ARCO Arena (originally called the Sacramento Sports Arena and sometimes referred to as the ''Original ARCO Arena'' or ''ARCO Arena I'' to distinguish it from its

successor Successor may refer to: * An entity that comes after another (see Succession (disambiguation)) Film and TV * ''The Successor'' (1996 film), a film including Laura Girling * The Successor (2023 film), a French drama film * ''The Successor'' ( ...

) was an indoor

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. It was the NBA's smallest arena as it held just 10,333 people and was built in 1985 to temporarily accommodate the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

, who had relocated from

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. The arena's first event was a fashion show on September 20, 1985. The arena also hosted boxing matches. The idea to move the Kings to the building was first pitched in late 1984, with the building being described as a "warehouse under construction" by ''

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

''. The arena cost $12 million to build. Located north of Sacramento's downtown, ARCO Arena was nicknamed "The Madhouse on Market Street", and Kings games in this small venue were 100% sold out. Its official name of "ARCO Arena" is believed to be the first example of an NBA team selling

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

to a brand new facility: in this case, rights were sold to the

Atlantic Richfield Company Arco may refer to: Places * Arco, Trentino, a town in Trentino, Italy * Arco, Idaho, in the United States * Arco, Minnesota, a city in the United States * ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Kings Companies * ARCO (bran ...

, which is now a subsidiary of

Marathon Petroleum Marathon Petroleum Corporation is an petroleum industry in the United States, American petroleum refining, marketing, and transportation company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil until a cor ...

. The Kings sold the naming rights for $5 million over ten years in August 1985, which included the naming rights for the new arena. 1625 Market Blvd

The Kings left this building in 1988 to move to the new

ARCO Arena ARCO Arena (known as Power Balance Pavilion from 2011 to 2012 and Sleep Train Arena from 2012 until 2022) was an indoor arena located in Sacramento, California, United States. Opened in 1988, it was the home of the Sacramento Kings of the Nation ...

, built one mile (1.6 km) to the west. The structure survived as an office building for Sprint Communications. On December 19, 2005, the

California Department of Consumer Affairs The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is a department within the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. DCA's stated mission is to serve the interests of California's consumers by ensuring a standard of profess ...

moved their headquarters into the building.

References

External links

Ballparks.com – ARCO Arena IPhotos of the original ARCO Arena
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arco Arena I Basketball venues in California Music venues in California Sports venues in Sacramento, California Defunct basketball venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 1985 1988 disestablishments in California Former NBA venues 1985 establishments in California Defunct indoor arenas in California Sacramento Kings