[6] Originally billed and marketed as a "state-of-the-art" facility, Oklahoma City Arena was actually constructed to minimum NBA and NHL specifications.

A plan for such buildout improvements began in 2007 in the wake of the acquisition of the Seattle SuperSonics by an Oklahoma-City-based ownership group in October 2006.

The deal included a provision for $1.6 million in annual rents to the city for use of the Ford Center (including marketing rights of luxury seating areas for all NBA and most non-NBA events), and a $409,000 annual supplemental payment in exchange for a transfer of arena naming rights and associated revenue to the Sonics franchise.

[9] On August 26, 2010, the franchise, by then renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder, announced that it had begun negotiating naming rights to its home arena with new potential partners.

[7] As a result of the failed negotiation with the Oklahoma Ford Dealers, the Thunder decided to terminate the existing naming rights agreement, which was allowed under the original contract.

[10] On July 22, 2011, a 12-year naming rights partnership between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chesapeake Energy Corporation was announced.

Financing consists of a temporary 15-month, 1-cent sales tax that will be paid by Oklahoma City residents and shoppers beginning January 1, 2009.

Similar revisions were made to the plans for the Thunder's separate practice facility, for a total cost savings of approximately $14 million.

It is also used for other events, including major concert tours, conventions, National Hockey League preseason and exhibition games, and notably professional wrestling shows.

[22] The hosting of the Hornets arguably gave Oklahoma City the edge it needed to land on the radar of professional sports.

Long being considered by many as too small to host a major-league team for a variety of reasons, support for the Hornets during their two-year stay caught the attention of the NBA and other sports leagues.

The deal included a provision that gave Seattle officials one year to solve its arena situation or allow Bennett to seek relocation.

After an April 2008 league approval, it was announced on July 2, 2008, that the Sonics franchise would be relocating to Oklahoma City and would play at what was then the Ford Center.

After it was learned that Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, the NBA announced that the remainder of the 2019–20 season would be suspended immediately following the conclusion of that night's games.

This incident would eventually result in the cancellation of all sports events throughout North America and the rest of the world, as the COVID-19 outbreak had been declared as a pandemic by WHO earlier that day.

Raw came to the Chesapeake Energy Arena on September 25, 2006, and March 1, 2010, with Cheech & Chong appearing as the evening's guest hosts.

The event sold out the arena, requiring the neighboring Cox Convention Center to be used as overflow with video streamed from across the street.

The Thunder exercised an option to extend the agreement for three years to allow time for the city to develop plans for a new arena.

On December 12, 2023, Oklahoma City voters approved a 72-month extension of a one-cent sales tax to build a new, publicly owned downtown arena.

[29] The property, located north of the Paycom Center across Reno Ave., is owned by the city and was being leased to Prairie Surf Studios.