Dunkin' Donuts Center

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Dunkin' Donuts Center
The Dunk

Location	One LaSalle Square Providence, RI 02903
Opened	November 3, 1972
Owner	Rhode Island Convention Center Authority
Operator	SMG
Former names
Providence Civic Center (1972-2001)
Tenants
Providence Reds (AHL), 1972-1976 Rhode Island Reds (AHL), 1976-1977 URI Rams (NCAA), ?-2002 Providence Bruins (AHL), 1992-present Providence College Friars (NCAA), 1972-present
Capacity
12,993 (basketball)14,500(hockey)

The Dunkin' Donuts Center is an indoor arena located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Built in 1972, the arena was built as a place for the emerging Providence College men's basketball program and the high demand for tickets to their games in Alumni Hall, as well as for the then-Providence Reds, who played in the nearly fifty-year old Rhode Island Auditorium. The arena was known as the Providence Civic Center until a naming rights deal was reached with Dunkin' Donuts in June 2001. Current tenants include the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League and the Providence College Friars men's basketball team.

It has been the site of many collegiate tournaments, including the inaugural 1980 Big East Conference men's basketball tournament; several ECAC basketball tournaments; NCAA basketball tournament first- and second-round games in 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1989, and 1996; the 1978 and 1985 basketball regionals; the inaugural 1985 Hockey East Tournament (won by the home team); and the 1995 and 2000 NCAA Frozen Four ice hockey championships. The University of Rhode Island has also played home basketball games at Dunkin' Donuts Center, although this practice has stopped with the opening of the Ryan Center in 2002. On rare occasions, the PC women's basketball team has played "home" games in the arena, most notably for games against URI or UConn, where demand for tickets would be enough to warrant an arena larger than the 2,620-seat Alumni Hall.

The New England Steamrollers of the Arena Football League called the arena home in 1988. The Providence Reds hockey team played there for five years starting in 1972. The venue has long been a regular stop on WWE tours. It was the site of WWF King of the Ring tournaments five times and hosted the 1994 Royal Rumble. In 1999 the Dunkin' Donuts Center was home to the WWE Backlash Pay-Per-View event. In 2005 this venue hosted WWE Armageddon on December 18, 2005 presented by SmackDown! and Xbox 360. A number of other professional sporting events (such as the Harlem Globetrotters), as well as rock, pop, and opera concerts have occurred there as well.

In December of 2005, the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority purchased the building from the City of Providence for $28.5 million. A major reconstruction (which will include an expansion of the arena seating capacity) is underway. The Authority will spend $62 million on the renovation of the "Dunk" to transform the facility into a state-of-the-art arena. Two major elements of the construction include an expanded lobby and an enclosed pedestrian bridge between the Convention Center and the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

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Current arenas in the American Hockey League
Eastern Conference		Western Conference
Arena at Harbor Yard \| Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena \| Cumberland County Civic Center \| DCU Center \| Dunkin' Donuts Center \| GIANT Center \| Hartford Civic Center \| MassMutual Center \| Norfolk Scope \| Times Union Center \| Tsongas Arena \| Verizon Wireless Arena \| Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza \| Wachovia Spectrum		Allstate Arena \| AT&T Center \| Blue Cross Arena \| Bradley Center \| Carver Arena \| Copps Coliseum \| MTS Centre \| Omaha Civic Auditorium \| Ricoh Coliseum \| Toyota Center \| Van Andel Arena \| War Memorial at Oncenter \| Wells Fargo Arena