Expo Hall is 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 ...

located at the Florida State Fairgrounds in

East Lake-Orient Park, Florida East Lake-Orient Park is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, in the Tampa Bay area. The population was 22,753 at the 2010 census, up from 5,703 at the 2000 census following an expansion of i ...

. It is used primarily as an exhibition hall during the

Florida State Fair The Florida State Fair is held annually at the Florida State Fairgrounds in East Lake-Orient Park, Florida. The official state fair of Florida, it includes indoor and outdoor exhibits, rides and shows. It is a chance for the state to showcase it ...

, but has also hosted concerts and sporting events. The South Florida Bulls men's basketball team used Expo Hall as their main home arena for the 1979–80 season before the on-campus USF Sun Dome opened. The Tampa Bay Rowdies of the defunct North American Soccer League used Expo Hall for 8 of their 16 home games during the 1983–84 indoor season. At that time the arena's capacity was 9,200. This would also prove to be the league's final indoor campaign before suspending operations following the 1984 outdoor season. The arena was more famously used by the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

's Tampa Bay Lightning during the team's inaugural season of 1992–93. The facility's

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 10,425 proved too small for the Lightning, and the team relocated to the ThunderDome in St. Petersburg for three seasons, until its permanent home, Amalie Arena, was built in downtown Tampa. In 1994 the expansion Tampa Bay Tritons of Roller Hockey International played for one season at Expo Hall before folding. Mark Messier owned the club. The facility currently hosts graduation ceremonies for Hillsborough County's public high schools. Noteworthy entertainers to perform in concert at Expo Hall include Robert Plant,

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

, No Doubt,

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

, Nine Inch Nails, Peter Frampton, Stone Temple Pilots, Yes,

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Motörhead, and

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

References

External links

Florida State Fair
- official site Ice hockey venues in Florida Indoor arenas in Florida Sports venues in Tampa, Florida Music venues in Florida Tampa Bay Rowdies sports facilities Defunct National Hockey League venues Indoor soccer venues in the United States Music of Tampa, Florida North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor venues 1977 establishments in Florida Sports venues completed in 1977 Florida State Fair Tampa Bay Lightning {{Florida-sports-venue-stub