Donald L. Tucker Center is a 13,800 seat multi-purpose
arenaAn arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
in
Tallahassee, FloridaTallahassee is the capital of the State of Florida, USA, the county seat of Leon County , and the 133rd biggest city in the USA. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida in 1824. In 2008, the population recorded by the U.S...
, located within the Tallahassee-
Leon CountyLeon County is a county located in the state of Florida. Its population in July 2008 was estimated to be about 264,000. The principal place in Leon County is Tallahassee, the county seat and state capital. The county seat is home to two of Florida's major public universities, Florida A&M...
Civic Center. The arena has the biggest capacity of any arena in the Florida
PanhandleA panhandle or salient is an informal geographic term for an elongated tail-like protrusion of a geo-political entity, such as an administrative division or a sovereign state that extends into another such entity as a peninsula extends into the sea. The former "folksy" term derives from the...
. The arena opened in 1981 and was built at a cost of $33.8 million, financed by the city. It has had WCW Thunder, WWF and WWE, including men's and women's basketball. The most it has ever held was 15,000 WWE Fans on January 12 2008. In 2008, another 1,700 seats were added to the top rim of the arena bowl to increase the capaticy to 13,800. It is also home to the
Florida State UniversityFlorida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
Seminoles men's and women's
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
teams. Before they moved, it was also host to the
Tallahassee Tiger SharksThe Tallahassee Tiger Sharks played in the ECHL from 1994-2001. While in Tallahassee, they played their games at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. Several local attempts have been made by local residents to revive or bring a new ice hockey team to Tallahassee, specifically by members of...
ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
team of the
ECHLThe ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada, generally regarded as a tier below the American Hockey League...
. Other professional teams that called the center home included the
Tallahassee ThunderThe Tallahassee Thunder is a now-defunct charter member af2 arena football team from Tallahassee, Florida. The Thunder played from 2000 until 2002, playing their home games at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee...
of arenafootball2 and the
Tallahassee ScorpionsTallahassee Scorpions were an indoor soccer team that played in the EISL during both the leagues, 1997-98. The team won one Division Title but failed to advance past that in the first season and had a losing record in its second and final season....
soccer team of the
EISLThe Eastern Indoor Soccer League was an attempt to create a regional minor indoor soccer league. The league featured teams from the Southeastern United States...
. In 2007 it was home to the
Tallahassee TitansThe Tallahassee Titans were an American Indoor Football Association team that began play as a 2007 member. The team played its home games at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida.-History:...
of the
American Indoor Football LeagueThe American Indoor Football Association is a professional indoor football league that was formed in 2006. The league's creation coincided with the demise of the Atlantic/American Indoor Football League , and all AIFL teams subsequently joined the AIFA...
. The team then left the AIFL for the
World Indoor Football LeagueThe World Indoor Football League was an indoor football league founded by Harry Pierce, owner of the Rome Renegades and Raleigh Rebels of the American Indoor Football League...
but then folded after the owner failed to acquire enough capital to finance the team. The WIFL then folded as other members jumped to other leagues.
The arena was re-named, in accordance with a 2004 act of
stateThe Florida Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Florida Constitution mandates a bicameral state legislature with an upper house Florida Senate of 40 members and a lower Florida House of Representatives of 120 members...
legislationStatutory law or statute law is written law set down by a legislature...
, in honor of
Donald L. TuckerDonald L. Tucker was a former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and Special Ambassador for the United States to the Dominican Republic.Tucker earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Florida in 1962...
, Esq.,a former
SpeakerThe term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the...
of the
Florida House of RepresentativesThe Florida House of Representatives, one of the two Chambers of the Florida Legislature, is composed of 120 members, each representing a district.Representatives are elected to two-year terms during even-numbered years...
and Special
AmbassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents their country. They are usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of their country....
for the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to the
Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries...
.
Early 2009 , The Donald L. Tucker Center confirmed the official amount of upholstered seats (Arena Seats) in the arena as being 13,800. The amount of seats (13,800) was also classified on http://www.tlccc.org/ the official website for the arena , they added it to quiet the rumors of capacity issues inside the Civic Center.
Covering 18,000 square feet,
this versatile Arena can accommodate 1,000 people for banquets and receptions for up to 2,000. The Arena has 13,800 upholstered seats for sporting events, concerts, touring Broadway Productions and Family Shows. The arena can increase the capacity with risers. Risers are usually added on to the side of the arena wall blending in perfectly with the permanent seats. Risers are usually only given out to the events of , wrestling , basketball and sometimes , concerts.
The arena can be configured in a variety of seating arrangements for each type of event.
As a
concertA concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band. Informal names for a concert include "show" and "gig"...
venue, the Tucker Center can seat between 2,372 and 12,041. As a
convention centerA convention center, in American English, is an exhibition hall, or conference center, that is designed to hold a convention. In British English very large venues suitable for major trade shows are known as exhibition centres while the term "convention centre" is sometimes used for intermediate...
, the Tucker Center can accommodate 18,900 square feet (1760 m²) in the main arena plus 35,000 square feet (3300 m²) at the adjoining exhibit hall, in addition to 16,000 square feet (1500 m²) of space at the meeting rooms. Concerts, sporting events, trade shows, Broadway shows, conventions, ice shows, circuses, and other events are held here annually.
The Center Theater
The Center Theater at The Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center is a 6,000 seat Multi purpose arena/theater underground of the arena. The Center Theater Is for small concerts,preaching and other theater type events.
The theatre setting available at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center provides not only a traditional counterweight system for shows accustomed to a conventional theatre venue, but also a perfect setting for musical artists that prefer a more intimate performance space.
The Civic Center is equipped with a state of the art sound system capable of providing reinforcement for upper level and club seat fill, as well as motorized clusters that may be utilized for additional support.
The Center Theatre has been proud to host the Tallahassee Broadway Series for the last eleven years and has presented such tours as
Les MisérablesLes Misérables is a novel by French author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century...
, Riverdance,
CatsCats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. It introduced the song standard "Memory."...
, Chicago, Fosse, and Rent. In addition, numerous musical artists have chosen to perform in this configuration.
External links