Glens Falls Civic Center

Glens Falls Civic Center
Location 1 Civic Center Plaza
Glens Falls, NY 12801
Coordinates 43°18′29″N 73°38′30″W / 43.308169°N 73.641782°W / 43.308169; -73.641782Coordinates: 43°18′29″N 73°38′30″W / 43.308169°N 73.641782°W / 43.308169; -73.641782
Owner City of Glens Falls
Operator Global Spectrum
Capacity 4,794 permanent seats plus capacity for 1,000 seated or standing on floor and 1,000 along promenade for standing room only[1]
Surface Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground August 15, 1977[2]
Opened May 18, 1979[2]
Construction cost $3 million[2]
($9.8 million in 2016 dollars[3])
Architect Crandell Associates[4]
General contractor Lino Associates[2]
Tenants
NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Championships
Adirondack Thunder (ECHL) (2015–present)
Adirondack Flames (AHL) (2014–2015)
Adirondack Phantoms (AHL) (2009–2014)
Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) (1979–1999)
Adirondack Icehawks/Frostbite (UHL) (1999–2006)
Adirondack Wildcats (USBL) (2002–2004)
Empire State Cobras (RHI) (1996)
Albany River Rats (AHL) (2007-2009, Part-time)

Glens Falls Civic Center is a 4,794-seat multi-purpose arena located in downtown Glens Falls, New York, that currently serves as the home of the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL. Built in 1979, it was originally the home of the Adirondack Red Wings, AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

History

On June 21, 1989, The Who kicked off their 25th Anniversary Tour at the Civic Center. It was the first time in seven years they were on tour. It also marked their first performance without drummer Kenney Jones, who replaced Keith Moon in 1979; he was replaced by Simon Phillips for that tour.

19-year-old Mike Tyson defeated James Tillis, for his 20th straight professional career win, at the Civic Center on May 5, 1986. Tyson won via unanimous decision in the 10-round fight. Two months later, on July 26, 1986, Tyson fought and defeated Marvis Frazier in 30 seconds via KO for his 25th straight win in his professional career.

On October 31, 1994, it became the site of the first of six "Halloween costumes" by jam band Phish. That evening, in the middle of a three set concert, Phish performed The Beatles' White Album in its entirety. The show was recorded and later released as a live album, entitled Live Phish Volume 13. Phish returned to the Civic Center on October 23, 2013, playing "Back in the USSR" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the White Album.

For the 2007–08 AHL season and 2008–09 AHL season, the nearby Albany River Rats played four home games in Glens Falls in order to gauge the community's interest in whether an American Hockey League franchise could relocate to Glens Falls. City government officials and arena management were looking into the possibility of acquiring a franchise to play in the Civic Center.

On April 14, 2008, the building became one of the management properties of Global Spectrum for the city of Glens Falls, New York.[5]

On February 12, 2009, the Center was announced to be a potential temporary home to the Philadelphia Phantoms AHL team, who would leave Philadelphia following the 2009 season due to the demolition of the Wachovia Spectrum.[6] That team, the Adirondack Phantoms, would play for five seasons at the Center before moving to the PPL Center in 2014, becoming the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. However, AHL hockey stayed in Glens Falls for at least the 2014–15 season, as the former Abbotsford Heat announced they would be moving to the Center, adopting the new Adirondack Flames moniker.[7]

However, the Flames' first season would also be their last in Glens Falls, as the team moved to Stockton, California after the 2014–15 season to become the Stockton Heat.[8] Glens Falls will not be without pro hockey, however, as the ECHL's Stockton Thunder moved to Glens Falls for the 2015–16 season to become the Adirondack Thunder.[9]

The Glens Falls Civic Center has been the host of the New York State Basketball Championships through 2014.[10] The Federation tournament was previously held at the Glens Falls Civic Center up until 2011, when it was moved to the Times Union Center in Albany, New York.[11]

Another notable event at the Civic Center came on December 8, 2010, when it hosted a basketball game between BYU and Vermont billed as the "Hometown Classic". The game served as a homecoming for BYU star Jimmer Fredette, who had led Glens Falls High School to the New York state championship game, held at this facility, in 2007.[12] A beyond-capacity crowd of 6,300, which also included former BYU great and current Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge, saw Fredette's Cougars win 86–58.[12][13]

A public auction of the Glens Falls Civic Center had been scheduled for August 18, 2014,[14] however no bidders showed to make an offer. A local coalition continues to attempt to raise money to purchase the arena.[15] The yearly operating losses near $1 million(US), and the city-owned arena does not currently have enough council votes in Warren County, New York to impose a 1% tax increase to subsidize the arena.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Leone, Tim (October 4, 2013). "Hershey Bears 2013-14 Preview: AHL Eastern Conference Overview". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kane, Mike (1994). Minor in Name Only: The History of the Adirondack Red Wings. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-1-57167-004-5.
  3. ↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  4. ↑ "City Glens Falls v. Crandell Associates Architects Et Al.". LRC, Inc. February 21, 1991. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  5. ↑ Pruitt, Derek (April 15, 2008). "Global Spectrum Takes Over Management of the Glens Falls Civic Center". The Post-Star. Glens Falls. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ Gromley, Chuck (February 12, 2009). "Phantoms on Their Way to Lehigh Valley". Courier-Post. Cherry Hill, NJ. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Adirondack Flames Introduced in Glens Falls". American Hockey League. May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Flames Unveil Plans for Future". Stockton Thunder. January 30, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  9. ↑ "ECHL Board of Governors Announces Major Moves". ECHL. January 30, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  10. ↑ Garcia, Marien (December 8, 2010). "Jimmer Fredette's Hometown Pulls Unlikely Deal to Host BYU Star". USA Today. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  11. ↑ Springstead, Will (January 20, 2010). "Glens Falls Loses Federation Tournament". The Post-Star. Glens Falls. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  12. 1 2 Associated Press (December 8, 2010). "Jimmer Fredette Hammers Vermont in Return to Hometown". ESPN. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  13. ↑ Associated Press (December 8, 2010). "Box Score: (21) BYU 86, Vermont 58". ESPN. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  14. ↑ Tingley, Ken (August 1, 2014). "Business leaders scramble to find support for Civic Center". The Post-Star. Glens Falls. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  15. ↑ Valvanis, Maria (August 18, 2014). "No Bids for Glens Falls Civic Center". Time Warner Cable News. Albany. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  16. ↑ Tingley, Ken (August 2, 2014). "Clock is ticking for Civic Center coalition". The Post-Star. Glens Falls. Retrieved August 3, 2014.

External links

Events and tenants
Preceded by
Wachovia Spectrum (as the Philadelphia Phantoms)		 Home of the
Adirondack Phantoms
2009–2014 		Succeeded by
PPL Center (as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms)
Preceded by
Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre (as the Abbotsford Heat)		 Home of the
Adirondack Flames
2014–2015 		Succeeded by
Stockton Arena (as the Stockton Heat)
Preceded by
Stockton Arena (as the Stockton Thunder)		 Home of the
Adirondack Thunder
2015–present 		Succeeded by
current
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