| Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center | |
|---|---|
| Address | 300 East Ocean Blvd. |
| Location | Long Beach, California |
| Owner | Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau |
| Operator | SMG |
| Built | 1962 |
| Expanded | 1994 |
| Construction cost | $111 Million (1994 Expansion) |
| Enclosed space | |
| Total space | 312,770 sq ft (29,057 m2) (Total Meeting Space) |
| Exhibit hall floor | Hall A 91,000 sq ft (8,500 m2) Hall B 57,000 sq ft (5,300 m2) Hall C 76,000 sq ft (7,100 m2) Arena 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) |
| Breakout/meeting | 34 Rooms |
| Ballroom | Grand Ballroom 20,456 sq ft (1,900.4 m2) Promanade 104ABC 13,200 sq ft (1,230 m2) |
| Website | www.longbeachcc.com |
The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. It was built on the site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium beginning in 1962. The primary venues of the complex include:
Contents |
The Long Beach Arena was the first building to be completed in the complex. Capacities are as follows: 11,200 for hockey, 13,609 for basketball, and either 4,550, 9,200 or 13,500 for concerts depending on the seating chart.
The Arena has hosted various entertainment and professional and college sporting events, most notably the volleyball events of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.[1]
For trade shows, the arena features 46,000 square feet (4300 m²) of space, with an additional 19,000 square feet (1800 m²) of space in the lobby and 29,000 square feet (2700 m²) in the concourse. Hanging from the arena's 77 foot (23 m) high ceiling is a center-hung scoreboard with four White Way "Mega Color" Animation Screens. There is an 11 by 15 foot SACO Smartvision LED Wall located on the south end of the arena.
Long Beach Arena was the site of the first National Hockey League game involving an expansion team, as the Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers, both expansion teams, played on October 14, 1967. The Kings won, 4–2. The Kings played in Long Beach for the first half of their expansion season while the Forum was being completed.
The arena was also one of the sites of the 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Rounds of 64 and 32. The teams which played at Long Beach Arena included Maryland, Pepperdine & UNLV. Maryland's Len Bias played his final collegiate game at the Long Beach Arena on March 14, 1986 in a loss to UNLV in the Round of 32. The Arena was also the site of the Big West Conference men's basketball tournament from 1989 to 1993. Volleyball matches were held at the arena during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games.
In the 1970s the arena hosted several games of the Los Angeles Sharks of the World Hockey Association and regular appearances of the Los Angeles Thunderbirds Roller Derby team.
The Arena was home to the former Long Beach Ice Dogs team, which played professional ice hockey in the ECHL. The Ice Dogs ceased operations of the team in 2007.
Along the exterior wall of the drum-shaped Arena is "Planet Ocean", one of environmental artist Wyland's Whaling Walls, which was dedicated on July 9, 1992. At 116,000 square feet (11,000 m²), it is the world's largest mural (according to the Guinness Book of Records). The mural depicts migratory gray whales and other aquatic life that can be found in the waters off Long Beach.
In celebration of Earth Day in 2009, Wyland touched up the existing Whaling Wall and added a large mural of the earth on the roof of the arena.[2]
There are two ballrooms: the 20,456 square foot (1900 m²) Grand Ballroom (seating up to 2,100) and the 13,200 square foot (1300 m²) Promenade Ballroom (seating up to 1,400) plus 34 meeting rooms totalling 82,823 square feet (7695 m²).
The convention center and theatre part served as host of the fencing competitions during the 1984 Summer Olympics.[1]
The Long Beach Arena has been used to record part or all of several live concert albums and videos, including:
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Los Angeles Kings 1967 |
Succeeded by The Forum |
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