk Show and December 9, 2001, with
the Cult
Styx – November 3, 1978, February 11, 1981 and May 13, 1983
It hosted the
beatification of
Stanley Rother on September 23, 2017, the first native-born American to be proclaimed a martyr of the Catholic Church.[17]