Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose
arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...
in
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. in
Atlantic County,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
. It was Atlantic City's primary
convention center
A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
until the opening of the
Atlantic City Convention Center in 1997. Boardwalk Hall was declared a U.S.
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...
in 1987 as one of the few surviving buildings from the city's early heyday as a seaside resort.
[ and ] The venue seats 10,500 people for
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
, and at maximum capacity can accommodate 14,770 for
concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...
s. Boardwalk Hall is the home of the
Miss America Pageant.
Boardwalk Hall contains the world's largest musical instrument, a
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks' ...
of over 33,000 pipes, eight chambers, its console the world's largest of seven manuals and over 1000 stop keys, and one of two stops (the other found in the
Sydney Town Hall). Also included in this organ are pipes operating on 100
inches of pressure, the Grand Ophicleide being the loudest and also most famous. The Guinness Book of World Records noted "a pure trumpet note of ear-splitting volume, six times louder than the loudest
train whistle." However, these stops are actually well-refined and are not overpowering in Boardwalk Hall due to its huge interior.
In October 2017, the
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
approved legislation to dedicate Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall in honor of
Senator Jim Whelan, the former mayor and state lawmaker who died earlier in the year.
History and Design
Edward L. Bader
Edward Lawrence Bader (June 8, 1874 – January 29, 1927) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey for much of the Roaring Twenties, when the city was arguably at the peak of its popularity as a vacation sp ...
, mayor of Atlantic City from 1924 to 1929, led the initiative to acquire the land for Convention Hall, now Boardwalk Hall, and construction was underway at the time of his death.
The hall, designed by the
architectural firm
In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countri ...
Lockwood Greene, was built in 1926.
The main hall measures 456 by 310 feet (139 by 94 m). The barrel vault ceiling is 137 feet (42 m) high. Ten pairs of three-hinged steel trusses support this unusually large clear span; there are no supporting columns. Each pair of trusses spans 350 feet (110 m) and weighs 220 short tons (200 t). The trusses are tied to the frame columns to allow the building to flex slightly with wind and ground pressure. The barrel ceiling consists of painted aluminum tiles. It is decorated to resemble Roman bath tiles, and extends over 196,000 square feet (18,200 m
2).
[http://www.boardwalkhall.com/history.asp . Retrieved 2012jun10.] The building's forward section is slightly rotated to align with the boardwalk, while the hall itself is aligned to the street grid.
It takes sound roughly 0.4 seconds to travel the length of the hall; because of this, the pipe organ chambers could not be built more than halfway back from the stage or a noticeable delay would occur. This led to two of the organ's chambers being placed in the upper shell of the building, in the space between the outer roof and the ceiling.
Various uses
The
Miss America Pageant, founded in 1921 in Atlantic City, used Boardwalk Hall from the hall's opening in 1940 until 2006. The Pageant returned to the hall in 2013. It was last used for Miss America 2019.
It was also the venue for the August
1964 Democratic National Convention
The 1964 Democratic National Convention of the Democratic Party, took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey from August 24 to 27, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a full term. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnes ...
that nominated
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson as the
Democratic Party's candidate for the
1964 U.S. presidential election
The 1964 United States presidential election was the 45th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1964. Incumbent Democratic United States President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater, the Republican nomin ...
, nine months after the
assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, in November 1963.
The following weekend,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
held one of their largest concerts on their first U.S. tour at the hall.
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
gave a concert at Convention Hall on August 4, 1961. Garland returned for a second engagement on Sept 3rd, 1961.
The hall was also the venue for the concert by
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...
on their
Steel Wheels Tour
The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album '' Steel Wheels''; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European le ...
in 1989. The concert, which was shown on
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...
television, is widely remembered by fans for a mishap where viewers were cut off from the performance during the song "
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff ...
", as well as the performance of "
Miss You" in some countries. This concert was remastered, remixed and released on DVD, Blu-Ray, CD and Vinyl on 2 October 2020, as Steel Wheels Live Atlantic City, New Jersey '89.
On March 7, 2003,
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed. Tickets for the event were immediately sold-out.
Springsteen returned to perform a solo show on his
Devils & Dust Tour on November 13, 2005.
On August 16, 2003
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
and
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
were supposed to perform at the Boardwalk Hall, but due to a major stage collapse, the show (and later tour) was postponed.
On February 4, 2006,
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...
from New Jersey performed for the
Have a Nice Day Tour.
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike G ...
played three nights at Boardwalk Hall for Halloween in both 2010 and 2013. The 2010 Halloween concert featured a performance of
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving m ...
's ''
Waiting For Columbus'' album in its entirety. The 2013 show included the debut of Phish's unrecorded album ''Wingsuit'', which would later become the album ''
Fuego''.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', where she re ...
performed a sold-out show in front of 11,220 people during her
Dance Again World Tour
Dance Again World Tour was the first worldwide concert tour by American entertainer Jennifer Lopez. Throughout the majority of her music career, beginning in 1999, a world tour by Lopez was anticipated, though it never materialized. Following t ...
on July 29, 2012
American pop star
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
performed at the venue four times, with the first sold-out show at arena in front of 12,322 people during her
Confessions Tour on July 16, 2006, she performed the second show in front of 13,293 people during her
Sticky & Sweet Tour on November 22, 2008, and the third show in front of 12,207 people during her
MDNA Tour on September 15, 2012, The fourth and last time in front of 9,498 people during her
Rebel Heart Tour on October 3, 2015.
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...
performed a sold-out show in December 2001, and again for her
Femme Fatale Tour on August 6, 2011.
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
was scheduled to perform here on March 2, 2013 for her
Born This Way Ball, but the show was later cancelled due to a hip injury which required surgery. She has previously performed at the arena on July 4, 2010 and February 19, 2011 as a part of her
Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her first EP, ''The Fame Monster'' (2009) and comprising a set list of songs from that and her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008 ...
. She performed a sold-out show on June 28, 2014 for her
Artrave: The Artpop Ball Tour.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
performed at the venue for the first time on
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer Beyoncé. Announced in February 2013 with initial dates in Europe and North America, the tour contained seven legs and 132 shows. It began in Belgrade, Serbia on April ...
. The show sold out within its first few days of sales and took place on July 26, 2013.
Journey and
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...
made a stop at the hall for one-night shows, performing separately.
On May 22, 2015,
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
stopped at the Hall to celebrate their 50th anniversary on their tour,
The Who Hits 50!
Billed as The Who Hits 50!, The Who's 2014–16 tour was a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band. Roger Daltrey has referred to this tour as the band's "long goodbye" hinting that it will be the final tour for The Who. The tour co ...
On June 8, 2019,
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who ...
performed at the hall for their
Bandito Tour.
Sporting events
Boxing
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...
fought in Boardwalk Hall several times as
Heavyweight champion including four of his seven defenses as
Undisputed Champion Undisputed championship may refer to:
*Undisputed championship (boxing)
*Undisputed championship (professional wrestling)
An undisputed championship is a professional wrestling term for a champion who has obtained all of the major individual c ...
. Among his title defenses in Boardwalk Hall was a Fourth Round
TKO over former champion
Larry Holmes on January 22, 1988. His most famous bout at the venue was the
91-second Knockout of former champion and previously undefeated
Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988.
On April 19, 1991,
Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the Undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion at cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight in the late 1 ...
defeated former champion
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champi ...
in his first title defense.
Other fighters who have had boxing matches (many of which were title fights) in Boardwalk Hall include
Sugar Ray Leonard,
Oscar De La Hoya,
Roberto Durán
Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as ...
,
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hol ...
,
Roy Jones Jr.,
Floyd Mayweather Jr.,
Bernard Hopkins,
Riddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2008. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1992, and as an amateur he won a silver medal in the super heav ...
,
Julio César Chávez
Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was list ...
,
Héctor Camacho,
Micky Ward
George Michael Ward Jr. (born October 4, 1965), often known by his nickname, "Irish" Micky Ward, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2003. He challenged once for the IBF light welterweight title in 1997, and held ...
, and
Arturo Gatti
Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian-Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super ...
.
In September 2007, it was the venue for the
Kelly Pavlik –
Jermain Taylor boxing match for the
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
,
World Boxing Organization and ''
The Ring'' magazine's
middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
championships.
Soccer
On December 12, 1965, the
New York Ukrainians
New York Ukrainians (Ukrainian Sports Club New York, ua, УСК (Український Спортовий Клуб) (Нью-Йорк), translit=USK (Ukrainskyi Sportovyi Klub) (New York)) is an American soccer club based in New York City. The cl ...
defeated
Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals
The first Philadelphia Ukrainians team, also known as the "Philadelphia Tridents", Tryzub FC (Ukrainian Sports Association Philadelphia Tridents, in uk, УСО (Український Спортовий Осередок) «Тризуб» (Філ� ...
3–2 in the first regulation indoor
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
match at the Convention Hall before more than 3,000 spectators.
College football
Prior to
1973, the NCAA was divided into two divisions, University and College. Boardwalk Hall hosted bowl games in both divisions; the University Division later became
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
, while the College Division became
Division II and
Division III.
The nation's first-ever
indoor American football
Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...
field was constructed within the hall in 1930, and hosted one to three games a year through the 1930s, before halting the practice due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and not resuming games till 1961. The first of these was a 7–0 victory by
Washington & Jefferson over
Lafayette on October 25, 1930.
Liberty Bowl
In 1959, A. F. "Bud" Dudley, a former
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...
athletic director, created the
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...
, an annual post-season
college-football bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. The game was played at
Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, but as the only cold-weather bowl game, it was plagued by poor attendance. A group of Atlantic City businessmen convinced Dudley to move his game from Philadelphia to Boardwalk Hall for 1964 and guaranteed Dudley $25,000.
[Antonik, John]
"Unique Game"
, MSN
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
The Microsoft Net ...
Sports, June 22, 2005. Accessed September 4, 2008.
The
1964 Liberty Bowl
The 1964 Liberty Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 19, 1964, at the Atlantic City Convention Hall (now known as Boardwalk Hall) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was the sixth edition of the Liberty Bowl, and featured the Uta ...
was the first major (University Division) collegiate bowl game played indoors and was also the first indoor football game
broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...
nationwide on U.S. television. Since
artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commerc ...
was still in its developmental stages and was unavailable for the game, the hall was equipped with a four-inch-thick grass surface with two inches of
burlap underneath it (as padding) on top of
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
. To keep the grass growing, artificial lighting was installed and kept on 24 hours a day. The entire process cost about $16,000. End zones were only eight yards long instead of the usual ten yards.
6,059 fans saw the
Utah Utes
The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...
rout the
West Virginia Mountaineers, 32–6. Dudley was paid $25,000 from Atlantic City businessmen, $60,000 from ticket sales, and $95,000 from television revenues, for a $10,000 net profit. This would be the only time the game was played in Atlantic City, as Dudley moved it the following year to
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...
, where it remains to this day.
Boardwalk Bowl
Boardwalk Hall was also the venue of the former
Boardwalk Bowl post-season game from 1961 to 1973. From 1961 through 1967, the games were the "Little Army-Navy Game", featuring the College Division's
Pennsylvania Military College
Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware.
Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...
and the
Merchant Marine Academy. From 1968 through 1972, the bowl was the East regional final for the College Division;
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...
won four times, and
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
won once. The final playing of the bowl was in 1973, as a Division II quarterfinal;
Grambling defeated Delaware.
Indoor and Arena Football
In
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
, it was the home of the
Atlantic City CardSharks
The Atlantic City CardSharks were a professional indoor football team based in Atlantic City, New Jersey. They were members of the Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) during the 2004 season. T ...
, a professional
indoor football team that played a single season in the
National Indoor Football League. They finished the regular season in second place for their division with a 9–5 record and lost in the wild card round of the playoffs to the
Lexington Horsemen 54–25.
On May 30, 2015, the venue hosted the
Philadelphia Soul and
Las Vegas Outlaws for the venue's first
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
(AFL) game. The Soul won 51–43 with an attendance of 6,514.
In 2019, the AFL added the
Atlantic City Blackjacks with home games at Boardwalk Hall. They finished their inaugural season 4–8 and the entire AFL ceased operations at the end of the season.
Basketball
The
Syracuse Nationals and the
Philadelphia Warriors
The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...
played a regular season game at the arena on December 29, 1949. The game was part of a double header. The opening game was an exhibition basketball game between selected players of the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
and the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
.
From 2007 through 2012, the
Atlantic 10 Conference
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Easter ...
held
its men's basketball championship at Boardwalk Hall. The 2013 tournament was held at the
Barclays Center
Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...
in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
The
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...
and the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...
played a preseason game at the arena on October 13, 2012.
In 2018, the
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and ...
announced its
men's and
women's
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...
basketball tournaments will be held at Boardwalk Hall from 2020 through 2022.
Ice hockey
It played host to the
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, an ice-hockey team, from 2001 to 2005. From 2011 to 2013,
ECAC Hockey
ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United ...
held its men's ice hockey championship at Boardwalk Hall.
During the 2010–2011 season, Boardwalk Hall hosted four home games for the
Albany Devils
The Albany Devils were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The top affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the A-Devils played their home games at the Times Union Center in Alban ...
and one home game for the
Trenton Devils both affiliated with the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kan ...
. The Albany Devils returned to play four home games during the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons.
Despite not having a team in Atlantic City, the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...
hosted the 2012 All-Star Classic at Boardwalk Hall.
On November 24, 2012, Boardwalk Hall hosted "Operation Hat Trick", a charity hockey game to raise money for
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
victims. Among the NHL players who particated were
Martin Brodeur
Martin Pierre Brodeur (; born May 6, 1972) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey goaltender and current team executive. He played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 21 of them for the New Jersey Devils, with wh ...
,
Andy Greene
Andrew Greene (born October 30, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), primarily for the New Jersey Devils, with whom he served as team captain.
Playing c ...
,
Henrik Lundqvist,
Bobby Ryan
Robert Shane Ryan (né Stevenson; March 17, 1987) is an American former professional ice hockey winger. He played for the Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted second overall b ...
, and
James van Riemsdyk
James van Riemsdyk ( ; born May 4, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Between 2012 and 2018, he played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Van Riemsdyk w ...
.
Other sporting events
In 1995, the Hall was used for
Monica Seles's return to tennis after she had been stabbed in 1993. It was a straight-sets victory over
Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
.
The Hall was used in 1996 for the women's
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
Fed Cup during which the U.S. beat
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
5–0 in the
Fed Cup women's tennis.
The Hall hosted the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
's
WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 27, 1988, at the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall in A ...
and
V in 1988 and 1989, respectively, although on the television coverage it was referred to as "
Trump Plaza" because the adjacent
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
was the primary sponsor. During the opening to WrestleMania IV, celebrity guest
Bob Uecker
Robert George Uecker ( ; born January 26, 1934) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and current sportscaster, comedian, and actor.
Facetiously dubbed "Mr. Baseball" by TV talk show host Johnny Carson, Uecker has served as ...
does refer to the building as the 'convention center'. WrestleMania IV was attended by 18,165 fans while WrestleMania V had an attendance of 18,946. It is the only venue to host the annual
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...
event in consecutive years.
In addition to the two WrestleMania events, many other WWE shows have been held with both ''
WWE Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show f ...
'' and ''
WWE SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
'' taking place.
The
PBR PBR may refer to:
Science and technology
* Passive bistatic radar
* Partition boot record
* Pebble bed reactor, a type of nuclear reactor
* Peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, another name for translocator protein
* Phosphorus bromide
* Photo ...
hosted a
Built Ford Tough Series
The Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) was the elite series tour name of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competitions from 2003 to 2017.
The BFTS kicked off its tour on November 16, 2002 with the Mohegan Sun Invitational in Uncasville, Connecticu ...
bull riding
Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider.
American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...
event at Boardwalk Hall during the 2003 and 2018 seasons.
The
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.
State championsh ...
uses the hall to host the annual individual state wrestling tournament.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
has held four events in the hall, UFC 41: Onslaught in 2003, UFC 50: The War of '04 in 2004, UFC 53: Heavy Hitters in 2005, and most recently
UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee in 2018.
The
2005 edition of the
Skate America
Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: men ...
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
competition was held at Boardwalk Hall.
Midget car racing
Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on mos ...
events have been held at the Boardwalk Hall since 1938. Since 2003 it hosts the Atlantic City Indoor Races, a round of the Indoor Auto Racing Championship Series.
The Hall hosted
All Elite Wrestling on February 9, 2022 with an episode of ''
AEW Dynamite AEW or aew may refer to:
* Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft
* Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW)
* AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company
...
''. It also hosted the February 11, 2022 episode of ''
AEW Rampage'', which was taped on the same night as ''Dynamite''.
2001 restoration
A $90-million restoration designed by EwingCole was completed in 2001 and received several awards, including the 2003 National Preservation Award and ''
Building
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and func ...
'' magazine's 2002 Modernization Award. The organ in the hall, which is the world's biggest, has been severely damaged in the process.
Pipe organs
Constructed between May 1929 and December 1932, the
Main Auditorium Organ is the "Poseidon"
Midmer-Losh pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks' ...
, the world's-largest, as listed in ''
The Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
''. The instrument has an estimated 33,113 pipes and requires approximately of blowers to operate. The organ was badly damaged by the
1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane and has not been fully functional since. It was rendered completely inoperable by carelessness during hall renovation in 2001, and remained unplayable until 2007, when a restoration program began. As of 2022, about 60% of the organ's functionality has been restored.
Boardwalk Hall's attached ballroom contains a 55-
rank
Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as:
Level or position in a hierarchical organization
* Academic rank
* Diplomatic rank
* Hierarchy
* ...
Kimball concert/theater pipe organ — originally installed to accompany silent movies — that was severely damaged during the hall's renovation. Compared to the Main Auditorium organ, this organ looks tiny. The Ballroom organ is actually one of the largest theater organs by rank count, second to
Radio City Music Hall's WurliTzer theater organ (58 ranks).
Restoration efforts have been underway, originally overseen by the
Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society, now renamed
Boardwalk Pipes, initially funded by private donations and federal
Save America's Treasures grants. The organ restoration is overseen by th
Historic Organ Restoration Committee a 501(c)3 nonprofit chartered by the state of New Jersey for the restoration and preservation of the two pipe organs of Historic Boardwalk Hall. With additional foundation and private funding, the committee forecasts completion of restoration in 2023.
Awards
The convention center is one of the few buildings surviving from Atlantic City's heyday as a seaside resort in the 1920s. It was an architectural and engineering triumph, its convention space providing the largest interior space with an unobstructed view at the time.
It was recognized for its engineering as a
Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...
in 1983, and as a U.S.
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...
in 1987.
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...
'' magazine recognized Boardwalk Hall as the top-grossing mid-sized arena in the U.S. in 2003 and 2004.
In 2003,
The Ring magazine Fight of the Year was Gatti vs Ward which was hosted at the Hall.
See also
*
Atlantic City Armory
*
Atlantic City Convention Center
*
References
Further reading
*
External links and sources
*
*
Image of Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Interior
{{Authority control
*
1926 establishments in New Jersey
Arena football venues
Atlantic City Blackjacks
Basketball venues in New Jersey
Boxing venues in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Event venues established in 1926
College basketball venues in the United States
Convention centers in New Jersey
Defunct NCAA bowl game venues
Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey
Historic American Buildings Survey in New Jersey
Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States
Mixed martial arts venues in New Jersey
Motorsport venues in New Jersey
National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey
National Register of Historic Places in Atlantic County, New Jersey
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Romanesque Revival architecture in New Jersey
Sports venues in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Tourist attractions in Atlantic County, New Jersey
Philadelphia Fusion
Esports venues in New Jersey
Indoor arenas in Atlantic City, New Jersey