Albany Civic Center
Albany James H. Gray, Sr. Civic Center as seen from Front Street. | |
Location |
100 W. Oglethorpe Blvd. Albany, GA 31701-6808 |
---|---|
Owner | City of Albany, Georgia |
Operator | City of Albany, Georgia |
Capacity |
10,711 (concerts) 9,082 (Sesame Street Live) 8,436 (basketball) 7,782 (rodeo) 6,570 (Disney on Ice) |
Tenants | |
Albany Panthers (PIFL) (2012-2013) (SIFL) (2010-2011) Albany Shockwave (ABA) (2012-2013) South Georgia Wildcats (af2) (2005-2009) Albany State College Golden Rams (SIAC) (1994-1995) South GA Blues (GBA) (1992-1993) Albany Sharp Shooters (GBA) (1991-1992) |
The Albany James H. Gray, Sr. Civic Center (Albany Civic Center for short) is an 10,240-seat multi-purpose arena in Albany, Georgia, United States.
History
With the opening of the Albany Mall in 1976, most long-established firms closed their stores in downtown Albany. Mayor James H. Gray, Sr. led an effort to revitalize the downtown area by constructing a 10,240-seat civic center. The arena was named in honor of Gray after his sudden death in 1986.[1]
The Albany Civic Center was also designed to be an arena and a convention center; as a result the arena features 46,000 square feet (4,300 m2) of exhibit space plus an additional 6,000 square feet (600 m2) of meeting room space. As a rodeo arena it can seat 7,782; for Disney on Ice the arena can seat 6,570; as a basketball arena the center holds 8,436; for Sesame Street Live the arena seats 9,082; and for boxing and wrestling the arena seats 9,013. For concerts the arena seats 5,728 in a half-house configuration, 10,297 end-stage and 10,711 for a center-stage show. Up to 1,932 seats can be accommodated on the arena floor; there are only 905 retractable seats in addition to 7,794 permanent seats.
The arena is a part of the Albany Civic Center Complex, a group of entertainment venues located in downtown Albany that also includes the Albany Municipal Auditorium and the Veterans Park Amphitheater.[2]
Featured events
From 1987 to 1992, the Albany Civic Center hosted The SEC Women's Basketball Tournament.[3]
Run-DMC music video for the song, "Mary, Mary", was filmed at the Albany Civic Center in 1988.[4]
The Albany Civic Center hosted the NWA Clash of the Champions III: Fall Brawl (which aired live September 7, 1988 on TBS),[5][6] the WCW Great American Bash (1992) (which aired live July 12, 1992 on pay-per-view),[7] WCW SuperBrawl IV (which aired live February 20, 1994 on pay-per-view),[8] and two episodes of WCW Monday Nitro (which aired live October 16, 1995 and April 22, 1996 on TNT).[9][10]
The Albany Civic Center is also the former home arena of the Albany Panthers indoor football team from 2010 to 2013, last playing in the Professional Indoor Football League,[11][12][13] the South Georgia Wildcats of the now defunct af2 indoor football league,[14] the Albany Shockwave of the American Basketball Association,[15] Albany State College Golden Rams basketball (after the Flood of '94) and the Albany Sharp Shooters/South GA Blues of the defunct Global Basketball Association.
References
- ↑ http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.com/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2209
- ↑ http://dtownalbany.com/venues
- ↑ http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20021002/NEWS/210020007//
- ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgmyVLheqkQ
- ↑ http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/clash.html#III
- ↑ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxnod5_clash-of-the-champions-3-1-of-2_sport?search_algo=2
- ↑ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3emlv_wcw-great-american-bash-1992-intro_sport
- ↑ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpg73o_wcw-superbrawl-1994-desicorner-net-clip1_sport
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0946933/
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0946900/
- ↑ http://www.albanypanthers.net/arena.html
- ↑ http://www.walb.com/story/24857929/pifl-announces-georgia-fire-to-take-panthers-place
- ↑ http://www.walb.com/story/24755781/panthers-owner-city-doesnt-want-us-here
- ↑ http://www.southgawildcats.com/
- ↑ http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2012/nov/29/shockwave-loses-civic-center-home/
External links
Coordinates: 31°34′26″N 84°09′00″W / 31.573897°N 84.150039°W