Mohegan Sun Arena
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| Mohegan Sun Arena | |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd Uncasville, Connecticut 06382-1355 |
| Opened | 2001 |
| Owner | Mohegan Sun |
| Tenants | Connecticut Sun (WNBA) (2003-present) Mohegan Wolves (AFL2) (2002-2003) |
| Capacity | 9,518 |
The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 9,518 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut located inside the Mohegan Sun resort and casino. The arena facility features 30,000 square feet of configurable exhibition space and a 400-foot clear span. It was built by the Perini Building company, and opened in 2001.
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[edit] History
The arena originally served as home of the Mohegan Wolves arena football team until it was sold and moved to Manchester, New Hampshire in 2004.
On January 28, 2003 the arena was announced publicly to be the official home court for the Connecticut Sun. Prior to the fall of 2002, the NBA operating model prevented any WNBA team to exist standalone without a NBA brother counterpart. By the time the Connecticut Sun moved in, Val Ackerman was the WNBA president, M. Jodi Rell was the state's Lieutenant Governor and Mark L. Brown was the chairman of the Mohegan Tribe. While the arena is attached to the Mohegan Sun casino, the facility does not accept any form of sports wagering or sports booking.
The multi-purpose facility has hosted a wide variety of events from American Kennel Club's Challenge Dog show, concerts featuring Shakira, Aerosmith, Van Halen, The Eagles, Rush, Bon Jovi, Brooks & Dunn, Stevie Nicks, Coldplay, David Bowie, Shania Twain, Cher, Bette Midler, Jimmy Buffett, Sting, The Who, Eric Clapton, Heaven & Hell, Velvet Revolver, Alice in Chains, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Simon & Garfunkel to the more regular sporting events such as WWE shows, NCAA games, Professional Bowlers Association tournaments, UFC bouts, World's Strongest Man Super Series Competition.
Major network and cable television broadcasting companies, including CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, ESPN and CNN have all produced events through this arena.
On September 8, 2005, as a companion to the arena, the Mohegan sun casino opened its first Connecticut Sun merchandise store called "Winter Essentials". It mainly sold Connecticut Sun WNBA team goods. It is the first store in the United States that sold professional basketball goods on casino ground.
[edit] Seating
As of 2006, the seatings can be configured into 5 common sports configurations. Basketball, boxing, bowling, rodeo, ping pong. It also can be reconfigured to fit 3 types of concerts: regular, fullhouse and round. The arena has won awards for being one of America's most modern concert venues.
[edit] Notable Events
- October 26, 2001 - NBA Pre-Season Game with Boston Celtics vs Washington Wizards. Michael Jordan played at the arena as a player, not general manager. It was the first professional basketball game ever held at the arena.
- December 1, 2001 - Women’s Professional Tennis featuring Martina Navratilova vs. Monica Seles
- 2002 National Lacrosse League All-Star Game
- 2002 National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) Pro Cup Championship
- 2002 Boxing Fight of the Year featuring Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti
- November 21st, 2003 UFC has its 10th anniversary show with UFC 45: Revolution
- February 6-8, 2004 - The first round of the Davis Cup with United States vs. Austria
- 2004 Gymnastics Championships and Celebration of Gold Medalists Paul Hamm and Carly Patterson
- July 9, 2005 - WNBA All-Star game
- 2005 Killerspin Extreme Table Tennis Championship
- April 4, 2006 Twisted Logic Tour (Coldplay)
- September 4, 2006 - Latin mega-star Shakira, part of her 2006-2007 World "Oral Fixation Tour".
- September 10, 2006 - WWE does its first full-blown high-definition television testing taping at a house show. (source: WWE.com)
- December 11, 2006 - WWE broadcasted a live television version of its flagship program, RAW, from the grounds of the arena.
- April 26 and 27, 2007 - George Strait and Ronnie Milsap perform at the arena. The shows were originally scheduled for March 9 and 10, but were postponed due to Strait's case of severe laryngitis.
- June 30, 2007 - Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour (2007) was held at the arena. Nine comedians were on the bill.
- July 9, 2007 - Rush played the arena as the first indoor venue on their Snakes & Arrows Tour.
- October 3, 2007 - Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony "En Concierto Tour".
- January 7, 2008 - Raw Roulette
[edit] References
- Perini Building Company. Retrieved on January 20, 2005.
- WWE. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
[edit] External links
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