McMorran Arena is an entertainment complex in

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

consisting of a 4,800-seat multi-purpose arena and a theater. It was designed by Alden B. Dow and built in 1960 for $3.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ). The exterior of the complex is faced with red brick with limestone accents.

Sports

As of the 2015–16 season, McMorran has been the home of the Port Huron Prowlers of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. Previous hockey tenants include the

Port Huron Flags The Port Huron Flags were a minor league professional ice hockey team located in Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. ...

(various incarnations), Port Huron Wings, Port Huron Border Cats, Port Huron Beacons, Port Huron IceHawks, and Port Huron Fighting Falcons.

Arena

The arena seats 2,200 for

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

and indoor football, and 4,800 for

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s. The arena floor measures . The dasher boards have glass on the ends and glass on the sides for ice hockey. The arena is also used for conventions, circuses, ice shows, trade shows, and banquets, among other events. The arena has hosted many major headlining musicians throughout the years such as

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

, Rush,

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

. The 1998 opening of RBC Centre in

Sarnia, Ontario Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

sent most of the arena's concert business across the

St. Clair River The St. Clair River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, forming part ...

, which separates Port Huron from Sarnia. However, in 2010 McMorran started to rejuvenate its concert lineup with the band

Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...

. In 2012, McMorran Arena and the adjacent pavilion were used for the Devil's Asylum

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

. As a result, the Fighting Falcons began their season on the road. In November 2019, the arena received a donation of 3,000 seats from the shuttered Palace of Auburn Hills. Although the seats were free, the city had to bear the cost to move and install them. The city planned to remove the original wooden seats and have new padded the seats in place by summer 2020. The seats were one of several upgrades to the facility which included work on sound and electrical equipment in the theatre, carpeting, signage and a plan to reconfigure the plaza east of the building to accommodate an outdoor ice rink and gathering space for events.

Pavilion

The pavilion features of space for sporting events, trade shows, banquets, meetings, and conventions. In 2016, the city of Port Huron sold the pavilion to St. Clair County Community College for $1. Following the transaction, the Port Huron Minor Hockey Association, which was housed at the Pavilion, merged with the Blue Water Hockey Association, which is based in the city's Glacier Pointe Ice Complex. SC4 renovated the building, which opened that October as the SC4 Fieldhouse. It serves as the home to SC4's athletic teams and will be available for community use, hosting tournaments, showcases and camps in various sports and at various levels. Attached to the pavilion is an octagonal tower which boasts an observation deck at its top. Visitors can climb the 188 steps to the top to see unobstructed views of the entire area. As part of the 2016 renovations, the college installed new accent lighting on the tower's exterior.

Theatre

The 1,157-seat theatre is used for Broadway shows, movies, concerts, and other stage events. It features excellent acoustics and sight lines and also was designed by Alden B. Dow. It is home to the International Symphony Orchestra and the Port Huron Civic Theatre. In addition, the complex houses a meeting room and lounge. The exterior of the east wall features a clock of gold anodized aluminum set among limestone panels and serving as a backdrop for the ''Night and Day Fountain''. Both are by sculptor Marshall Fredericks.

References

External links