| George M. Sullivan Arena | |
|---|---|
| Sully | |
| Location | 1600 Gambell Street Anchorage, AK 99501 |
| Broke ground | 1981 |
| Opened | February 8, 1983[1] |
| Owner | Municipality of Anchorage |
| Operator | SMG |
| Surface | 200' x 100' (ice hockey) |
| Construction cost | $25 million[2] ($55.1 million in 2012 dollars[3]) |
| Architect | The Luckman Partnership Inc.[4] Harold Wirum & Associates[2] |
| Project Manager | Hanscomb Heery, Inc.[2] |
| Capacity | Ice Hockey: 6,399 (seated), 6,599 (with standing room) basketball: 8,700 |
| Tenants | |
| Alaska Fighting Championship (2004–present) Alaska Aces (ECHL) (1995–present) Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (1993-present) Alaska Wild (IFL) (2007–present) Alaska Dream American Basketball Association 2008-present |
|
The George M. Sullivan Arena (commonly shortened to the "Sullivan Arena" and often referred to colloquially as "the Sully") is an arena in Anchorage, Alaska. The arena opened in 1983 and has a seating capacity of 8,700 for basketball, 6,251 for hockey.[1] It is home to the Alaska Aces ECHL ice hockey team, the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves hockey team (WCHA), the Great Alaska Shootout basketball tournament, and the Alaska Fighting Championship mixed martial arts events. In 2007 it became home to the Alaska Wild of the Indoor Football League. The Arena is often criticized for its poor acoustics and thus is rarely used for concert acts. It's also used to host local high school and University of Alaska Anchorage graduation ceremonies. Sullivan Arena was also used, in 1984, as the site of Billy Graham's Alaska Crusade; Graham's Sullivan Arena attendance record still stands over 25 years later.
It is east of Mulcahy Stadium across a parking lot.
The arena is named after former Anchorage mayor George M. Sullivan. It is owned by the Municipality of Anchorage and operated by SMG, a nationwide property management company.
For hockey, the Sullivan Arena offers 6,251 seats with a standing room capacity of 6,451. If areas designated for wheel chairs are included, the arena can seat 6,290, plus standing room, during hockey games. The arena is known for its international-specification (Olympic-sized) ice rink (61 m × 30 m / 200 ft × 98.5 ft) instead of the more traditional NHL specifications (200 ft × 85 ft / 61 m × 25.9 m).
A new arena for the Seawolves basketball team and the Great Alaska Shootout is currently being planned.
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||