More improvements, totaling $6.6 million, were made to the Cox Business Services Convention Center in preparation for the 2007 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament.

Oklahoma City was chosen by the Big 12 Athletic Conference to host its Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments in 2007, with the Men's Tournament at the Ford Center and the Women's Tournament across the street at the Cox Center.

Bid Commitments

These improvements were part of the City's bid to host the tournament. They will account for about 2 percent of the project cost.

New basketball floor
New basketball goals
Refinish existing floor for reuse in Ford Center

Public Improvements

These additional improvements will improve the user experience for Cox Center visitors. They make up 83 percent of the project cost.

Ingress/egress upgrades, including new signage in the garage, first level and arena and video kiosks, costing about $250,000, will help visitors find specific events. New escalators will replace the original equipment installed in 1972 and a new elevator will allow easier access to the skywalk connecting to the Santa Fe Parking Garage.
Improved video and audio will incude a modern arena 'array' sound system and a video display to go with the existing scoreboard.
Data kiosks for laptop computers will be added.
Painting, flooring and carpet improvements and replacements include fresh paint in many areas of the building, new higher-traction epoxy-based flooring and replacement of the 7-year-old carpet installed during the MAPS renovation. New flooring has alrady been installed in the exhibit halls – a $1.5 million improvement.
New glass, costing about $30,000, will be installed in the 'storefront' areas facing the street, where panes have been cracked or broken.
New exterior lighting will brighten dark spots on the north and south sides of the building.
'House lighting' – the lighting used in the arena for cleaning and maintenance – will be replaced with brighter, more efficient illiumination.
South side landscaping will be upgraded to match the rest of the building.

Back of house improvements

About 15 percent of the program cost is going to 'back of house' improvements that won't be visible to the general public.

Renovation of locker rooms, meeting rooms and nurses' stations
New doors on service and delivery entrances
New cleaning equipment including litter vacs and power scrubbers