Roanoke Civic Center
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Roanoke Civic Center is a 9,828-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971. It was the former home to the Roanoke Dazzle basketball team, as well as the Roanoke Express and Roanoke Valley Vipers ice hockey teams. Currently, it is the home of the Virginia Tech men's ice hockey team. The Arena is also the home of the annual boys basketball games between Roanoke's two city schools, Patrick Henry High School and William Fleming High School. The teams play twice a year, splitting the series this year.
Opened in October 1971, the Roanoke Civic Center was also the former home of the American Basketball Association (1967-1976) professional basketball franchise Virginia Squires. The Squires played there (in addition to the Norfolk Scope, Richmond Coliseum and Hampton Coliseum; all within the state of Virginia) from 1971 to 1972. The Virginia Squires used the Civic Center for only one season due to low attendance. The Squires folded four years later, in 1976. It hosted WCW Fall Brawl in 1994.
From 2001 to 2006, professional basketball was active again at the Roanoke Civic Center, with the National Basketball Association's D-League franchise, the Roanoke Dazzle. College basketball was also recently contested there, in the form of the Big South Conference men's basketball tournaments in 2001 and 2002. The Metro Conference men's basketball tournament was held here in 1991.
Other seating capacities for the Civic Center arena include: 8,642 for hockey, 10,622 for end-stage concerts and 11,000 for center-stage concerts; it is the area's premier sports and entertainment venue. There are eight restrooms and six concession stands at the arena, which has a 60-foot ceiling height and ten spotlights as well as a portable stage that is no larger than 60-by-40 feet. There are 8,372 permanent seats at the arena; the arena floor measures over 20,000 square feet.
Adjacent are a 14,396-square-foot exhibit hall with 10,000 square feet of column-free space, and a 2,440-seat theatre that can be used for concerts, Broadway shows, the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and other special events. The theatre features a 55-foot-by-105-foot stage; 1,625 seats in the theatre are in the orchestra level, 295 in the loge and 520 in the balcony. After recent renovations, the facility became known as the Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre.
A 46,000-square-foot special events center will be added to the Civic Center in 2007; it will be used for trade shows, meetings, conventions and other special events.
