Grand Celebration Planned For BOK Center Opening

City leaders, dignitaries, and arena officials will officially open Tulsa's new BOK Center  to the public on Saturday, August 30.

The free Labor Day weekend festivities kick off with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10:00am.

NewsOn6.com will provide live streaming coverage of this landmark event in Tulsa history.

Designer and architect, Cesar Pelli, will speak at the ceremony along with Mayor Kathy Taylor, Bank of Oklahoma CEO & President, Stan Lybarger, and local favorites, including Garth Brooks.  Booker T. Washington's band will perform "Get Ready" during the actual ribbon-cutting at the Grand Entrance located at 3^rd Street and Denver Avenue.

After the dedication ceremony, the BOK Center will open to the public. Arena officials have organized a free weekend for everyone to enjoy.

The interior of the arena will be staged to give the public an idea of what it will look like for a variety of events. The arena floor will hold a stage on the west end, arena football turf in the middle, and a hockey goal on the east end.

Also inside, visitors can enjoy a variety of music throughout the day. Performers include:

• Tulsa Symphony Orchestra - 10:30am
• Memorial High School Band - 11:45am
• Midlife Crisis - 12:15pm
• City of Tulsa Pipes and Drums - 1:15pm
• Rebecca Ungerman & The Frank Brown Orchestra - 1:45pm
• Edison High School Band - 2:30pm
• Dave & The Wavetones - 3:15pm

Also inside, visitors will be able to sample food from concession stands and third-party vendors food for only $1 per item. These local third-party vendors are:

• Billy's On The Square
• Borden's
• In The Raw
• Mazzio's Italian Eatery
• Oklahoma-Style BBQ
• Rubicon

The grand opening celebration is free and open to the public from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday, August 30. Free parking is also available at the 100 West garage, located between 1^st and 2^nd Streets on Cheyenne, courtesy of American Parking.

The festivities continue on Sunday with a multi-faith celebration, One Song, Many Voices, beginning at 3:00pm. A 500-person community choir will perform as well as Broadway star Sam Harris.

This will be the final public event before the Eagles perform on Saturday, September 6^th.

Below is a list of other upcoming events that are scheduled at the BOK Center.

Sept. 6  - Eagles

Sep 10 - Kenny Chesney with LeAnn Rimes         

Sep 13 - American Idols Live       

Sep 22 - Get Motivated Seminar              

Sep 25 - Rascal Flatts with Taylor Swift   

Oct 3 - Jeff Dunham       

Oct 9 - 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars         

Oct 13 - NBA Exhibition Game   

Oct 14 - So You Think You Can Dance Tour            

Oct 17-19 - Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus     

Oct 21 - Neil Diamond   

Oct 29 - Carrie Underwood         

*Nov 11 -Eagles

Nov 13 - Celine Dion

Nov 18 - Metallica

Nov 19 - Celtic Thunder

Nov 22 - Nine Inch Nails

Nov 30 - Casting Crowns Christmas Celebration

Dec 7 - TU vs. OU Men's Basketball

Dec 10-14 - Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco

Dec 22-24 - Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Dec 29 - Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Jan 3-4 -  Harlem Globetrotters

Mar 1 - Lipizzaner Stallions

May 14-16 - Joyce Meyers Ministries

Tickets are available at bokcenter.com, 1-866-7-BOKCENTER or area Reasor's and Homeland Stores.

* On Tuesday morning, the LiveNation web site reported that the Eagles will return for a second Tulsa concert on November 11. 

Construction on the 19,199 seat entertainment venue began three years ago.  The BOK Center is managed by SMG, the world leader in venue management, marketing and development.