Verizon Wireless Arena
| Verizon Wireless Arena | |
|---|---|
| "The Verizon" | |
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| Former names | Civic Arena (during construction) |
| Location | 555 Elm Street Manchester, NH 03101 |
| Broke ground | April 13, 2000[1] |
| Opened | November 15, 2001 |
| Owner | City of Manchester |
| Operator | SMG |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction cost | $60,000,000 ($74.5 million in 2012 dollars[2]) |
| Architect | HOK Sport |
| General Contractor | Gilbane Building Co.[3] |
| Capacity | 9,852 (hockey)[4] 9,989 (basketball) 8,647 (end stage) 11,770 (centerstage concerts) |
| Tenants | |
| Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–present) Manchester Wolves (af2) (2002–2009) |
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Coordinates: 42°59′11″N 71°27′44″W / 42.98639°N 71.46222°W The Verizon Wireless Arena is an indoor events arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, and seats 9,852 for ice hockey and just under 10,000 for basketball and some concerts.
Verizon Wireless paid for the arena's naming rights. The facility was originally known during construction as Civic Arena, and this name still appears on most of the directional signs around town.
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[edit] Sporting events
The arena is home to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League and the former home of the Manchester Wolves of the now disbanded af2. The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team also plays some of their home games there, annually against Dartmouth College in the Battle for the Riverstone Cup, and less frequently in Hockey East conference play. The Verizon has hosted the 2005 AHL All-Star Game, WWE Backlash in 2005, and the NCAA Men's Frozen Four Northeast Regional tournament in 2004, 2007 and 2009. UNH is scheduled to play host to the NCAA Ice Hockey Northeast Regional tournament again in 2011 and 2013. State high school basketball and hockey championships have been held in the arena. Both the Boston Celtics of the NBA and the Boston Bruins of the NHL regularly play preseason games at the arena.
[edit] Other events
The arena has hosted dozens of concerts by major "A"-level artists, many of whom have visited the Manchester venue on multiple occasions.
In December 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and TV icon Oprah Winfrey appeared at a campaign rally at the arena, drawing over 8,000 people to one of the largest political events in New Hampshire history. Obama also appeared at the arena in May 2007 to speak at the Southern New Hampshire University commencement. Hillary Clinton appeared at the arena in June 2007, to speak at the Manchester Central High School graduation.
The iconic band Phish appeared at the arena on October 26, 2010, in their first appearance in New Hampshire since May 8, 1993, when they appeared at the University of New Hampshire Fieldhouse.
The FIRST Robotics Competition holds its main regional competition, the BAE Systems Granite State Regional, in the arena every year.
[edit] Photo gallery
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USHRA Thunder Nationals pre-show "pit party" in the Verizon Wireless Arena.
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Pregame warmup at a Manchester Monarchs AHL game versus the Hartford Wolf Pack.
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End zone view of the ice surface at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
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A stitched panoramic image of the inside of the Verizon before a Manchester Monarchs AHL game versus the Providence Bruins.
[edit] References
- ^ "American Hockey League Teams From Manchester and Lowell Will Not Face Each Other on the Ice Until at Least the Fall of 2001". Nashua Telegraph. May 6, 2000. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NTGB&p_theme=ntgb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1070DA28F5626CFD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM.
- ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
- ^ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2001/07/20010730/Special-Report/Whats-On-Deck.aspx
- ^ http://theahl.com/ahl-set-to-kick-off-75th-anniversary-season-p166418
[edit] External links
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