Bicentennial Center

Salina Bicentennial Center
Mid-America's Meeting Place
Location 800 The Midway
Salina, Kansas 67401
Coordinates 38°50′02″N 97°36′01″W / 38.833824°N 97.600265°W / 38.833824; -97.600265Coordinates: 38°50′02″N 97°36′01″W / 38.833824°N 97.600265°W / 38.833824; -97.600265
Owner City of Salina
Operator Global Spectrum
Capacity 7,583
Construction
Broke ground 1977
Opened June 2, 1979
Tenants
Kansas Cagerz (USBL) (1999–2007)
Salina Rattlers (IBA) (2000–2001)
Salina Bombers (CPIFL/CIF) (2013–2015)
Salina Liberty (CIF) (2016–present)
Salina Saints (ABA) (2016–present)

The Salina Bicentennial Center is located in Salina, Kansas, is composed of a 7,500-seat multipurpose arena, meeting rooms and Heritage Hall, an 18,000 square foot convention center. It is home of the Salina Liberty of the Champions Indoor Football league and nicknamed Mid-America's Meeting Place.

The city of Salina is the primary owner of the Bicentennial Center. Spectra manages the Bicentennial Center as well as more than 100 other public assembly facilities around the world.

A variety of events are held at the Bicentennial Center including concerts, family shows, sport events, trade shows, and conventions. Annual events include: Salina Invitational Basketball Tournament, Salina Home & leisure Show, Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) 4A Wrestling, Basketball and Volleyball State Tournaments, National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women's Division I Basketball National Championship, Mid-America Farm Expo, Shrine Circus, Tri-Rivers Fair, and commencements for Salina Area Technical College, Brown Mackie College, and USD 305.

The arena has been home to five professional sports franchises: the Kansas Cagerz of the United States Basketball League (1999-2007), the Salina Rattlers of the International Basketball Association (2000-2001), the Salina Bombers of the Champions Indoor Football league (2013-2015), the Salina Liberty, also of the CIF (2016-present), and the Salina Saints of the American Basketball Association (2016-present).

History

On August 26, 1990, the rock band KISS performed at the arena as part of their Hot in the Shade Tour. During the show, the band's enormous stage set overloaded the arena's power supply causing a transformer to explode outside the building and cutting electricity inside the arena. This abruptly ended the show before the band could complete their set. A short time later, band member Paul Stanley phoned a local radio station and promised to return to Salina to make up for the shortened show. This phone call was recorded and played on the air. To date, KISS has never returned.

Past events

Wrestling

Concerts

Other Events

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.