Construction work is heating up at the 750,000-square-foot Continental Coliseum in Oklahoma City.
A joint venture of Flintco and Mortenson began to pour the first of more than 18 elevated concrete decks on the mezzanine and concourse levels of the National Basketball Association’s Oklahoma City Thunder’s future home arena, Flintco announced Monday.
Work began on the southeast side of the Coliseum, according to the announcement. The construction team of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Flintco and Minneapolis-based Mortenson placed the concrete, supplied by hometown firm Dolese Bros., onto elevated structural decking that will form the stadium’s floors.
In addition, the crew has begun construction on the loading dock walls on the east side of the site, which will form the Coliseum’s back-of-house operations and provide access for event equipment, production crews, vendors and deliveries, per the release.
The JV, along with the team, city and design team, worked to ensure the design and construction milestones remained on schedule, Ellen Becker, project executive for the JV, told Construction Dive via email. The phased design progression and bidding approach has posed a challenge as the Continental Coliseum is the first time that a project of this size has used the approach in Oklahoma City, Becker said.
Two construction crews will continue to work clockwise and counterclockwise before they meet on the opposite side of the arena, as the project requires multiple headings during concrete work to meet the schedule. Becker said the two headings will help the team’s goal of beginning structural steel work in 2027. As each section is completed, the teams will move around the facility on their way to establish a mezzanine-level footprint.
The Oklahoma City Council awarded the JV a contract to build the stadium in March 2025. At the time, the budget for the venue was at least $900 million. The JV broke ground on the structure in March, which is being built on the site of the Myriad Convention Center, which was demolished earlier this year. The construction team aims to complete the venue by summer 2028.
