Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, it was completed in 1993 at a cost of US$123 million. Arrowhead Water paid $15 million for the naming rights over 10 years in October 1993.[5] In the short period of time after the Mighty Ducks franchise was awarded and before the naming rights deal with Arrowhead, Disney referred to the Arena as the Pond of Anaheim.[6] In October 2006, Honda paid $60 million for the naming rights over 15 years,[7] and renewed the deal for another decade in 2020.[8]
History
A panorama of Honda Center's exteriorPanorama of Honda Center's interior before a 2007 playoff hockey gameHonda Center in its basketball configuration before an NCAA basketball gameThe New Scoreboard at Honda Center as seen from Section 438 during the 2016 Stanley Cup Play-offs on April 27, 2016
The idea for a large indoor arena in Anaheim emerged from entertainment attorney Neil Papiano, who in 1987 randomly selected two of the city's councilmen from the telephone directory to sell them his idea. They approved of the concept, and one year later following location surveys, the placement was chosen at a seven-acre parcel at Douglass Road and Katella Avenue, that at the time was owned by the German social group Phoenix Club. Papiano also managed to get financial backing from two New York-based firms, Ogden Corporation and Nederlander Organization.[9] Even if there was a dispute to build an arena in Orange County with a Santa Ana project led by Spectacor, and there were discussions of feasibility of the arena given the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League were at the time unwilling to expand to the area,[10] the city of Anaheim pushed forward to build the Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc.-designed arena,[11] which broke ground in November 1990.[9] A tenant was finally found in 1992, as The Walt Disney Corporation had just been awarded an NHL franchise for Anaheim, entering negotiations to lease the arena.[12] Once the deal was broken, the arena's final cost ended at $121 million, as $18 million were added to finance hockey franchise fees and facility improvement.[9]
The arena opened on June 19, 1993, with a Barry Manilow concert as its first event.[13] The then-Arrowhead Pond's first NHL game was also the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season opener on October 8, 1993, against the Detroit Red Wings, preceded by a 20-minute pregame show at the cost of $450,000. The Ducks lost 7–2.[14] Since then, the arena has been host to a number of events, such as the 2003 and 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.[13] On June 6, 2007, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators, 6–2, in game five of the Final at Honda Center to clinch the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship.[15]
This arena has also hosted a PBR Bud Light Cup (later Built Ford Tough Series) event annually since 1998.[19] Since 1994, the arena has hosted the annual Wooden Legacy basketball tournament.[20]
In 2011, the arena began hosting the Big West Conference Men's and Women's Basketball tournaments.[21] The arena has also hosted the NCAA men's basketball tournament seven times, as the West Regional site – 1998, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2019. It even hosted the Frozen Four, the semifinals and final of the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship, in 1999, underscoring the popularity of hockey in the region.[13]
On December 6, 2000, music legend Tina Turner played her last concert at the arena for the record breaking Twenty Four Seven Tour, but after popular demand, Turner returned to the arena before a sellout crowd on October 14, 2008, for her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour.
The arena seats up to 17,174 for its primary tenant, the Ducks. It takes only five hours to convert Honda Center from a sporting arena to an 8,400-seat amphitheater. There are 84 luxury suites in the building, which has hosted 17.5 million people, as of 2003. In 2005, the arena became the first in the U.S. to have two full levels of 360° ribbon displays installed. Daktronics of Brookings, South Dakota, designed, manufactured and installed the 1,800 feet (550m) of full-color LED technology. Outside the venue, the marquee was upgraded with two large video displays measuring 8 feet (2.4m) high by 21 feet (6.4m), and a new marquee was built with more LED video displays.[22]
Broadcom chairman Henry Samueli owns the company that operates the arena, Anaheim Arena Management, LLC, and the arena's primary tenant, the Ducks, giving him great flexibility in scheduling events and recruiting new tenants. AAM was founded in 2003 to take over operations of the arena from the bankrupt Ogden Corp.,[23] which had already sold the arena's concession deal to Aramark in 2000 - [24] who remained providing foods and drinks until 2013, when concessions became an in-house operation.[25]
During the 2014–2015 NHL Season, it was announced that Honda Center would get a new scoreboard that will replace the one that was in place since its opening in 1993. The new scoreboard made its debut in a Ducks pre-season game against the Los Angeles Kings.[26]
In March 2020, the arena would lose all its scheduled events because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[27] For the rest of the year, Honda Center would instead host charity events, such as blood drives, food bank distributions, and a collective wedding, along with serving as a drive-through voting location for the 2020 United States presidential election.[28] The Ducks would only play again in the arena once the following NHL season started in January 2021, with a reduced audience of 2,000 being allowed to attend the final five games of the season, starting with an April 17 matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights.[29]
Honda Center has the second highest gross ticket sales from special events on the West Coast, following only Crypto.com Arena.[33] These events have included the following over the years:
Rock band No Doubt, natives of Anaheim, recorded their two 1997 concert stops at the Pond, releasing them as their first concert video, Live in the Tragic Kingdom.
Janet Jackson performed for the first time at the arena during her The Velvet Rope Tour on August 23, 1998. She returned for her All for You Tour on September 29, 2001, and returned on September 23, 2017 as part of her State of the World Tour. Jackson will perform at the arena for the fourth time on June 9, 2024 as part of her Together Again tour.
Santana performed a sold-out four night run at the arena from August 11 to August 14, 1999, during their Supernatural Tour.
TLC performed at the arena on January 7, 2000, during their FanMail Tour. The tour would be their last as a trio. Band member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes was killed in a car accident in April 2002.
When No Doubt's lead singer, Gwen Stefani embarked on a solo venture, she filmed her two homecoming concerts at the arena in November 2005. The DVD was released as Harajuku Lovers Live.
The Jonas Brothers recorded the companion album to their 3-D concert movie at the Honda Center.
U2 performed at the arena five times: the first, the second and the third were on April 23, 24 and 26, 2001 during their Elevation Tour, in front of a total sold-out crowd of 49,377 people. The fourth and the fifth were on April 1 and 2, 2005 during their Vertigo Tour, in front of a total sold-out crowd of 33,535 people.
Depeche Mode performed at the arena seven times. The first and the second were on December 20 and 22, 1998 during their Singles Tour. The third and the fourth were on August 18 and 19, 2001 during their Exciter Tour. The fifth one was on November 23, 2005, during their Touring the Angel. The sixth one was on August 19, 2009, during their Tour of the Universe, in front of a crowd of 12,430 people. The 2009 show was recorded for the group's live albums project Recording the Universe. The seventh was on May 22, 2018, during their Global Spirit Tour.
K-popboy bandBIGBANG performed their first concert in the U.S. at the arena on November 2 and 3, 2012 as part of their Alive Galaxy Tour. They returned to the arena on October 4, 2015, for their Made World Tour.
Miley Cyrus performed in the center during her Bangerz World Tour on February 20, 2014, making it Cyrus' 3rd sold-out concert at the Honda Center after previously selling out the center during her Best of Both Worlds Tour on November 3, 2007, and again during her Wonder World Tour on September 23, 2009.
Live Nation hosted their 2017 Southern California Country Megaticket at the center due to the lease being up at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater which has been demolished to make way for housing.
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↑ In the 1993–94 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim media guide, Disney and the Ducks organization referred to the arena as the "Pond of Anaheim." This was prior to the naming rights deal with Arrowhead Water. ASIN: B001EBD3BM
↑ Casacchia, Chris (April 4, 2011). "Royal Reach: NBA Team Would Boost Honda Center Business, Bring Challenges". Orange County Business Journal. 34 (14): 66.
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