Praire Surf Media agrees to leave studio site one year early as new arena plans ramp up

The Oklahoma City Council voted Tuesday to end the lease agreement with Prairie Surf Studios this year to make way for new NBA arena construction plans at the site.

Councilmembers approved by a 7-to-2 vote to terminate the film studio's lease by Dec. 31 at the former Cox Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City.

The new date is a year earlier than the originally planned date for the end of 2025, but City Manager Craig Freeman said the expedited agreement will allow the city to move more quickly on demolition of the site in early 2025 and work toward a 2028 target completion date for the new arena.

“And we had said before that that’s a really aggressive schedule, we’d have to work very hard and there’s a lot of things that would have to fall in place,” Freeman said. “So we started having conversations with Prairie Surf about the opportunity for them to exit early to give us the opportunity to start in this next year on the construction.”

Plans — and agreement for Prairie Surf to leave — ramped up after arena was approved

The original lease between the city and the studio ownership was approved in December 2020. It allowed for Prairie Surf to help develop the state's burgeoning film and TV industry while also helping the city figure out what to do with the old venue after the new MAPS 3-funded Convention Center opened across from Scissortail Park.

But in December 2023, soon after city residents approved a one-cent sales tax funding construction of a new arena to house the OKC Thunder team, city management notified studio owners that the lease would not be extended beyond the end of 2025.

Now, in exchange for agreeing to vacate the facility earlier than planned, the city is waiving an estimated total of $675,000 of rent, utility and security payments from Prairie Surf for this year.

“I just want to say, again, what a great partner that Prairie Surf has been, and we’re so grateful for what they’ve done,” Freeman said. “We look forward to working with them in the future with their future plans.”

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What's next for Prairie Surf?

Ward 6's JoBeth Hamon and Ward 7's Nikki Nice — who cited transparency issues and community priorities in their opposition last year to the new arena proposal — voted no on the amended lease agreement Tuesday.

Nice reiterated concerns that the city might not be doing enough to help Prairie Surf in finding a new location and expressed worry about how the company's departure from the site might affect the local film industry. In April, actress and Prairie Surf co-founder Rachel Cannon stepped down from her CEO role.

But Freeman said that PBC Sports & Entertainment, the owners of the OKC Thunder, are also providing financial incentives to Prairie Surf "to try to make sure they have the opportunity to continue to be successful here in Oklahoma City."

"Our expectation is, that helps them in that next step and that next phase, and we’re committed to continuing to work with them as they determine where they’re headed and what they’re going to do with that," Freeman said.

Matt Payne, now CEO of Prairie Surf, said Tuesday the early lease termination will not result in a long pause of its operations.

“We hope to get productions in between now and the end of the year,” Payne said. “We're still open for business. If we can squeeze one or two more productions in before October, we would be thrilled to do it.”

Payne said his company always knew the arrangement with the city to use the former convention center was temporary.

“It's an old building,” Payne said. “We need to move into a Phase Two. This accelerated timeline pushes us into a new future. We are actively talking about land, sites, and all of that is in the works.”

Payne endorsed the city council’s decision and confirmed his company is in talks with the Thunder team owners about possible assistance in relocating the studios.

Films shot at the studios include the upcoming movie “Twisters.” The studio also was used for production of the first season of “Tulsa King” starring Sylvester Stalone.

“This temporary home has served as a platform for Prairie Surf to showcase Oklahoma City's potential as a film destination, attracting significant movies and television productions to our stages,” Payne said. “Over the past three years, the city's unwavering support has been instrumental in our success.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Prairie Surf leaving studio ahead of OKC Thunder arena construction