The Dow Event Center (formerly known as Saginaw County Event Center and Saginaw Civic Center) is an indoor arena located in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

. The center consists of several parts: The Atrium, The Garden Room, The Theater, The Red Room, Huntington Event Park, and The Arena. It currently houses the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

Saginaw Spirit The Saginaw Spirit are a major junior ice hockey team based in Saginaw, Michigan. They are members of the West Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the Major Junior leagues of the Canadian Hockey League ...

. The facility has housed a number of hockey teams in the past, such as the

Saginaw Lumber Kings The Saginaw Gears were a minor league, minor professional ice hockey franchise that played in the United Hockey League (UHL), formerly known as the Colonial Hockey League. The Gears existed for five seasons and part of one other, from 1994 to De ...

and both the IHL and UHL incarnations of the Saginaw Gears. The Dow Event Center at night

The Arena At The Dow Event Center has a capacity of 7,600 people 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 variet ...

s (without the ice), and 5,500 for hockey games. The Theater at the Dow Event Center has a capacity of 2,276 people. Originally built in 1972 as part of an urban development program, the center is the only structure left. Most of the other buildings were razed in the 1980s due to many problems, including health risks, foreclosure and bankruptcy. For a time in the 1990s, the facility nearly faced foreclosure and bankruptcy due to lack of funds provided by the city. The facility underwent a series of renovations in early 2000s, mainly in hopes for a better facility to host their newly acquired hockey team. The naming rights of the facility were transferred in September 2004 to

The Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational corporation, multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three List of largest chemical producers, larges ...

, headquartered in nearby Midland. The center was used two times during the summer of 2004 as a center for

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

rallies in support for the re-election of

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

George W. Bush. Voters transferred the ownership from the City of Saginaw to Saginaw County on May 8, 2001. The city then closed the facility on June 30, 2001, and the county reopened it on July 1. The county then appointed SMG Worldwide to manage the facility, and started updating and renovating the building. The total cost of the renovations was tagged at $17 million, and they were completed in 2003. The center hosts many events, concerts, political rallies, and graduations. Trade shows also take place there; the complex has of space at Wendler Arena. It hosted the third WWF

In Your House In Your House (known as NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020 and 2021 and then NXT In Your House beginning in 2022) is a professional wrestling series of events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events o ...

pay-per-view on September 24, 1995. Jehovah's Witnesses District Conventions are held annually at the Dow Event Center. Starting in mid-June, and ending in early July, three-day conventions held on every weekend in that time will occur. The Jehovah's Witnesses first started using the building in 2005, after rumors of demolition for the

Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...

raised concern over where meetings would be held, as the Silverdome was the previous venue.

References

External links

The Dow Event Center site

Dow Event Center press release on naming rights

Dow Event Center History

SMG Worldwide Management Group
{{Authority control 1972 establishments in Michigan Arena football venues Buildings and structures in Saginaw County, Michigan Convention centers in Michigan Event Center Indoor ice hockey venues in Michigan Ontario Hockey League arenas Sports venues completed in 1972 Sports venues in Michigan Tourist attractions in Saginaw County, Michigan Concert halls in Michigan Indoor arenas in Michigan