The Pine Bluff Convention Center is a

convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

located in

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

at One Convention Center Plaza. It was built in 1976, opening on June 27th of that year.

Available Facilities

Arena

*An 8,500-seat 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 ...

featuring of space and a ceiling height. The arena hosts local concerts and sporting events, including

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

, and

rodeos Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

, as well as conventions, trade shows, circuses, dances and banquets for the area. There are 5,000 permanent seats, and the arena can hold up to 2,500 for banquets and 1,296 classroom-style. The arena has four concession stands and four restrooms along its concourse, and 5 dressing rooms. The arena's loading dock can accommodate four trucks.

Banquet Hall

*A banquet hall, seating up to 2,000 theater-style, 1,400 for banquets and 1,000 classroom-style. It is used for trade shows, conventions, banquets, luncheons and other special events. It is divisible into four smaller rooms and is served by a modern full-line kitchen. The banquet hall is unique in that it is lit by tracks of colored lights. Adjacent is a meeting room.

Theater

*A 1,899-seat theater used for concerts, opera, Broadway shows, recitals, ceremonies and other special events. The theater's 93'3"-by 47' stage can accommodate 600 theater-style, 450 banquet-style and 300 classroom-style. The theater also contains 5 dressing rooms at stage level. In addition, the Convention Center also contains three VIP suites, and a storage area.

Sports

*The Convention Center is also home to the Arkansas Rivercatz of the American Basketball Association..

Notable events

* On January 13, 2001

Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...

's last ever event before the promotion shut down was held at the convention center.

Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame

The Pine Bluff Convention Center features the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame, with artifacts and memorabilia of entertainers from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. Celebrities highlighted include singer

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. ...

, author

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955) is an American novelist, lawyer, and former politician, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the Academy of Achievement, American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 ...

, musicians

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Hel ...

Jimmy Driftwood James Corbitt Morris (June 20, 1907 – July 12, 1998), known professionally as Jimmy Driftwood or Jimmie Driftwood, was an American folk music, folk-style songwriter and musician, most famous for his songs "The Battle of New Orleans (song), ...

, Art Porter Jr.,

Jim Ed Brown James Edward Brown (April 1, 1934 – June 11, 2015) was an American Country music, country singer who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of the Browns. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed b ...

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel. In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname t ...

Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960), known professionally as Collin Raye and previously as Bubba Wray, is an American country music singer. He initially recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made his solo debut ...

and

Tracy Lawrence Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, Lawrence began performing at age 15 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 19 ...

, actors

Jerry Van Dyke Jerry McCord Van Dyke (July 27, 1931 – January 5, 2018) was an American actor and comedian. He was the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke had a long and successful career mostly as a character actor in supporting and guest roles on pop ...

and

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker, singer and songwriter. He received international attention after writing, directing and starring in the independent film, independent Drama (film and television), drama f ...

, and producer

Harry Thomason Harry Zell Thomason (born November 30, 1940) is an American film and television producer and director, best known for the television series ''Designing Women''. Thomason and his wife, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, are close friends of President Bi ...

. Elvis Presley September 7 an 8th 1976. Admission is free.

References

External links

Pine Bluff Convention CenterArkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame
- official site *Map to Pine Bluff Convention Center: Indoor arenas in Arkansas Sports venues in Arkansas Concert halls in the United States Convention centers in Arkansas Theatres in Arkansas Music venues in Arkansas Buildings and structures in Pine Bluff, Arkansas Tourist attractions in Pine Bluff, Arkansas Sports in Pine Bluff, Arkansas {{music-venue-stub