Toyota Arena is a multi-purpose
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 ...
in
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...
, United States. The arena hosts local sporting events and concerts and is suitable for indoor events, including basketball, ice hockey, ice shows, boxing, graduation ceremonies and concerts. The arena's basketball capacity is 10,832; 9,736 for hockey; and has a full capacity configuration for 11,089 spectators. The venue also has 36 luxury suites on two levels.
Construction officially began on March 7, 2007, and the arena was opened on October 18, 2008.
It is the largest and most modern arena within the
Inland Empire
The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...
region of
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
.
The arena's construction cost was
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
150 million; however, it was debt free due to the city of Ontario selling different properties throughout the city. It was constructed on the old
Ontario Motor Speedway property. The arena is public property and owned by the city of Ontario. From 2008 to 2016 the facility was operated by
AEG Worldwide, and has since been operated by successor
ASM Global, which took over operations on July 1, 2016.
The arena is home to the
Ontario Reign
The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena.
The fra ...
of the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
and the
Empire Strykers of the
Major Arena Soccer League
The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...
.
Description
Name
The arena was announced as Ontario Community Events Center in October 2006 when the project was approved. On October 20, 2006, Ontario-based Citizens Business Bank bought the naming rights and the arena was called Citizens Business Bank Arena when it opened in 2008.
On June 11, 2019, the arena entered a new naming-rights agreement with the Southern California Toyota Dealership Association and was renamed Toyota Arena.
Tenants
In November 2007, it was announced that a new
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
franchise would be playing at the arena starting in the
2008–09 season. The arena became home of the
Ontario Reign
The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena.
The fra ...
, an affiliate of the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
. The ECHL Reign played their home games at the arena each season from 2008 to 2015.
In 2012, the arena was home to the
Ontario Warriors of
American Indoor Football
American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional Indoor American football, indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.
The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the ...
but the team folded before the season ended.
Since 2013, the arena has been home of the
Empire Strykers of the
Major Arena Soccer League
The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...
.
In 2008–09, the arena also hosted most home games of the
Los Angeles D-Fenders.
On January 29, 2015, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they would be moving their
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
affiliate, the
Manchester Monarchs, from
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...
, to Ontario. The team retained the
Ontario Reign
The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena.
The fra ...
nickname from its ECHL predecessor. The ECHL's Reign moved to
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...
, and became the
Monarchs
A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority an ...
.
Starting in the
2017–18 season the arena became home of the
Agua Caliente Clippers (later renamed Ontario Clippers), the
NBA G League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...
team of the
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...
. On March 11, 2024, the team announced the club would be relocating to
Oceanside, California
Oceanside is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city had a population of 174,068 at the 2020 United States census, making it the most populous city in the Nort ...
, and rebranding as the San Diego Clippers.
Events
The arena held its grand opening on October 18, 2008.
Basketball
On October 24, 2008, its first event took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,316, for an NBA preseason game, where the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
defeated the
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...
105–94. There has been a Lakers' preseason game every year at the arena with the exception of 2011 due to the
2011 NBA lockout.
The arena was host of the inaugural games in the
Junior Basketball Association
The Junior Basketball Association (JBA) was an American basketball league that intended to be an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA by allowing high school and junior college players to immediately play professional ...
on June 21, 2018, and is the host of the
2018 JBA Championship.
Hockey

The Reign held its first game at the arena on October 25, 2008, against the
Las Vegas Wranglers in front of a crowd of 8,832. The Reign won their first game at the arena 4–1.
On January 20, 2010, the arena hosted the
2010 ECHL All-Star Game in front of 7,615 fans.
The arena also hosted a preseason match between the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
and the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
.
The arena also held the AHL All-Star Classic in January 2020.
Entertainment
Carrie Underwood played the arena's first concert on November 9, 2008, with
Little Big Town
Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. Fa ...
as her opening act.
American heavy metal band
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
performed at the arena during their
World Magnetic Tour
The World Magnetic Tour was a 2008–2010 concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of the band's ninth studio album, ''Death Magnetic'', which was released on September 12, 2008.
The tour officially kicked off in October 2 ...
on December 12, 2008, in front of a crowd of 10,959 and filmed part of their music video ''
Broken, Beat & Scarred'' during the concert and also at the concert at the
Save Mart Center in
Fresno, California
Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
, on December 13, 2008.
The arena has also hosted
Bill Gaither
William James Gaither (born March 28, 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria; he is also known for performing as par ...
,
Larry the Cable Guy
Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally as Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, actor, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a ...
,
Vicente Fernández
Vicente Fernández Gómez (17 February 1940 – 12 December 2021) was a Mexican mariachi singer, actor and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente" (short for Vicente), "El Charro de Huentitán" (The Charro from Huentitán), "El Ídolo de México" (Th ...
,
Sade,
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
,
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...
,
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
,
The Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...
,
Disney on Ice,
Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney was a brand of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channels that were owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit (now Disney Branded Television) of The Walt Disney Company's Disney–ABC Tele ...
Live,
Sesame Street Live, The
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...
,
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
,
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
,
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time.
He has written and ...
,
André Rieu,
American Idol Live!,
Trace Adkins
Tracy Darrell Adkins (born January 13, 1962) known professionally as Trace Adkins, is an American country music singer and actor. Adkins made his debut in 1996 with the album ''Dreamin' Out Loud'', released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since t ...
,
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is known for performing a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country", as well as writing many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 21 studi ...
,
Pitbull,
Dancing With the Stars
''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
,
Stars on Ice,
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus,
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill (producer), Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-pr ...
,and other events. On September 1, 2013, the arena was the site where Mexican singers
Joan Sebastian and Ezequiel Peña sang together for the first time ever.
The
American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011 was held on July 16, 2011.
English singer
Sade recorded her
Bring Me Home Live 2011 DVD at the arena on September 4, 2011.
On October 29, 2012,
Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...
did a private concert at the arena for the San Manuel Indian Tribe.
During her
Blown Away Tour, country music singer
Carrie Underwood filmed
The Blown Away Tour: Live DVD at the arena on March 3, 2013, the concert also aired live on
AXS TV
AXS TV () is an American cable television channel majority-owned by Canadian broadcaster Anthem Sports & Entertainment. It is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musi ...
.
During the summer of 2013,
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
used the arena to rehearse for her
Stars Dance Tour.
On July 5, 2014,
Cher
Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
did a stop here on her
Dressed to Kill Tour with her special guest
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...
.
Boxing, Wrestling, and MMA
The arena has hosted many boxing events. The first boxing event was on November 28, 2008, with two fights,
Chris Arreola
Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American former professional boxer who challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweigh ...
vs.
Travis Walker and
Paul Williams vs.
Verno Phillips. On December 5, 2009, the arena hosted a women's title fight between champion
Kina Malpartida and Lyndsey Scragg. On April 24, 2010, the arena was the venue where
Tomasz Adamek defeated Chris Arreola to retain the
IBF International Heavyweight Title. The arena also hosted
ESPN Friday Night Fights on July 2, 2010, headlined by
Demetrius Hopkins vs.
Mike Arnaoutis. On August 13, 2010, Friday Night Fights returned to the arena with a fight between
Chris Arreola
Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American former professional boxer who challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweigh ...
and
Manuel Quezada. On July 14, 2012, Mexican female boxer Mariana "La Barbie" Juarez defended her
flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight.
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...
title against Japanese boxer Shindo Go; the bout was broadcast on Mexican channel
Televisa
Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content.
In April ...
Canal 5 series ''Sábados de Corona''. On November 24, 2012,
Robert Guerrero successfully defended his interim
WBC Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
title against
Andre Berto
Andre Michael Berto (born September 7, 1983) is a professional boxer who holds dual Haitian and American citizenship. A two-time former welterweight world champion, he held the World Boxing Council, WBC and International Boxing Federation, IBF t ...
at the arena. The arena hosted
Andre Ward
Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified super ...
vs
Edwin Rodríguez on November 16, 2013. On March 13, 2015, the first
PBC on Spike event was held at the venue with main event being
Andre Berto
Andre Michael Berto (born September 7, 1983) is a professional boxer who holds dual Haitian and American citizenship. A two-time former welterweight world champion, he held the World Boxing Council, WBC and International Boxing Federation, IBF t ...
vs
Josesito López.
Since 2010, the arena has been the Inland Empire's stop for
WWE, replacing the smaller
Coussoulis Arena in
San Bernardino. The arena has hosted various ''WWE Live'' events and various tapings for ''
WWE Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs Live television, live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show fe ...
'' and ''
SmackDown''. The ''Smackdown/Main Event'' tapings on February 11, 2014, were the first time WWE televised an event from the Inland Empire since taping four editions of ''
WWE Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs Live television, live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show fe ...
'' at the
Orange Pavilion in San Bernardino on April 1, 1996.
The arena has also been host to many
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
events, including
Bellator Fighting Championships. On August 10, 2013, the arena hosted
WSOF 4: Spong vs. DeAnda. The arena also hosts various events of MMA promotion
King of the Cage
King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States.
History
KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...
, which has its headquarters in nearby
Rancho Cucamonga.
From 2014 to 2017, the arena hosted the annual
CIF Southern Section
The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...
Boys Masters Wrestling Championships. In 2018, the event was moved to
Temecula Valley High School, where the event had been previously held, due to scheduling conflicts.
Other events
The venue hosted a
PBR Built Ford Tough Series 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 bucking, buck off the rider.
American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...
event in late September 2009 and also hosted another event on August 29 and August 30, 2010.
The arena was the site of the
2011 edition of
Skate America
Skate America is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The first Skate America was in held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, as a test event fo ...
from October 21 to the 23rd.
The arena is commonly used for high school graduation ceremonies throughout late May/early June. Most of the high schools originate from the Inland Empire and eastern edge of the
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley (), sometimes referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern ...
. These include the Corona-Norco Unified, Fontana Unified, Rialto Unified, Chino Valley Unified, and Upland Unified School Districts.
Additionally, the arena hosted the
California FFA 95th Annual State Conference from March 16 through 19, 2023. This event was attended by 7,000 members and guests.
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live comes to the arena every September.
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 34.072947, -117.566401, region:US_type:landmark, display=title
2008 establishments in California
Basketball venues in California
Boxing venues in California
Ice hockey venues in California
Indoor soccer venues in California
Mixed martial arts venues in California
Sports in Ontario, California
Sports venues completed in 2008
Sports venues in San Bernardino County, California
Wrestling venues in California
Buildings and structures in Ontario, California
Toyota