Oklahoma City waves farewell to the Jim Norick Arena

Oklahoma City said goodbye to the Jim Norick Arena after nearly 60 years of memories.

The arena, replaced by the OG&E Coliseum earlier this year, was partially demolished as part of a roof implosion Tuesday morning.

SEE ALSO: New OG&E Coliseum opens its doors in Oklahoma City, welcoming riders from around the world

Since 1965, the arena, also known as the "Big House," has hosted thousands of events. Horse shows, rodeos, concerts, the popular Disney on Ice show during the fair, and of course, high school basketball and wrestling tournaments.

City leaders, both past and present, were at Tuesday morning's ceremony.

RELATED: Historic Jim Norick Arena roof implodes in planned demolition

Former Mayor Ron Norick, son of Jim Norick, spoke on stage ahead of the implosion.

"Over the last almost six decades, 60 years, there have been countless basketball, graduation, wrestling events," Norick said. "Horse show events, concerts, I can't tell you how many times I've been here in this building over the last sixty years, but I'm sure it's outrageous. Somewhere in the thousands."

Jim Norick’s grandson, Lance, was also in attendance at the implosion on Tuesday. Lance said watching the building come down wasn’t sad, but exciting.

"The building is old, it’s served its purpose for so many people for so many years," Lance said. "The new building is absolutely beautiful, and it’s gonna do its job for many, many years, but there were a lot of good memories made here.

City officials say the demolition of the remaining arena walls will take place over the next month to make way for a connector, which will offer even more space and another arena to support the horse show industry.

The construction of the connector is expected to begin later this year.