Rabobank Arena
Encyclopedia
Rabobank Arena is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena
, Bakersfield, California
, USA. Located downtown at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street, it was built in 1998, and was originally known as Centennial Garden. The city-owned arena sold naming rights to the Dutch cooperative
bank
Rabobank
in 2005, which also sponsors cycling
and field hockey
teams. The naming rights contract, signed for $2.5 million dollars, lasts through 2015.
It is home to the Bakersfield Condors
ECHL
ice hockey
team
and California State University, Bakersfield
Roadrunners Men's NCAA Division I basketball. Rabobank Arena was the former home of the af2
affiliated Bakersfield Blitz
Arena Football team which disbanded due to financial difficulties after the 2007 season. CSU Bakersfield now plays in Division I as an independent and currently plays all of its men's basketball games at Rabobank Arena. The women's team, which used to play their games at Rabobank Arena, have opted to have all of their games played at the more intimate on-campus Icardo Center
. Rabobank Arena is also the current home to the California Interscholastic Federation
High School State Wrestling Championship Tournament held the first weekend in March. As a concert
venue, the arena seats 6,400 for half-house shows and up to 10,225 for center stage and end-stage shows. The arena floor measures 17000 square feet (1,579.4 m²) of total space.
The southern concourse of Rabobank Arena serves as the exhibit home of the Bob Elias Kern County Hall of Fame. The Bob Elias Hall of Fame honors athletes and people involved with athletics from Bakersfield and Kern County. They include nationally prominent athletes, local coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to athletics. A separate display on the western concourse honors the founders of Bakersfield and Kern County, as well as country music legend Buck Owens
and current athletes and dignitaries from Bakersfield and Kern County.
Attached to Rabobank Arena is a 17840 square feet (1,657.4 m²) exhibit hall, which combines with a 3,000-seat theater, which measures 28512 square feet (2,648.9 m²) and features a 7830 square feet (727.4 m²) stagehouse to create a second arena and is presently known as the Rabobank Theater and Convention Center
. This was originally known as the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium (opened in 1962) and was later re-named the Bakersfield Convention Center in the 1980s following remodeling and the construction of the adjacent Holiday Inn Select Hotel in the 1990s (now known as "Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center"). The convention center's stage (one of the largest stages in the world) was the Condors' previous home (when they were known as the Fog) until Centennial Garden was built in 1998 and, combined or separately, is also used for concerts (seating up to 5,800), sporting events, trade shows and, in the theater and stagehouse only, Broadway and family shows. There is also a 12885 square feet (1,197.1 m²) lobby and 14 meeting rooms measuring 11659 square feet (1,083.2 m²) of total space.
In front of Rabobank Arena is a city parkspace, Centennial Plaza. The Plaza has a large fountain that drains into the concrete of the plaza, a stage, a sculpture fountain, art work, and bricks commemorating the City of Bakersfield's Centennial as an incorporated city in 1998.
Parking for the Rabobank Arena, Theater, and Convention Center is in a lot on the southern side of the arena between N Street on the west, Q Street on the east, and 13th Street on the south. The lot is adjacent to the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center (the Condors practice facility and public ice rink); and the McMurtrey Aquatic Center.
Arena
An 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...
, Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
, USA. Located downtown at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street, it was built in 1998, and was originally known as Centennial Garden. The city-owned arena sold naming rights to the Dutch cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
Rabobank
Rabobank
Rabobank is a financial services provider with offices worldwide. Their main location is in the Netherlands. They are a global leader in Food and Agri financing and in sustainability-oriented banking...
in 2005, which also sponsors cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
and field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
teams. The naming rights contract, signed for $2.5 million dollars, lasts through 2015.
It is home to the Bakersfield Condors
Bakersfield Condors
The Bakersfield Condors are a minor league ice hockey team based in Bakersfield, California. The team plays in the Pacific Division of the ECHL's Western Conference. The Condors join the Houston Aeros as an affiliate of the Minnesota Wild in the National Hockey League...
ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team
Team
A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team...
and California State University, Bakersfield
California State University, Bakersfield
California State University, Bakersfield is a public university located in Bakersfield, California, United States which was founded in 1965. CSUB opened in 1970 on a campus, becoming the 19th school in the California State University system...
Roadrunners Men's NCAA Division I basketball. Rabobank Arena was the former home of the af2
Af2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...
affiliated Bakersfield Blitz
Bakersfield Blitz
The Bakersfield Blitz were a professional arena football team based in Bakersfield, California. They are a 2004 expansion member of the af2 and play their home games at Rabobank Arena....
Arena Football team which disbanded due to financial difficulties after the 2007 season. CSU Bakersfield now plays in Division I as an independent and currently plays all of its men's basketball games at Rabobank Arena. The women's team, which used to play their games at Rabobank Arena, have opted to have all of their games played at the more intimate on-campus Icardo Center
Icardo Center
Icardo Center is a 3,800-seat multi-purpose arena in Bakersfield, California. It is home to the California State University, Bakersfield, women's basketball and wrestling teams.-External links:*...
. Rabobank Arena is also the current home to the California Interscholastic Federation
California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from some of the others in that it covers most high schools in the state of California, both public and...
High School State Wrestling Championship Tournament held the first weekend in March. As a concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
venue, the arena seats 6,400 for half-house shows and up to 10,225 for center stage and end-stage shows. The arena floor measures 17000 square feet (1,579.4 m²) of total space.
The southern concourse of Rabobank Arena serves as the exhibit home of the Bob Elias Kern County Hall of Fame. The Bob Elias Hall of Fame honors athletes and people involved with athletics from Bakersfield and Kern County. They include nationally prominent athletes, local coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to athletics. A separate display on the western concourse honors the founders of Bakersfield and Kern County, as well as country music legend Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
and current athletes and dignitaries from Bakersfield and Kern County.
Attached to Rabobank Arena is a 17840 square feet (1,657.4 m²) exhibit hall, which combines with a 3,000-seat theater, which measures 28512 square feet (2,648.9 m²) and features a 7830 square feet (727.4 m²) stagehouse to create a second arena and is presently known as the Rabobank Theater and Convention Center
Rabobank Theater and Convention Center
The Rabobank Theater and Convention Center is a performing arts theater and convention facilities located in Bakersfield, California .-History:...
. This was originally known as the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium (opened in 1962) and was later re-named the Bakersfield Convention Center in the 1980s following remodeling and the construction of the adjacent Holiday Inn Select Hotel in the 1990s (now known as "Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center"). The convention center's stage (one of the largest stages in the world) was the Condors' previous home (when they were known as the Fog) until Centennial Garden was built in 1998 and, combined or separately, is also used for concerts (seating up to 5,800), sporting events, trade shows and, in the theater and stagehouse only, Broadway and family shows. There is also a 12885 square feet (1,197.1 m²) lobby and 14 meeting rooms measuring 11659 square feet (1,083.2 m²) of total space.
In front of Rabobank Arena is a city parkspace, Centennial Plaza. The Plaza has a large fountain that drains into the concrete of the plaza, a stage, a sculpture fountain, art work, and bricks commemorating the City of Bakersfield's Centennial as an incorporated city in 1998.
Parking for the Rabobank Arena, Theater, and Convention Center is in a lot on the southern side of the arena between N Street on the west, Q Street on the east, and 13th Street on the south. The lot is adjacent to the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center (the Condors practice facility and public ice rink); and the McMurtrey Aquatic Center.