Oklahoma City Thunder and Continental Resources secure 15-year naming rights deal for new downtown arena

Agreement sets arena name ahead of construction start and targets late-summer 2028 opening

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Continental Resources have reached a 15-year naming rights agreement for the NBA team’s new downtown arena, establishing “Continental Coliseum” as the venue’s official name as construction advances toward a planned late-summer 2028 opening.

The naming decision comes as Oklahoma City moves forward with a publicly owned arena project approved by voters on Dec. 12, 2023, when residents backed a 72-month, one-cent sales tax to finance the facility. The sales tax is structured to begin after the MAPS 4 sales tax ends, keeping the overall sales tax rate from increasing under the city’s plan.

How the arena is funded and where it will be built

Project financing includes three primary components that city documents have outlined: proceeds from the dedicated sales tax, $78 million allocated from MAPS 4, and a $50 million contribution from the Thunder ownership group. The arena is planned on the city-owned site of the former convention center complex used in recent years for Prairie Surf Studios, located across the street from the current Paycom Center.

Demolition at the site has been underway in phases, with city and team project materials describing a schedule that places the start of full construction activities in 2026 and sets the targeted arena opening for 2028. The Thunder are expected to continue playing home games at Paycom Center until the new venue opens.

Naming rights control and the city’s long-term team agreement

The naming rights agreement is enabled by the Thunder’s arena arrangements with the City of Oklahoma City, which provide the team control of the building’s naming rights even though the arena will be publicly owned. The broader arena use framework approved in 2024 establishes a long-term commitment for the franchise in Oklahoma City beginning when the team moves into the new arena, with financial penalties specified if the team were to leave during the early years of the agreement.

• Public ownership: The City of Oklahoma City is slated to own the new arena.
• Naming rights: The Thunder retain the ability to negotiate and sell naming rights for the building.
• Timeline: Target completion is late summer 2028, with a contractual backstop requiring the arena to open by June 2029.

Who Continental Resources is

Continental Resources is an Oklahoma City-headquartered oil and natural gas exploration and production company founded in 1967 by Harold Hamm. The company became publicly traded in 2007 and was taken private in 2022 through an acquisition by affiliates of the Hamm family.

The naming partnership sets a corporate identity for the arena years before opening, allowing branding to be integrated into construction-phase signage and future exterior and interior venue elements.

Additional arena details—such as final capacity, event programming beyond NBA games, and operating policies—are expected to be refined as design and construction progress toward the 2028 opening window.