Angel of the Winds Arena (originally known as Everett Events Center) is a multi-purpose complex in
Everett,
Washington, United States, designed and developed by the Everett Public Facilities District. It opened in October 2003, with the
naming rights being sold to
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
in 2007 and subsequently to
Angel of the Winds Casino Resort in 2017. The 10,000-seat venue has hosted a variety of concerts and other performances, including the
Ringling Brothers Circus,
Disney on Ice, the
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name '' Harlem'' because of ...
, and
Sesame Street Live.
The venue also hosted
2008 Skate America, a three-day ice-skating championship featuring world-class skaters. The events were both nationally and internationally televised on
NBC. It was the first event of six in the 2008-2009 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition. This was Skate America's largest attendance ever recorded in its history.
Tenants and events
In 2016, the arena served as the host for the
2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships
The 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships is the fifteenth edition of the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships. The competition was held April 8–10, 2016 at the Xfinity Arena (for artistic and trampoline events) and the Everett Community Co ...
. It also hosted WWE's flagship TV show Monday Night Raw on February 17, 2020.
Hockey
Angel of the Winds Arena is the home of the
Everett Silvertips, a
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...
franchise. In their first season (2003–04), the Everett Silvertips won the WHL Western Conference Championship.
The arena also hosted a preseason game between the
National Hockey League's Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...
and
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
on October 1, 2021.
Basketball
The
Seattle Storm
The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
announced that it would play five home games during its
2019 season in Everett, while the rest are played at their temporary home in Seattle, the
Hec Edmundson Pavilion
Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion (formerly and still commonly referred to as Hec Edmundson Pavilion or simply Hec Ed) is an indoor arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designe ...
on the University of Washington campus. The Storm played their season opener in Everett on May 25, 2019, using the same floor that had previously been installed at
KeyArena. The team planned to return in 2020 for eight games in Everett, but due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, all WNBA games were moved to
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698.
History
Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...
.
The Storm are scheduled to play all 16 of their home games in 2021 at Angel of the Winds Arena with up to 2,000 fans allowed to attend per the state's COVID-19 reopening guidelines.
Curling
In 2017, the arena, then known as Xfinity Arena, was host to the USA
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 rega ...
Curling National Championships. The men's championship was won by
2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...
gold medalists Team
John Shuster, while Team
Jamie Sinclair captured the women's crown.
Banked track roller derby
Angel of the Winds Arena is also home to the
Tilted Thunder Rail Birds
Tilted Thunder Roller Derby (TTRD) is a Seattle, Washington based, all-female, banked track roller derby league. They are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization run by a volunteer force of skaters and league members committed to promoting and raising ...
, a Seattle-based, all-female, banked track roller derby league.
Tennis
On February 7–8, 2020 Angel of the Winds Arena hosted
USTA
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was chan ...
qualifying event with competing teams USA and Latvia.
Rodeo
The
PBR's premier
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 rec ...
tour, the
Unleash the Beast Series
The Unleash the Beast Series (UTB) is the Premier Series of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). Monster Beverage Corporation is the current series sponsor for the premiership since 2018. From its founding in 1994 until 2002, it was sponsored by ...
, made its first-ever stop in Everett for an event at the arena on April 6, 2022.
Other uses
On April 1, 2020, the arena opened as a
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...
quarantine center with 150 beds amid the
coronavirus pandemic. The quarantine center was meant for patients with COVID-19 and are unable to self-isolate or quarantine at home.
Former tenants
The arena was also home to the
International Basketball League
The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...
's
Everett Explosion
The Snohomish County Explosion was a semi-professional basketball team that last played in the National Athletic Basketball League (NABL) in 2010. The team was based in Everett, Washington, in 2007 in Monroe, Washington, from 2008 to 2010. The Exp ...
for one season in 2007 before they moved to
Monroe and were renamed the
Snohomish County Explosion
The Snohomish County Explosion was a semi-professional basketball team that last played in the National Athletic Basketball League (NABL) in 2010. The team was based in Everett, Washington, in 2007 in Monroe, Washington, from 2008 to 2010. The Ex ...
, where they played until 2010. Comcast Arena also hosted arena football for three years (2005–07). The
Everett Hawks were a primary football tenant in the arena for the
NIFL in their first season at Everett, going undefeated at 14–0, but lost in the playoff semifinal to the
Tri-Cities Fever
The Tri-Cities Fever were a professional indoor American football, indoor football franchise based in Kennewick, Washington. The Fever joined National Indoor Football League (NIFL) in 2005 as an expansion team. The Fever were owned by Teri Carr. ...
. The team switched to
af2 in 2006 and became a minor-league team where they didn't find much success, which led to their folding in 2007.
In 2012, Comcast Arena was the home of the now-defunct
Everett Raptors of the
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...
.
Lacrosse
In
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, Comcast Arena became home to the
Washington Stealth of the
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...
. The franchise was previously known as the
San Jose Stealth, and before that the
Albany Attack. After four seasons in Everett, the Washington Stealth were relocated to
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
in 2014.
Conference Center
The Edward D. Hansen Conference Center is a three-story addition to the arena that cost US$12 million to construct. The facility includes a ballroom that is capable of accommodating 800 guests. In addition to the ballroom, the conference center has three executive meeting rooms available as private meeting space. The conference center hosts approximately 200 events annually. It is also home to a public art collection, which includes artwork from the Pilchuck Glass Collection.
Ice rink
The Xfinity Community Ice Rink is an NHL regulation 200' x 85' ice rink that is located inside Angel of the Winds Arena. It is a public ice skating rink, which is used for public
skating, local
hockey leagues,
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 Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 Olympics ...
, instructional sessions, and much more. Currently the rink is open year-round, and has the versatility to transform into a space with the capability to host
trade shows,
expositions, consumer shows and special events.
Concerts
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Arena football venues
Buildings and structures in Everett, Washington
Indoor arenas in Washington (state)
Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States
Indoor lacrosse venues in the United States
Sports venues in Washington (state)
Western Hockey League arenas
Tourist attractions in Everett, Washington
Sports in Everett, Washington
Sports venues completed in 2003
2003 establishments in Washington (state)
Basketball venues in Washington (state)