Competition between convention centers, especially among those serving smaller second-tier cities around the country, is intense nowadays because of the economic impact that hosting visiting groups has on a city's economy. Success in attracting large associations hinges upon available hotel space, downtown attractions, and a sizeable modern convention facility. Oklahoma City 's Myriad Convention Center was opened in 1972 and is nearing completion of a major building addition and renovation. Previous to the startup of the new 20,000 sq. ft. mechanical room, the center received its heat and air conditioning supply from an outside power generation provider, Trigen. The new arena, located directly across the street from the convention center, will be home ice for the city's CHL hockey team, the Oklahoma City Blazers. The Benham Group specified mechanical room equipment elements, a local architectural and engineering consulting firm, for performance values and selected under a competitive bid process put forth by the city. For heat and hot water, the Myriad's new mechanical room is equipped with four Cleaver-Brooks fire-tube steel hot water boilers, each with an operating capacity of 16,730 mbh. Within a closed loop system, water circulation is handled by 12 large horizontal split case pumps, 4 end-suction pumps, 8 expansion tanks and various suction diffusers, air separators and multi-purpose valves, all supplied by Taco, Inc. For air-conditioning and ice making for the arena, there are also 4 York centrifugal chillers with a capacity of 1,350 tons each and a 20' tall condensing water storage tank.