Hersheypark Arena is a multi-purpose indoor
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...
, located in
Hershey, PennsylvaniaHershey is a census-designated place in Derry Township, Dauphin County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The community is located 14 miles east of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hershey has no legal status as an incorporated municipality...
. The arena has a
seating capacitySeating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
, for hockey, of 7,286 people and in excess of 8,000, including standing room. Built in 1936, it was originally known as the Hershey Sports Arena.
It was home to the
Hershey BearsThe Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of...
, of the
AHLThe American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
, who moved to the
Giant CenterThe Giant Center is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place in the Harrisburg metropolitan area. It is home to the Hershey Bears ice hockey team, the longest-existing member of the American Hockey League since 1938...
in 2002, but still use it as their practice facility. It also played host to some
NHLThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
exhibition games and hosted 18
Calder CupThe Calder Cup is awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League. The trophy is the world's second oldest continuous professional ice hockey championship, having first been awarded in 1937 following the 1936-37 AHL season, and continuously being awarded every year.The cup...
finals and three AHL All-Star games. Today, it is the home rink for the
Lebanon Valley CollegeLebanon Valley College is a small, liberal arts higher education institution situated in the heart of Annville in Lebanon County, east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.-History:...
and the
Shippensburg University of PennsylvaniaShippensburg University of Pennsylvania, commonly known as Ship, or SU, is a public university located in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, 40 miles west-southwest of Harrisburg...
ice hockey teams, as well as the Hershey JR Bears, a youth team sponsored by the Bears organization. On most weekends during the fall and winter months, the rink is open to the public for ice skating.
The second sport at the arena was basketball. On March 2, 1962, Philadelphia Warriors center
Wilt ChamberlainWilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...
recorded a record-setting 100 pointsWilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, named by the National Basketball Association as one of its greatest games, was a regular-season game between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks held on March 2, 1962, at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.The Warriors won the game 169-147,...
in a
NBAThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
game against the
New York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
.
It hosted the
PIAAThe Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. is one of the governing bodies of high school and junior high school sports for the state of Pennsylvania, United States....
basketball and wrestling championships, and it also served as the home of the
Hershey ImpactThe Hershey Impact was an indoor soccer club based in Hershey, Pennsylvania that competed in the National Professional Soccer League.The team played its home games at the Hersheypark Arena for all of its 3 seasons.-Staff & Ownership:...
, a National Professional Soccer League team from 1988–1991.
Annually, it hosts part of the
Music in the ParksMusic in the Parks is a day-long or two-day festival for student choral, orchestral, and band ensembles, held annually across the United States. Music groups perform before adjudicators who rate the ensemble in the morning, and then spend the day at an amusement park. The day culminates with an...
competition. It has also hosted the
Ice CapadesThe Ice Capades was a traveling entertainment show featuring theatrical performances involving ice skating. Shows often featured former Olympicand National Champion figure skaters who had retired from amateur competition....
,
Disney on IceDisney On Ice is a touring ice show produced by Feld Entertainment under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure skaters dressed as Disney cartoon characters in performances that each derive their music and plot from elements collected from...
, professional boxing, tennis competitions, and the fifth
WWFWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
In Your HouseIn Your House 5: Seasons Beatings was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on December 17, 1995 at the Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania...
pay-per-view in 1995.
On October 13, 1953, the arena also hosted an extravagant birthday celebration for President
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
whose farm and "weekend White House" was located in nearby
GettysburgGettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
.
PhishPhish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
performed and recorded their show, on December 1, 1995, which was later released as a live album, entitled
Live Phish 12.01.95Live Phish 12-1-95 is an archival release by the band Phish. It is the only two disc set in the livephish downloads CD series to date. The show was originally released in MP3, FLAC and CD formats on March 20, 2007...
.
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