Oklahoma State Fair Arena (originally James Norick State Fair Arena, formally State Fair Coliseum, commonly State Fair Arena and nicknamed The Big House) is a large multi-purpose arena, located on the Oklahoma State Fair grounds, in west Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA. It seats 10,944, in its usual configuration.
The formal name of the arena, at its opening, was the James Norick State Fair Arena, named for the city's mayor at the time. The building was also unique, in it had the largest roof, of its type, in the world. It is the third largest city-owned multipurpose arena, after Ford Center and the arena at Cox Convention Center.
It has hosted the state high school basketball playoffs, in the past and was home to the Oklahoma City Blazers, of the CHL, from 1965-1977.
The Grateful Dead's performance on October 19, 1973, was recorded and later released as Dick's Picks Volume 19.
Today, it is used primarily to host events, such as rodeos, horse-shows and other equine events, as well as a backup facility, for concerts and sporting events. Coordinates: 35°28′14″N 97°34′24″W / 35.470604°N 97.573438°W / 35.470604; -97.573438
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Famous quotes containing the words oklahoma, state, fair and/or arena:
“I know only one person who ever crossed the ocean without feeling it, either spiritually or physically.... he went from Oklahoma to France and back again ... without ever getting off dry land. He remembers several places I remember too, and several French words, but he says firmly, “We must of went different ways. I don’t rightly recollect no water, ever.””
—M.F.K. Fisher (1908–1992)
“No state can build
A literature that shall at once be sound
And sad on a foundation of well-being.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“The enemy are no match for us in a fair fight.... The young men ... of the upper class are kind-hearted, good-natured fellows, who are unfit as possible for the business they are in. They have courage but no endurance, enterprise, or energy. The lower class are cowardly, cunning, and lazy. The height of their ambition is to shoot a Yankee from some place of safety.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“[I]t forged ahead to become a full-fledged metropolis, with 143 faro games, 30 saloons, 4 banks, 27 produce stores, 3 express offices—and an arena for bull-and-bear fights, which, described by Horace Greeley in the New York Tribune, is said to have given Wall Street its best-known phrases.”
—For the State of California, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)