The Tucson Convention Center (previously named the Tucson Community Center) is a multi-purpose

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 downtown

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. Built in 1971, the location includes an 8,962-seat 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 ...

, two

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

venues A venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a conce ...

, and of meeting space. The complex was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2015.

Performance venues

*The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, with 2,289 seats, is used for concert performances, including

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. Known originally as the Tucson Music Hall, it was renamed in honor of Tucson native

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

in 2022. *Leo Rich Theater, with 511 seats, is used for small scale and more intimate performances. *Tucson Arena, with maximum capacity of 8,962. In the 200 seating series, total capacity is 4,988, 100 series total capacity is 2,724 and the floor capacity is 1,250. Standard hockey capacity is 6,521.

Tucson Roadrunners

Beginning from the fall of 2016, Tucson Arena has been home to the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...

in 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 ...

University of Arizona hockey

The

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Wildcats club hockey team currently plays at Tucson Arena. Although associated with the

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

, the team receives no funding directly from the school. The hockey team is a Division 1 member of the

American Collegiate Hockey Association The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes quality in collegi ...

. Leo Golembiewski had been the head coach for 27 years, leading the team to 21 straight national tournaments, with eight semi-final appearances and one national

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

. The current coach is Chad Berman.

Tucson Sugar Skulls

On August 23, 2018, the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

announced the addition of the expansion

Tucson Sugar Skulls The Tucson Sugar Skulls are a professional indoor football team based in Tucson, Arizona, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Sugar Skulls began play in the 2019 season as an expansion team. The team plays its home games at Tu ...

to begin play in 2019.

Other events

The Tucson Convention Center has been host to many other events including the

Tucson Gem & Mineral Show The Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase are gem and mineral shows that take place annually in late January and February at multiple locations across the city of Tucson, Arizona. Most of the shows are open to the public, except for certain tr ...

, Jehovah's Witnesses Regional Conventions, the

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling, is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth ...

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 ...

monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...

shows as well as many live

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

television broadcasts featuring Raw,

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

& ECW. In 1999, the arena hosted an

Empty Arena match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

between The Rock and

Mankind Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intelligenc ...

for the

WWF Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American profe ...

, which aired during halftime of

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...

. While

McKale Center McKale Memorial Center is an athletic arena in the southwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. As the home of the university's Wildcats basketball team of the Big 12 Conference, it is primari ...

was being built at the University of Arizona, the Wildcats briefly considered playing some of its 1971-72 men's basketball games at Tucson Arena, but eventually decided against doing so, opting to remain in Bear Down Gymnasium until McKale Center was ready. The arena also hosted concerts by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

on November 9, 1972 and June 1, 1976. He previous had performed at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds on June 10, 1956. During the 2016 presidential race

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

spoke in front of approximately 5000 people, for which his campaign still owes over $80,000 for local police and other services. Ventriloquist and comedian

Jeff Dunham Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonig ...

hosted a show at the arena as part of his "Seriously!?" tour on October 3, 2021.

Past minor league teams

Tucson Mavericks The Tucson Mavericks were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It wa ...

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(1975–76) *

Tucson Icemen The Tucson Icemen were a minor professional ice hockey team in the Southwest Hockey League from 1976 to 1977. Of the Southwest League's teams, the Icemen were the most successful, winning 31 of 41 games played in the league. History The team was ...

Southwest Hockey League The Southwest Hockey League was a senior ice hockey league that operated in the Southwestern United States from 1975 to 1977. The Southwest Hockey League (SWHL) was established in 1975 to train players for professional leagues. Ralph Engelstad, ...

(1976–77) * Tucson Rustlers,

Pacific Hockey League : ''For the 1990s semi-professional ice hockey league, see Pacific Hockey League (1994).'' The Pacific Hockey League was a low-level minor professional hockey league that existed for two seasons in 1977–78, and 1978–79. Its member teams from Ca ...

(1978–79) * Tucson Gunners,

Western Basketball Association The Western Basketball Association was formed in 1978 and played for one season during 1978–79. Organized by Larry Cregar, a former assistant coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA), and real ...

(1978–79) *

Tucson Gila Monsters The Tucson Gila Monsters were a short-lived American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. The team played throughout the 1997–98 season, but folded after 21 games during the 1998–99 season. The Gila Monsters, ...

West Coast Hockey League The West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the Western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Id ...

(1997–99)

Renovation

Throughout 2014, the Tucson Convention Center was renovated at a cost of $22 million, via funding by the Rio Nuevo downtown redevelopment and revitalization district and the City of Tucson, including new bathrooms, lighting, seats, a revamped sound system, a new kitchen and a video scoreboard.

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

headlined a January 4, 2015 concert at the venue, debuting the remodeled arena. Management of the convention center is now handled by

ASM Global ASM Global is an American worldwide venue management group headquartered in Los Angeles, California, which manages convention centers, music venues, and sports venues. The company was founded in 2019 as a result of a merger between AEG Faciliti ...

References

External links

Tucson ArenaTucson Music HallLeo Rich TheaterUniversity of Arizona Wildcats Hockey WebsiteTucson Roadrunners Website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Tucson, Arizona College ice hockey venues in the United States Economy of Tucson, Arizona Indoor arenas in Arizona Ice hockey venues in the United States Sports venues in Tucson, Arizona Tourist attractions in Tucson, Arizona Music venues in Arizona Convention centers in Arizona 1971 establishments in Arizona Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Tucson Roadrunners Sports venues completed in 1971