The Dignity Health Theater and Convention Center (formerly Bakersfield Civic Auditorium) is a performing arts theater and convention facility located in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

(specifically in the

Civic Center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

). It is adjacent to the

Dignity Health Arena Dignity Health Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Bakersfield, California. Located downtown at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street, it was built in 1998, and was originally known as Centennial Garden, a name submitted by local resident Brian ...

History

The Civic Auditorium was originally constructed in 1962, to attract the convention trade to the city. The first show at the auditorium was the Ice Capades, which was on November 20, 1962. The structure was one of Bakersfield's first buildings constructed in a definitively modern style. In addition to housing the communities’ musical groups, such as the

Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra The Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the ...

, it also contained a scenery loft and an

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is an area in a theatre (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. The orchestra plays mostly out of sight in the pit, rather than on the stage as for a concert, when providing music fo ...

, to facilitate Broadway musicals and ballets. By 1976, Bakersfield began plans for the facilities' first major expansion. The plan would include construction of a convention center, which would be intertwined with the existing theater. It would also include the construction of a hotel directly adjacent and connected to the theater. The convention center was completed in 1980, but budget problems would delay the hotel until 1993. The name was also changed to the Bakersfield Convention Center. In 1998, the facility was again modified. The parking lot, located east of the facility, was removed for the construction of the 10,000-seat sports arena. The combined complex was renamed the Centennial Garden and Convention Center. Incorporated in the design of the sports complex was a connection to the exhibit hall. This unique feature allows for the convention center to be used as a staging ground or warm-up facility for events being held in the arena. The entire complex was renamed seven years later in 2005, when the city signed a 10-year agreement with

Rabobank Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...

, to name the complex the Rabobank Arena, Theater and Convention Center. This agreement was renewed for an additional 10 years in 2015. Following the acquisition of Rabobank, N.A. by Mechanics Bank in 2019, the naming rights transferred to Mechanics Bank and the complex was renamed once again. In February 2025, the city of Bakersfield announced that

Dignity Health Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) was a California-based not-for-profit public-benefit corporation that operated hospitals and ancillary care facilities in three states. Dignity Health was the fifth-largest hospital system in t ...

has bought the naming rights of the arena, which will be renamed Dignity Health Arena, Theater and Convention Center. The new name will go into effect on March 1, 2025, and run through December 31, 2035.

References

External links

Rabobank Theater and Convention Center
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Bakersfield, California Convention centers in California Theatres completed in 1962 Tourist attractions in Bakersfield, California

History

See also

References

External links