GIANT Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| GIANT Center | |
|---|---|
  |
|
| Location | 950 West Hersheypark Drive Hershey, PA 17033 |
| Broke ground | November 8, 2000 |
| Opened | October 19, 2002 |
| Owner | Derry Township Municipal Authority |
| Operator | Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company |
| Construction cost | $65 million |
| Architect | HOK Sport + Venue + Event (Kansas City, Missouri) |
| Tenants | Hershey Bears (AHL) (2002-present) |
| Capacity | 12,500 for in-the-round concerts, 10,500 for hockey |
| Field dimensions | 306,000 total square feet in the main arena.
100 feet from ice to ceiling 17,000 square feet floor area. 85’ x 200’ ice rink |
The GIANT Center is a 12,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in the Harrisburg metropolitan area. It is home to the Hershey Bears ice hockey team, the longest-existing member club in the American Hockey League, joining the league in 1938. GIANT Center replaced the Hersheypark Arena as the Bears' home in 2002.
In addition to Bears games, the arena also hosts an annual concert series and attracts many well-known acts. The GIANT Center opened its doors with a performance by Cher and has since hosted acts ranging from 50 Cent to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, to Drew Carey's Comedy Tour, professional ice shows, family events, and special attractions like Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Harlem Globetrotters, Disney On Ice, Stars On Ice, and the Blue Man Group. Several conventions make yearly stops here as well, notably the Pennsylvania RV & Camping Show, the auction of the Antique Automobile Club of America's Fall Meet. In 2003, the GIANT Center held WWE Unforgiven.
The GIANT Center is owned by the Derry Township Municipal Authority, as much of the money for its construction was provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is operated by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, with the naming rights owned by the GIANT Food grocery store chain based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 2007 the Giant Center Food and Beverage Department finalized a deal with PepsiCo, with all food and drink stands in the building switched from Coca-Cola products to Pepsi products. The switch was made to equalize operations with the rest of the Hershey Entertainment Complex.
[edit] External links
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
