Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium

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This article is about the indoor sports arena and auditorium in Ponce, Puerto Rico. For the basketball player whose name it carries, see Juan "Pachín" Vicéns.

Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns

Location	Ponce, Puerto Rico
Opened	May 12, 1972
Owner	Municipality of Ponce
Operator	Municipality of Ponce
Tenants
Ponce Lions, BSN
Capacity
12,000 (approx. maximum)

Juan Pachín Vicens Auditorium is a well known sports venue in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The auditorium opened on May 12, 1972 and is named after renowned basketball player, Juan "Pachín" Vicéns (1934-2007), though it was first dubbed as "coliseum", not "auditorium".

The auditorium has been remodeled several times. Its original seating capacity was 7,786 seats. It was remodeled in the mid-90s to add more seating space, and in 2001 the auditorium was again renovated to include an air conditioning system, new scoreboards, new sound system, an acoustics improvement project, and an increase to its seating capacity to more than 12,000 spectators. The auditorium served as one of the sport venues for the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games.

The auditorium is the official venue of the local basketball team the Ponce Lions, and also hosts musical concerts, circuses, conventions, and organization meetings.

In addition to serving as an important sports venue, several non-sports historical events have taken place there. The tumultuous General Assembly of the then-ruling New Progressive Party held there in 1983 led to the creation of a splinter party, the Puerto Rico Renewal Party, by then San Juan mayor Hernan Padilla and the defeat of Governor Carlos Romero Barcelo in the 1984 gubernatorial elections.

The auditorium was the site of the wake ceremony for Juan "Pachín" Vicéns whom passed away on February 18, 2007 at the age of 72. Ponce mayor Rafael Cordero Santiago who died on January 17, 2004 had his wake ceremony in the auditorium as well.