Scottrade Center

Scottrade Center
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Scottrade Center pictured in 2005 when it was formerly known as Savvis Center
Former names Kiel Center (1994–July 2000)
Savvis Center (August 2000–2006)
Location 1401 Clark Avenue (honorary location: Brett Hull Way), St. Louis, Missouri 63103
Coordinates 38°37′36″N 90°12′9″W / 38.62667°N 90.20250°W / 38.62667; -90.20250Coordinates: 38°37′36″N 90°12′9″W / 38.62667°N 90.20250°W / 38.62667; -90.20250
Public transit Metrolink: Civic Center
Operator SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC.
Capacity Ice hockey: 19,150
Basketball and Concerts: 22,000
Indoor soccer: 10,000 (expandable to 19,150)[1]
Field size 665,000 square feet (61,800 m2)
Construction
Broke ground December 14, 1992 (December 14, 1992)[2]
Opened October 8, 1994 (October 8, 1994)
Construction cost $135 million
($216 million in 2016 dollars[3])
Architect Ellerbe Becket[4](Kansas City)
Structural engineer The Consulting Engineers Group, Inc.[5]
Services engineer William Tao & Associates, Inc.[6]
General contractor J.S. Alberici Construction[7]
Main contractors DKW Construction, Inc.[8]
Tenants
St. Louis Blues (NHL) (1995–present)
Saint Louis Billikens (NCAA) (1994–2008)
St. Louis Steamers (MISL) (2004–2006)
St. Louis Ambush (NPSL) (1994–2000)
St. Louis Stampede (AFL) (1995–1996)
St. Louis Vipers (RHI) (1995–1997, 1999)
River City Rage (NIFL) (2006)
Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament (NCAA)

Scottrade Center (originally Kiel Center and formerly Savvis Center) is a 19,150 seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, opened in 1994. It is the home of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League.

Besides ice hockey, the arena features a range of arena programming, including professional wrestling, concerts, ice shows, family shows, and other sporting events. It hosts approximately 175 events per year, drawing nearly 2 million guests annually. For the first quarter 2006, Scottrade Center ranked second among arenas in the United States and fourth worldwide in tickets sold. Industry trade publication Pollstar ranks Scottrade Center among the top ten arenas worldwide in tickets sold to non-team events.

The largest crowd to attend an event at the Scottrade Center was 22,612, which happened twice during the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, known as Arch Madness.[9]

The arena is frequently selected by the NCAA for championship events, and played host to the NCAA Frozen Four Hockey Championships in April 2007, the NCAA Women’s Final Four Basketball Championships in 2009, and the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 2000, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2015.

The building is operated by SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC, owner of the St. Louis Blues, under its chairman, Tom Stillman.[10]

History

Kiel Center opened in 1994 to replace Kiel Auditorium, where the Saint Louis University college basketball team had played, which was torn down in December 1992. The Blues had played in the St. Louis Arena prior to moving into Kiel Center in 1994; however, they would not play in the arena until January 1995 due to the lockout that delayed the start of the 1994-95 season. The building is currently known as Scottrade Center, after naming rights were sold in September 2006 to Scottrade. The Kiel name still exists on the adjoining parking structure and the building cornerstone. Signs for the nearby MetroLink stop have been changed to read "Civic Center", since the building has been renamed three times in its short history.

The Opera House portion of the building was not razed when the original Auditorium was but remained closed since 1992, as members of Civic Progress, Inc., who promised to pay for the renovation of the Opera House, reneged on that promise, while opposing all outside efforts to achieve that renovation. In June 2009, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted 25-1 to subsidize the renovation and reopening of the Opera House under the direction of its new owners, Sports Capital Partners (who also own the Blues). The subsidies were funded by municipal bonds and state/federal historic tax credits. On July 12, 2010, it was announced that the name of the opera house would be changed to the Peabody Opera House, named after the company Peabody Energy. On October 1, 2011, the Peabody Opera House opened for the first time since the $79 million renovation.

Blues management decried its former naming-rights deal with tech company SAVVIS, as much of the compensation was in Savvis shares, then riding high. However, when the tech bubble burst, the team was left with nearly worthless shares.[11]

In September 2006, Scottrade founder Rodger O. Riney announced a partnership with the St. Louis Blues hockey club and arena. The new name of the arena, Scottrade Center, was revealed in a joint press conference. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but were described as "long-term and significant." Both Scottrade and the Blues said the agreement was "equitable" to both parties. Most of the signage and other promotions were changed to Scottrade Center prior to the first home game of the Blues on October 12, 2006.

In Fall 2006, an integrated LED scoring, video and advertising system from Daktronics in Brookings, South Dakota was installed in the arena, along with 1,075 feet (328 m) of 360-degree ribbon display technology. The centerhung display is made up of 12 different video displays and four 15 feet (4.6 m)-long ribbon displays.[12]

On May 22, 2011, Bon Jovi set an attendance record for the venue with their Bon Jovi Live Tour with 20,648 in attendance. [13]

Seating Capacity

The seating capacity for hockey has gone as follows:

Tenants

It is the home of the St. Louis Blues hockey franchise. A number of other events are scheduled throughout the year, such as concerts, ice shows, circuses and similar large gatherings.

Former tenants of Scottrade Center include the Saint Louis University Billikens NCAA Division I men's basketball team, St. Louis Vipers roller hockey team, St. Louis Ambush and St. Louis Steamers indoor soccer teams, the St. Louis Stampede arena football team, and the River City Rage indoor football team.

Events

Sports

Concerts

Wrestling

Many historic WWE moments have taken place at the Scottrade Center. Former WWE and World Heavyweight Champion Kane made his WWE debut at this arena in 1997 at the event Badd Blood: In Your House. At that same event, the very first Hell In A Cell match took place. The Rock won his very first WWE Championship in the building at the Survivor Series event in 1998. Chris Jericho won his first World Championship in this arena at the No Mercy event in 2001, and won his latest World Championship in the arena at the Elimination Chamber event in 2010. In 2005 at this very arena John Cena was revealed as the first draft pick for Monday night raw where he would remain for most of his career. WWE Superstar Dave Batista won his second WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber event in 2010. The 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw was also held there. At the 2014 Survivor Series Sting made his official debut in WWE.

The arena, alongside Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the Allstate Arena in Chicago is known for having one of the best crowds in WWE, as the crowd is firmly behind Randy Orton, a St. Louis native, much like how the Allstate Arena crowd is firmly behind Chicago native CM Punk. Often one can see fan signs saying the words "Orton Country", among others, whenever Orton is scheduled to compete.

References

  1. ↑ "Arena Specifications". Scottrade Center. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  2. ↑ Kee-Montre, Lorraine (December 15, 1992). "Hull's 'Blast' Leads the Way to New Arena". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  3. ↑ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  4. ↑ Scottrade Center - Ellerbe Becket
  5. ↑ Ted O'Shea - Experience
  6. ↑ William Tao & Associates, Inc. - Kiel Center
  7. ↑ Alberici Construction - Scottrade Center
  8. ↑ DKW Construction - Projects
  9. ↑ "Creighton 75, Missouri St. 58". Yahoo! Sports. March 3, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  10. ↑ Kurtovic, Amir (May 17, 2012). "Stillman's Blues Group Raised $72 Million to Buy Team". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Lessons Learned: Laurie Down $700,000 on Savvis Naming Rights Deal". St. Louis Business Journal. June 21, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  12. ↑ "St. Louis Blues installs LED scoring and entertainment system".
  13. ↑ Byrum, John (May 23, 2011). "Bon Jovi keeps it real at Scottrade show". stltoday.com. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  14. 1 2 "Attendance History". St. Louis Blues Hockey Club, L.P. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  15. ↑ Rutherford, Jeremy P. (January 6, 2008). "Blues Remain Powerless, but Shut Out Hurricanes". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. D1. Retrieved February 27, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scottrade Center.
Events and tenants
Preceded by
St. Louis Arena		 Home of the
St. Louis Blues
1994 – present 		Succeeded by
current
Preceded by
Bradley Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin		 Host of the
Frozen Four
2007 		Succeeded by
Pepsi Center
Denver, Colorado
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