Former names | Centennial Garden (1998–2005) Rabobank Arena (2005–2019) |
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Address | 1001 Truxtun Ave |
Location | Bakersfield, California |
Owner | City of Bakersfield |
Operator | ASM Global |
Capacity | 8,751 |
Construction | |
Broke ground | June 9, 1997 [1] |
Opened | October 1, 1998 [1] |
Construction cost | $38 million ($72.1 million in 2023 dollars [2] ) |
Architect | Rossetti Architects [3] |
Project manager | National Sports Services [4] |
Structural engineer | Culp & Tanner [5] |
Services engineer | ACCO Engineered Systems [3] |
General contractor | PCL Construction [3] |
Tenants | |
Bakersfield Dragons (SCAHA) (1998-2003) Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (NCAA) (1998–2014) Bakersfield Condors (WCHL/ECHL) (1998–2015) Bakersfield Blitz (AF2) (2002–03) Bakersfield Blitz (AF2) (2004–07) Bakersfield Jam (NBA D-League) (2006–09) Bakersfield Condors (AHL) (2015–present) Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (ACHA) (2018-2022) | |
Website | |
Venue Website |
Mechanics Bank Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Bakersfield, California. Located downtown at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street, it was built in 1998, and was originally known as Centennial Garden, a name submitted by local resident Brian Landis. [6] Bay Area-based Mechanics Bank has held the naming rights since September 2019, following their merger with Rabobank NA, which had held the naming rights since 2005. [7]
The arena is home to the Bakersfield Condors, an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League [8] the California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners club ice hockey team (ACHA Division II). [9] played at Mechanics Bank Arena until 2022 when the club was dropped. Mechanics Bank Arena is also the current home to the California Interscholastic Federation High School State Wrestling Championship Tournament held the first weekend in March, [10] as well as the Los Angeles Kings High School Hockey League Junior Varsity Championship Game held in the last weekend of February. As a concert venue, the arena seats 6,400 for half-house shows and up to 10,225 for center stage and end-stage shows. The arena floor measures 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) of total space. [11]
The southern concourse of Mechanics Bank Arena serves as the exhibit home of the Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame. [12] The Hall of Fame honors athletes and people involved with athletics from Bakersfield and Kern County. They include nationally prominent athletes, local coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to athletics. A separate display on the western concourse honors the founders of Bakersfield and Kern County, as well as country music legend Buck Owens and current athletes and dignitaries from Bakersfield and Kern County. [13]
Attached to the arena is the Mechanics Bank Theater and Convention Center, a 17,840-square-foot (1,657 m2) exhibit hall and 3,000-seat theater. The complex was known as the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium when it opened in 1962 and was renamed the Bakersfield Convention Center in the 1980s.
In front of the arena is a city parkspace, Centennial Plaza. The Plaza has a large fountain, a stage, a sculpture fountain, art work, and bricks commemorating the City of Bakersfield's Centennial as an incorporated city in 1998. The community was founded in 1869 by Colonel Thomas Baker. [14]
In their first year in the Western Athletic Conference, the Roadrunners men's and women's basketball teams moved into Rabobank Arena now Mechanics Bank Arena full-time but they moved back to campus for the 2014–15 season, though their former home court is still used today for Harlem Globetrotters games hosted at Mechanics Bank Arena. Also in recent years, ASM Global has taken over management of the Arena. The venue has hosted NCAA Division II Elite Eight tournaments, The California Interscholastic Federation State High School Wrestling Championship Tournament, PBR rodeos, monster truck shows, NHL and NBA pre-season games hosting the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings, World Wrestling Entertainment televised shows, the ECHL All-Star Game, an annual high school all-star football game played under Arena Football rules, conventions, Disney On Ice, Olympic Figure Skating Shows, and numerous concerts featuring musical acts of various genres, including The Eagles, hometown band Korn, and Brad Paisley.
On September 25, 1998, PCL Construction ceremoniously handed over the keys of the Centennial Garden Arena(original name) to the City Of Bakersfield, hosting the "PCL Construction Party" for construction workers, builders, architects, City Officials, family and friends, as Mayor "Bob" Price set the last tile to the wall in the foyer. Entertainment for the event was provided by the Wayne-Russell Band, featuring Ronnie Wayne and Billy Russell on guitar and vocals, Gary Branson on bass and vocals, and David Wulfekuehler of The Buckaroos on drums. This marked the band as the first entertainment to perform inside the arena. Bill Cosby was the first publicly ticketed entertainment inside, on October 2, 1998.
Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about 151 sq mi (390 km2) near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region.
California State University, Bakersfield is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bakersfield on a 375-acre (152 ha) campus, becoming the 20th school in the California State University system. The university offers 39 different bachelor's degree programs, 17 master's degree programs, and a doctoral program in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.).
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The Bakersfield Condors were a minor league ice hockey team based in Bakersfield, California in the Pacific Division of the ECHL's Western Conference. The Condors played home games at Rabobank Arena.
Selland Arena is a multi-purpose arena built in 1966 that makes up part of a four-venue complex of the Fresno Convention and Entertainment Center in Fresno, California. It is named after former Fresno mayor Arthur L. Selland and has had over 10 million people walk through its doors in its over 50-year history. The arena originally had a 6,582 seating capacity, but a US$10 million expansion project in 1981 increased the seating to its current capacity of 10,132. Before the 1997-1998 Fresno State basketball season, capacity was increased to 10,220. The Selland Arena underwent an additional $15 million renovation in November 2006, that included the installation of new seats, a new video replay scoreboard, message boards and a new ice-cooling system for hockey games.
McMorran Arena is an entertainment complex in Port Huron, Michigan consisting of a 4,800-seat multi-purpose arena and a theater. It was designed by Alden B. Dow and built in 1960 for $3.5 million. The exterior of the complex is faced with red brick with limestone accents.
The Findlay Toyota Center is a 5,100-seat multi-purpose arena located at 3201 North Main Street in Prescott Valley, Arizona.
SMG, formerly Spectacor Management Group, was an American worldwide venue management group headquartered in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, that specialized in managing publicly owned facilities. It began their operation in 1977 with management of the Louisiana Superdome. It was one of the largest property management corporations in the world.
ROSSETTI is an architectural design and planning firm headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.
Downtown is the central business district for Bakersfield, California. It contains several of the city's major theaters, sports complex, museums, and historical landmarks.
Bakersfield is home to several minor league sports franchises and collegiate athletic programs at Bakersfield College and California State University, Bakersfield.
The 2010–11 ECHL season was the 23rd season of the ECHL. The regular season schedule ran from October 15, 2010, to April 2, 2011. The Kelly Cup playoffs followed the regular season, with the first playoff game held on April 4, 2011, and the final game held on May 21, 2011. The league welcomed one new franchise, a relocation of the Johnstown Chiefs to Greenville, South Carolina, who played in the BI-LO Center. The ECHL held its annual All-Star Game and Skills Challenge on January 26 at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, California, home of the Bakersfield Condors.
The Valley Children's Ice Center of Bakersfield is a year-round, indoor ice rink in Bakersfield, California. The facility was completed in 2003. It contains a regulation size ice hockey rink, and seating for 500. It also contains locker rooms, and a snack bar. It is used for adult, youth, high school, college, and even special needs hockey, ice skating lessons, and open skating. It is the primary home arena to the Bakersfield Jr. Condors formerly the Bakersfield Dragons, Kern County Knights, Bakersfield Roughnecks of the USPHL, and Bakersfield Oilers ASHA team. The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners club hockey team used the facility for practices as well as their secondary home until 2022 when the club was dropped. They played their home games there when Mechanics Bank Arena is hosting other events. The Bakersfield Condors also used the facility for preseason training and occasional practices until 2016 when they moved their preseason training to Mechanics Bank Arena but still occasionally practice there when Mechanics Bank Arena is hosting other events. In 2018 Valley Children's Healthcare bought the naming rights to the venue for 10 years until 2028.
The Mechanics Bank Theater and Convention Center is a performing arts theater and convention facility located in Bakersfield, California. It is adjacent to the Mechanics Bank Arena.
Bakersfield Department of Economic and Community Development is a department of the city of Bakersfield, California, United States. It is responsible for attracting new businesses and visitors to the city. It also acts as a liaison between businesses and the city government. In addition, the department is also responsible for encouraging redevelopment. It also distributes federal/state redevelopment and housing grants. The department is also in charge of the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places, which is a local register of historic places in the city.
Civic Center is a district in Downtown Bakersfield, California. It is the center of government for the City of Bakersfield and the County of Kern, containing a collection of buildings used by the city, county, state, and federal governments. The district also contains all of downtown's sporting complexes. It also has the Rabobank Theater and Convention Center, which is the largest theater and convention facilities in the city.
The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home games at Mechanics Bank Arena. The AHL franchise is a relocation of the Oklahoma City Barons, which joined four other AHL franchises in 2015 as the basis to form a new Pacific Division in California.
OEG Inc. is a company based out of Edmonton, Alberta, that operates Katz Group of Companies' sports and entertainment offerings. The flagship property and namesake is the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League. OEG also operates Rogers Place, the new home of the Oilers in downtown Edmonton. OEG is owned by Daryl Katz.
Events and tenants | ||
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Preceded by | Home of the Bakersfield Condors 2016–present | Succeeded by current |