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| Photo credit: Jondoeforty1/Honda Center/Flickr |
The Anaheim Ducks Arena is officially named Honda Center. It first opened in 1993 after two years of construction at a cost of $123 million. The 650,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor entertainment space is home to two sports teams, the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL and the Los Angeles Kiss of the AFL.
1. Home of the Anaheim Ducks
The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks are the 2007 winners of the Stanley Cup. They were first called The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The team was founded in 1993 by The Walt Disney Co. and given a name inspired by Disney’s 1992 film The Mighty Ducks, which focused on a junior hockey team. The Mighty Ducks became the Anaheim Ducks when the team was sold to Henry and Susan Samueli in 2005. The Samuelis have since invested more than $100 million in arena improvements.
2. Home of the Los Angeles KISS
The Honda Center is also home of the Los Angeles KISS of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2013 and given a name inspired by its owners, lead members of the rock band KISS, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. They own the team with their manager Doc McGhee and AFL veteran Brett Bouchy.
LA KISS games have a running theme reminiscent of a KISS concert. Games open with an electric guitar rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and offer sidelines entertainment, including BMX stunt riders, a live band and dancers suspended from the ceiling.
3. Arena history
The first event held at the arena, then called Anaheim Arena, was a sold-out Barry Manilow concert in June of 1993. In October of the same year, Arrowhead Water paid $15 million for 10 years of naming rights. From 1993-2003, the arena was called the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.
When the naming rights lapsed, the arena was referred to as the Pond of Anaheim until Honda paid $60 million for naming rights in October 2006. These naming rights last through 2021.
Through the years, the arena has hosted concerts, sporting events and more. It has been ranked one of the World’s Top 10 Arenas of the Decade by Venues Today magazine. The venue is owned by the City of Anaheim and managed by Anaheim Arena Management.
4. Brand new scoreboard for Anaheim Ducks 2015-2016 season
Honda Center and the Anaheim Ducks announced in January 2015 that the venue will unveil a new state-of-the-art scoreboard in September in advance of the 2015-16 NHL season.
The new scoreboard screens will measure nearly 20 feet tall and over 30 feet wide, and feature a display area more than four times the square footage of what the arena currently operates. The hardware will offer the clearest and highest definition picture available in any North American venue.
5. Fun facts about the Honda Center
Located in Orange County, Honda Center encompasses 650,000 square feet and is lined inside and out with marble and granite from around the world.
The arena has three levels of seating: Plaza, Premium and Terrace. The arena offers 18,900 seats, plus 84 luxury suites.
The Honda Center hosts an average of 163 events and 1.6 million guests annually.
Ice hockey is played on ice that is 1 1/4” thick with a floor temperature of 21 degrees. The ice for figure skating is 2” thick and 25-26 degrees. Figure skaters need the ice to be thicker and softer for jumping and landing.
It takes roughly 30 hours and 15,000 gallons of water to complete the ice making process. It only takes 5-6 hours to remove the ice at the end of the season.
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