Maverik Center

This article is about the arena. For the governmental webpage, see DoE e-center.

Maverik Center
Former names	E Center (1997-2010)
Location	3200 South Decker Lake Drive West Valley City, Utah  United States
Coordinates	40°42′9.8″N 111°57′1.5″W / 40.702722°N 111.950417°W / 40.702722; -111.950417Coordinates: 40°42′9.8″N 111°57′1.5″W / 40.702722°N 111.950417°W / 40.702722; -111.950417
Broke ground	March 22, 1996 (1996-03-22)
Built	1996-1997
Opened	September 19, 1997 (1997-09-19)
Owner	West Valley City
Operator	Centennial Management Group, Inc.
Construction cost	$54.1 million USD ($74 million in 2011 dollars[1])
Architect	Populous (formerly HOK Sport)
General Contractor	Turner Construction[2]
Capacity	Ice hockey: 10,100 Basketball: 12,500 Concerts: up to 12,000 Boxing Wrestling: 12,600
Website	Maverik Center
Tenants
Utah Blaze (AFL) (2010) Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) (2005–present) Utah Grizzlies (IHL, AHL) (1997–2005) Utah Warriors (NIFL) (2003–2004) XIX Olympic Winter Games (February 2002) VIII Paralympic Winter Games (March 2002) Utah Freezz (WISL) (1999–2001)

The Maverik Center, originally known as the E Center, is a 10,100 seat multi-purpose arena located in West Valley City, Utah, United States. Construction on the arena started in 1996 and was completed in time to hold its first event on September 22, 1997. The arena is owned by West Valley City, and managed by Centennial Management Group, Inc.

During the 2002 Winter Olympics it served as the main venue for the ice hockey events, and as the venue for ice sledge hockey during the 2002 Winter Paralympics.^[3] Today the arena is home to the Utah Grizzlies, and it is also a major venue in the area for numerous concerts and live touring productions.

History

In July 1995, only a month after winning the 2002 Winter Olympic bid, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) accepted a proposal from West Valley City to build a new ice hockey facility in their city. SLOC loaned $7 million to the city for construction costs, and would rent the arena from the city during the Olympic games.^[4] The arena would be funded through a variety of ways, but would be owned by the municipality of West Valley City, and used for various events before and after the games. Ground was broken for the arena on March 22, 1996, and construction was completed in September 1997; the E Center was officially dedicated in a ceremony on September 19, 1997.^[5][6] The first event held in the new venue was WCW's Monday Nitro Live on September 22, 1997.^[7] WWE Smackdown debuted the 'fist stage' in this arena.

Naming rights

In 2010, Centennial Management Group and West Valley City, announced that a new partnership (which included naming rights) had been reached with Maverik, Inc.; owners of convenience stores throughout the Intermountain West. The sponsorship deal is a multi-year agreement, which included exclusive sponsorship and advertising rights, prominent signage on the exterior and interior of the building, along with a name change to the Maverick Center. Additionally, the venue now features Maverik's proprietary "adventure theme", a Maverik concession outlet, and exclusively sells a number of Maverik proprietary products.^[8]

Tenants

Present

The venue's primary tenant is the ECHL Utah Grizzlies (AA Hockey). In the 2010 season, the E Center became the home for the re-launched Arena Football League's version of the Utah Blaze (formerly the Utah Valley Thunder) that ceased operations when the AFL declared bankruptcy and suspended operations in 2009. However, the Blaze returned to their old home at the Energy Solutions Arena for the 2011 season.

Past

The arena used to be home to the Utah Freezz of the World Indoor Soccer League from 1999–2001 and the Utah Warriors of the NIFL from 2003-2004.

The PBR hosted a Built Ford Tough Series event at the E Center in 2007; it was the PBR's first stop in the Salt Lake City area since 2000, when they visited the Delta Center.

2002 Winter Olympics & Paralympics

The arena served as one of the venues for ice hockey during the 2002 games, with events spread out during six days in 31 sessions. The indoor facility was capable of holding 8,400 spectators, plus press members, during the competitions. 96.7 percent of available tickets were sold, for a total of 230,657 spectators witnessing events in the arena.^[9] During the 2002 Winter Paralympics the arena hosted the ice sledge hockey events.^[10]

Notes

1. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
2. ^ Harris, Dion M. (March 13, 1996). "Concrete Boosts Arena Price to $51.6 Million". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/477169/CONCRETE-BOOSTS-ARENA-PRICE-TO-516-MILLION.html. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
3. ^ Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2001). Official Spectator Guide. p. 76. 
4. ^ "SLOOC Chooses Wisely". The Salt Lake Tribune. 27 July 1995. 
5. ^ Dion M. Harris (13 March 1996). "Concrete boosts arena price to $51.6 million". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/477169/CONCRETE-BOOSTS-ARENA-PRICE-TO-516-MILLION.html. Retrieved 3 December 2010. 
6. ^ Don Baker (20 September 1997). "Verdict's in on E Center, and it's `gee whiz'". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/584165/Verdicts-in-on-E-Center-and-its-gee-whiz.html. Retrieved 17 December 2010. 
7. ^ Dirk Facer (12 September 1997). "West Valley E Center". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/582463/West-Valley-E-Center.html. Retrieved 3 December 2010. 
8. ^ "'E Center' no more as West Valley sells naming rights". KSL-TV. 8 June 2010. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=294&sid=11095393. Retrieved 17 December 2010. 
9. ^ Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2002). Official Report of the XIX Olympic Winter Games. p. 89. ISBN 0-9717961-0-6. http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2002/2002v1.pdf. Retrieved 30 November 2010. 
10. ^ SLOC (2001). "Venues: E Center". Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Winter Games website. http://saltlake2002.paralympic.org/venues/e_center/e_center.html. Retrieved 17 December 2010. 

External links

• Maverik Center Official Website