Honda Center

Honda Center
"The Pond", "The Duck Pond"
Former names	Anaheim Arena (1990–1993) Pond of Anaheim (1993) Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (1993–2006)
Location	2695 East Katella Avenue, Anaheim, California, United States
Coordinates	33°48′28″N 117°52′36″W
Broke ground	November 8, 1990
Opened	June 19, 1993
Owner	City of Anaheim
Operator	Anaheim Arena Management, LLC (an Anaheim Ducks subsidiary)
Construction cost	$123 million ($195 million in 2013 dollars)
Architect	Populous (formerly HOK Sport)
Project manager	Turner Construction
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
Services engineer	Syska Hennessy Group, Inc.
General contractor	Huber, Hunt & Nichols
Capacity	Hockey: 17,174 Basketball: 18,336; Concerts (center stage) 18,900; Concerts (end stage) 18,325 Theatre: 8,400
Tenants
Anaheim Ducks (NHL) (1993–present) UCLA Bruins (NCAA) (2011–2012) Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) (1994–1999) Anaheim Bullfrogs (RHI) (1993–1997) Anaheim Splash (CISL) (1994–1997) Anaheim Piranhas (AFL) (1996–1997) Anaheim Storm (NLL) (2004–2005)

The Honda Center, previously known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim and colloquially called The Pond or The Ponda, is an indoor arena in Anaheim, California, United States. The arena is home to the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks and was home of the former National Lacrosse League's Anaheim Storm, which folded in 2005.

Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, it was completed in 1993 at a cost of $123 million. Arrowhead Water paid $15 million for the naming rights over 10 years in October 1993. In the short period of time between the enfranchisement of the Mighty Ducks and the naming rights deal with Arrowhead, Disney referred to the Arena as the Pond of Anaheim. Honda, in October 2006 acquired the naming rights for $60 million over 15 years.

History

A panorama of Honda Center's exterior.

Panorama of Honda Center's interior before a 2007 playoff hockey game.

Honda Center in its basketball configuration before an NCAA basketball game.

The arena opened on June 19, 1993, with a Barry Manilow concert as its first event. Since then, it has been host to a number of events, such as the 2003 and 2007 Stanley Cup Finals. On June 6, 2007, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators, 6–2, in Game 5 of the Finals at Honda Center to clinch the franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup championship. The Ducks have never lost a Finals game played at the arena.

UFC 59, UFC 63, and UFC 76, UFC 121 have been at Honda Center and with UFC on FOX next as well. It hosted the 2005 IBF World Championships for badminton in 2005.

From 1994 to 1998, it served as a second home for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. It was the home arena for the Anaheim Bullfrogs of Roller Hockey International from 1993 to 1999 and for the Anaheim Piranhas of the Arena Football League from 1996 to 1997. This arena has also hosted a PBR Bud Light Cup (later Built Ford Tough Series) event annually since 1998. Since 1994, the arena has hosted the annual John R. Wooden Classic. In 2011, the arena began hosting the Big West Conference Men's and Women's Basketball tournaments. The arena has also hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament five times, as the West Regional site - 1998, 2001, 2003, 2008, and 2011. It even hosted the Frozen Four, the semifinals and final of the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship, in 1999, underscoring the popularity of hockey in the region. On December 6, 2000, music legend Tina Turner played her last concert at the arena for the record breaking Twenty Four Seven Tour, but after popular demand, Turner returned to the arena before a sellout crowd on October 14, 2008, for her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour.

The arena has hosted a number of WWE events including WrestleMania XII, Royal Rumble (1999), WrestleMania 2000, as well as a Halloween edition of Monday Night Raw in 2005.

The Honda Center lies northeast across California State Route 57 from Angel Stadium (where Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play) and roughly 3 miles (4.8 km) from Disneyland Park. It is also walkable from Amtrak and Metrolink's Anaheim station, which is located on Angel Stadium's parking lot.

The arena seats up 17,174 for its primary tenant, the Ducks. It takes only five hours to convert Honda Center from a sporting arena to an 8,400-seat amphitheater. There are 84 luxury suites in the building, which has hosted 17.5 million people, as of 2003. In 2005, the arena became the first in the U.S. to have two full levels of 360-degree ribbon displays installed. Daktronics out of Brookings, South Dakota designed, manufactured and installed the 1,800 feet (550 m) of full-color LED technology. Outside the venue, the marquee was upgraded with two large video displays measuring 8 feet (2.4 m) high by 21 feet (6.4 m), and a new marquee was built with more LED video displays.

Broadcom chairman and billionaire, Henry Samueli, owns the company that operates the arena, Anaheim Arena Management, LLC, and the arena's primary tenant, the Ducks, giving him great flexibility in scheduling events and recruiting new tenants. Samueli hopes to bring an NBA franchise to the arena, and the Sacramento Kings have expressed an interest in relocating to Anaheim from their current stadium, Power Balance Pavilion (formerly ARCO Arena). On March 3, 2011 a lawyer representing the Maloof brothers, owners of the Kings, filed applications to trademark possible names for a new basketball team at the Honda Center, including the Anaheim Royals, Los Angeles Royals, Orange County Royals, and Anaheim Royals of Southern California. The Maloof brothers had until May 2, 2011 to file paperwork officially requesting a relocation to the Honda Center, but the brothers decided to keep the team in Sacramento for the 2011–12 season. On March 7, 2012, the city of Sacramento, the NBA, and the Kings organization initially reached an agreement on a $391 million arena deal which would have kept the Kings in Sacramento; however, one month later, the Maloof family backed out of the agreement, reviving rumors regarding potential relocation.

Notable concerts, film, and television

The Honda Center has the second highest gross ticket sales from special events on the West Coast, following only the Staples Center. These events have included the following over the years:

• Barbra Streisand recorded the final date here from her first tour in 30 years Barbra: The Concert in June 1994.
• Honda Center was used as the site of the fictional Junior Goodwill Games in the film D2: The Mighty Ducks.
• Rock band No Doubt, natives of Anaheim, recorded their two 1997 concert stops at Honda Center, releasing them as their first concert video, Live in the Tragic Kingdom.
• KIIS-FM's Jingle Ball - December 19, 2002, December 3, 2004, December 7, 2006, October 27, 2007 and December 6, 2008
• When No Doubt's lead singer, Gwen Stefani embarked on a solo venture, she filmed her two homecoming concerts at Honda Center in 2005. The DVD was released as Harajuku Lovers Live.
• Mariah Carey's latest DVD release, entitled The Adventures of Mimi was recorded at the Honda Center on October 8, 2006, during The Adventures of Mimi Tour.
• 2162 Votes, the West Wing season 6 finale, features the arena for interior shots of the Democratic National Convention.
• The Jonas Brothers filmed their 3-D concert movie at the Honda Center.
• UFC 59, UFC 63, UFC 76, UFC 121 and UFC on Fox were held in the Honda Center. UFC 157 was also held at the Honda Center making history as the first UFC event headlined by women.
• Depeche Mode recorded their show at the sports arena on August 19, 2009 for their live albums project Recording the Universe.
• K-pop artists under S.M. Entertainment featuring BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, f(x) and EXO, performed the first show of their third world tour SMTown Live '12 World Tour making them the first Korean artists to perform at the arena. The May 20, 2012 show was an instant sell out. South Korean TV broadcast network MBC filmed and later aired an edited version of the concert.
• K-pop boy band BIGBANG performed their first concert in the U.S. at the arena on November 2 and 3, 2012 as part of their BIGBANG Alive Galaxy Tour 2012.

Capacity

Hockey

• 17,174 (1994–present)
  • At least 17,610 with standing room
• 17,200 (1993–1994)

Basketball

• 18,336 (2011–present)
  • At least 18,521 with standing room
• 17,608 (2000–2011)
• 18,200 (1993–2000)

Other Events

• 18,900 (Concerts, center stage)
• 18,325 (Concerts, end stage)
• 8,400 (Theatre)

Largest Crowds

Hockey					Basketball
#	Date	Opponent	Score	Attendance	#	Date	Opponent	Score	Attendance
1	Mar. 20, 2013	Blackhawks at Ducks	4–2, ANA	17,610 (102.54%)	1	Mar. 12, 1998	Lakers at Clippers	108–85, LAL	18,521 (101.76%)
2	Feb. 26, 2012	Blackhawks at Ducks	3–1, ANA	17,601 (102.49%)	2	Feb. 4, 1997	Lakers at Clippers	108–86, LAC	18,462 (101.44)
	May 12, 2009	Red Wings at Ducks	6–3, DET	17,601 (102.49%)	3	Feb. 25, 1999	Lakers at Clippers	115–100, LAL	18,456 (101.41%)
4	Jan. 2, 2009	Flyers at Ducks	5–4, PHI (SO)	17,597 (102.46%)	4	Dec. 2, 1995	Bulls at Clippers	104–98, CHI	18,321 (100.66%)
5	Apr. 8, 2011	Kings at Ducks	2–1, ANA	17,587 (102.40%)	5	Apr. 12, 1997	Nuggets at Clippers	116–94, LAC	18,211 (100.06%)

External links

• Honda Center official website
• Anaheim Ducks official website
• Los Angeles Sports Council
• Big West Conference website

See also

• Anaheim Ducks
• Angel Stadium of Anaheim