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Wednesday, March 25, 2026 • We’re back to HOT. Upper 80s, lower 90s. ☀️
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TOP STORY:
New Oklahoma City Thunder arena will be called Continental Coliseum
By Miranda Martinez, KOSU
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A rendering of the Continental Coliseum. (Courtesy of the Oklahoma City Thunder)
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s anticipated arena will be called the Continental Coliseum.
The NBA team announced Tuesday morning that the stadium will be renamed Continental Coliseum as part of a 15-year partnership.
In the announcement, Thunder chairman Clay Bennett explained why the Oklahoma City Thunder partnered with Continental Resources.
“We really wanted an Oklahoma partner for this transitional moment in the history of our city,” Bennett said. “We are proud to align with an organization that embodies the resilience, ambition, and spirit that define our state. As a company founded and built in Oklahoma, Continental shares our deep roots and commitment to this state.”
The naming-rights partnership lasts 15 years, with the arena expected to open in the summer of 2028. Continental Coliseum’s name is effective immediately. Signs with the name will be displayed on fences outside the construction zone.
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👀 See also: For Continental Resources, arena name is a sign 'we're not going anywhere' (The Oklahoman)
Know What Matters in Tech Before It Hits the Mainstream
By the time AI news hits CNBC, CNN, Fox, and even social media, the info is already too late. What feels “new” to most people has usually been in motion for weeks — sometimes months — quietly shaping products, markets, and decisions behind the scenes.
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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰
Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.
A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:
• How millions raised for Black Lives Matter OKC ended up in one woman’s bank account (The Frontier)
• Seeking ‘permitting reform,’ Stitt appoints former Williams CEO Alan Armstrong to U.S. Senate (NonDoc)
• Mullin pledges to ‘protect everybody’ as he takes over Department of Homeland Security (Oklahoma Voice)
• Oklahoma agrees to turn over voter data to end federal lawsuit (Oklahoma Voice)
• House approves measure making lawsuits against Tulsa and Oklahoma City easier (Tulsa World)*
• With ‘premature’ presser, call for ODMHSAS ‘reaffiliation’ catches lawmakers off guard (NonDoc)
• New lawsuit challenges land deal enabling controversial Sand Springs data center (Tulsa Flyer)
• State regulators say nuclear energy is possible in Oklahoma, but challenges remain (StateImpact Oklahoma)
• Cherokee Nation hands out $7.25 million to public schools (Tulsa World)*
• ‘Really sad': Parents and students shocked, disappointed by Jenks planetarium closure (News On 6)
• State of Oklahoma sued over rejection of Jewish charter school (Oklahoma Voice)
• Oklahoma bill proposes GPS ankle monitors for those charged with domestic violence (KOCO)
• Tulsa tenants left in limbo when landlords fail to pay hundreds of thousands in water bills (Tulsa Flyer)
• Oklahoma City district considering Cesar Chavez Elementary name change (Oklahoma Voice)
• Edmond council approves $17M retail incentive, renews contract with trash transfer station (NonDoc)
• Duncan bicycle stops pit city ordinances against state law (Oklahoma Watch)
• 'Landman' star Billy Bob Thornton is bringing his band to Oklahoma (The Oklahoman)*
• Freed-Hardeman defeats Langston to win second NAIA men's basketball championship (The Oklahoman)*
Oklahoma Senate passes $2,000 teacher pay raise
By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
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Members of the Oklahoma Senate, pictured May 5, voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of a $2,000 pay raise for public school teachers. (PHOTO by Janelle Stecklein/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — A $2,000 teacher salary increase passed unanimously in the Oklahoma Senate.
The $92 million measure is a decrease from the Senate’s original proposal of $2,500 raises for teachers. Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, said the $2,000 figure emerged from budget negotiations with the state House.
The state’s General Revenue Fund would be the source of the pay raise, he said, not money intended for a teacher pension subsidy, as the Senate originally suggested.
Relying on the General Revenue Fund means lawmakers would have less money to appropriate, Pugh said, and therefore, the proposed teacher raise is lower. He said adding extra funds into the education funding formula is now unlikely, as well.
“We have less money,” he said. “You’re going to see that impact not just in education, but you’re going to see that impact ripple through, I think, all agency budgets.”
Oklahoma Memo
A daily briefing connecting Oklahomans to the state’s best journalism — and original content from Oklahoma Memo. Got a news tip? Somebody I need to interview? Message me at [email protected].