Hartford Civic Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hartford Civic Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
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| The Mall | |
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| Location | One Civic Center Plaza Hartford, Connecticut 06103 |
| Broke ground | 1978 |
| Opened | January 17, 1980 |
| Owner | City of Hartford[1] |
| Operator | Madison Square Garden Connecticut |
| Tenants | |
| UConn Huskies (NCAA) (1980-Present) Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) (1997-Present) Hartford Whalers (NHL) (1980-1997) New England Blizzard (ABL) (1996-1998) Connecticut Coyotes (AFL) (1995-1996) New England Sea Wolves (AFL) (1999-2000) Boston Celtics (NBA) (1975-1995) New England Whalers (WHA) (1975-1978) |
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| Capacity | |
| Basketball 16,294 Hockey 15,635 |
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The Hartford Civic Center is a sports and convention complex located in Hartford, Connecticut, owned by the City of Hartford and operated by Madison Square Garden Connecticut under contract with the Connecticut Development Authority. The arena is ranked the 28th largest among college basketball arenas. Originally located adjacent to a shopping mall (Civic Center Mall, which was demolished in 2004), it was originally built in 1975 and consists of two facilities: the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Exhibition Center.
Recently, the CDA debated who will run the arena from 2007-08 through 2012-13. The applicants were:
- Former Hartford Whalers owner Howard Baldwin and arena manager Global Spectrum
- Northland Investment Corp. and arena manager Anschutz Entertainment Group
- Madison Square Garden
On March 21, 2007, the CDA selected the Northland/Anschutz Entertainment Group proposal. It was revealed that Northland will assume total responsibility for the building paying for any and all losses, and will keep any profits. The building as currently run by Madison Square Garden runs at an annual loss of $4 million.[1]
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[edit] The Veterans Memorial Coliseum
The Coliseum is the full-time home of the Hartford Wolf Pack AHL hockey team and part-time home of the University of Connecticut men's and women's basketball teams. It was the home of the New England Sea Wolves of the Arena Football League. It was also the home of the Hartford Whalers of the NHL from 1979-1997 and the New England Blizzard of the ABL from 1996-1998, and hosted occasional Boston Celtics home games from 1975-1995. The arena seats 15,635 for ice hockey and 16,294 for basketball, 16,606 for center-stage concerts, 16,282 for end-stage concerts, and 8,239 for 3/4-end stage concerts, and contains 46 luxury suites and a 310-seat Coliseum Club, plus 25,000 square feet of arena floor space, enabling it to be used for trade shows and conventions in addition to concerts, circuses, ice shows, sporting events and other events.
The first arena on the site was completed in 1975, and was home to the New England Whalers of the WHA for three years. The roof collapsed during a heavy snowstorm in the early morning of January 18, 1978, causing serious damage to the seating bowl area. The building was heavily renovated and re-opened January 17, 1980. In recent years, the arena has been upgraded with a new center-hung scoreboard with four Sony Jumbotrons and a state-of-the-art sound system. WrestleMania XI was held here, as were Survivor Series 1990, No Way Out 2000 and Vengeance 2004. The 1982 Big East Conference and 1988-1990 America East Conference men's basketball tournaments were also here. The Big East Conference women's basketball tournament is contracted to the coliseum through 2009, and it has hosted multiple NCAA women's basketball sub-regionals and regionals.
[edit] Retired numbers
Though the Hartford Whalers moved to North Carolina in 1997 to become the Carolina Hurricanes, the Coliseum still honors the numbers of six former Whalers with jersey retirement banners, as well as one member of the current tenant Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL.
- 2 Rick Ley, D, 1972-81
- 5 Ulf Samuelsson, D, 1984-91
- 9 Gordie Howe, RW, 1977-80
- 10 Ron Francis, C, 1981-91
- 11 Kevin Dineen, LW, 1984-91, 1995-97
- 12 Ken Gernander, C (Hartford Wolf Pack), 1997-2005
- 19 John McKenzie, RW, 1977-79
The Whalers franchise retired the numbers of Ley, Howe and McKenzie before its move; Samuelsson, Francis and Dineen's numbers were raised in a 6 January 2006 ceremony before a Hartford Wolf Pack game. None of the Whalers number retirements are honored by the Wolf Pack; they only honor their own Ken Gernander's number 12, raised on 8 October 2005 to commemorate the club's only captain since its move to Hartford.
[edit] Exhibition center
The Exhibition Center consists of a 68,855-square-foot exhibit hall, a 16,080-square foot assembly hall that can divide into two meeting rooms, plus seven meeting rooms totaling 7,390 square feet and two lobbies totaling 6,100 square feet. It is used for trade shows, conventions, banquets, meetings and other events.
The surrounding shopping mall was torn down in 2004 and is being replaced by street-level retail shops and a 36 story residential tower that opened in 2006.
[edit] New arena?
With the Civic Center approaching its 30th birthday leaders in Hartford have been considering whether it should be replaced with a new facility. Developer Lawrence Gottesdiener in 2006 discussed buying the Pittsburgh Penguins and moving them to a new Hartford arena, but that effort did not materialize.[2] Since that time, Mayor Eddie Pérez and House Speaker James Amann have continued to investigate the feasibility of a new downtown arena.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ The Connecticut Development Authority- Opportunities for The Hartford Civic Center, p36
- ^ Associated Press. "Developer wants to buy Penguins for possible move to Hartford.", The Boston Globe, The New York Times Company, 2006-04-07. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
- ^ City of Hartford, Connecticut (2006-08-30). CITY OF HARTFORD SEEKS CONSULTANT TO ADVISE ON FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING NEW DOWNTOWN ARENA. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Boston Garden 1972–1974 |
Home of the New England Whalers 1974–1978 |
Succeeded by Springfield Civic Center 1978–1980 |
| Preceded by Springfield Civic Center 1978–1980 |
Home of the Hartford Whalers 1980–1997 |
Succeeded by Greensboro Coliseum 1997–1999 |
| Preceded by Boston Garden 1946–1995 |
Home of the Boston Celtics 1975–1995 |
Succeeded by Fleet Center 1995–present |
| Preceded by Madison Square Garden |
Host of WrestleMania XI 1995 |
Succeeded by Arrowhead Pond |
| 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 | |
| Current Basketball Arenas in the Big East |
|---|
| Alumni Hall (Providence women) •Allstate Arena (DePaul men) • Bradley Center (Marquette men) • Carnesecca Arena (St. John's) • Carrier Dome (Syracuse) • Continental Airlines Arena (Seton Hall men) • Dunkin' Donuts Center (Providence men) • Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati) • Freedom Hall (Louisville) • Gampel Pavilion (Connecticut) • Hartford Civic Center (Connecticut) • Joyce Center (Notre Dame) • Louis Brown Athletic Center (Rutgers) • Madison Square Garden (St. John's men) • McDonough Gymnasium (Georgetown women) • McGuire Center (Marquette women) • The Pavilion (Villanova) • Petersen Events Center (Pittsburgh) • Sullivan Athletic Center (DePaul women) • USF Sun Dome (South Florida) • Verizon Center (Georgetown men) • Wachovia Center (Villanova) • Walsh Gymnasium (Seton Hall women) • WVU Coliseum (West Virginia) |
| WrestleMania venues |
|---|
| Allstate Arena • Boardwalk Hall • Caesars Palace • Citrus Bowl • Ford Field • Hartford Civic Center • Honda Center • Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena • Madison Square Garden • Nassau Coliseum • Pontiac Silverdome • RCA Dome • Reliant Astrodome • Rogers Centre • Safeco Field • Staples Center • TD Banknorth Garden • Wachovia Center |
Categories: Big East Conference | Indoor arenas in the United States | College basketball venues | Basketball venues in the United States | Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States | Sports venues in Connecticut | Sports in Hartford | Convention centers in the United States | UConn Huskies basketball | Hartford, Connecticut | Hartford Wolf Pack | America East Conference men's basketball tournament venues | National Hockey League venues | World Hockey Association venues
