The Anaheim Convention Center is a major
convention center
A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
and is the largest exhibition facility on the
West Coast of the United States
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
. It is located across from the
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (Di ...
on Katella Avenue. The original components, designed by Adrian Wilson & Associates and built by
Del E. Webb Corporation, opened in July 1967—including a basketball arena followed shortly by the convention hall. It holds many events, like
Star Wars Celebration,
VidCon
VidCon is an annual convention for fans, creators, executives, and online brands. The event primarily features prominent video stars from across the internet. In October 2020, VidCon Now relaunched as an ongoing, free digital offering. Vetera ...
,
BlizzCon
BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises including ''Warcraft'', ''StarCraft'', '' Diablo'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Heroes of the Storm,'' and ''Overwatch''.
The first BlizzCon was hel ...
,
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...
,
D23 Expo
D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name ''D23'' refers to ''D'' for ''Disney'' and ''23' ...
,
WonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and film convention held in the San Francisco Bay Area (1987–2011), then—under the name WonderCon Anaheim—in Anaheim, California (2012–2015, 2017–present), and WonderCon Los Angel ...
,
NAMM Show
The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...
, competitions, and more. In addition to hosting various types of conventions, the Anaheim Convention Center was used to host the
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
during the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
.
[1984 Summer Olympics official report.](_blank)
Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 153–55.
The center has subsequently undergone six major expansions (1974, 1982, 1990, 1993, 1999–2000, 2016–2017). It is the largest exhibit facility on the West Coast.
Hostings
![AnimeExpo2004 Roof Shot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/AnimeExpo2004_Roof_Shot.jpg)
Originally, the arena was home to the
Anaheim Amigos
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...
of the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
during the first ABA season, 1967–68. The franchise relocated to the
Los Angeles Sports Arena
The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park, in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the campus of the University of ...
and became the
Los Angeles Stars
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...
immediately thereafter; the team eventually moved to Salt Lake City and became the
Utah Stars
The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround.
History prior to moving to ...
, capturing the 1970–71 ABA Championship. The Stars' subsequent fan support in Utah set the foundation for the NBA's
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
. The
San Diego Friars of
WTT played some of their home matches in the arena between 1975 and 1977. In 1978, the Anaheim Oranges of WTT used the arena as their primary home venue. The arena was also home to the
California Surf
The California Surf were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1981. The team was based in Anaheim, California and played their home games at Anaheim Convention Center and the Long Beach ...
of the
NASL for one indoor season (
1979–80).
According to frequent news reports, the largest exposition held at the Convention Center in recent years has been the Winter
NAMM Show
The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...
. This music-equipment convention (trade only, not open to the general public) had over 2,000 exhibitors and a record-breaking 115,888 attendees during the 2020 show. The NAMM Show has been running at the Anaheim Center since 1977, except for a three-year break in 1998–2000 while the Convention Center underwent major renovations, and in 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In 2008, news reports indicated that NAMM's long-term lease with the Anaheim Convention Center authority would end in 2010, and NAMM was applying pressure to the City of Anaheim to further expand and improve the convention center. The NAMM Show did ultimately occur in the convention center in 2011 and the subsequent years.
The
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...
was hosted at the Anaheim Convention Center in 1996 and again from 2003 through 2006
and was one of the convention center's biggest public events.
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduat ...
holds
BlizzCon
BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises including ''Warcraft'', ''StarCraft'', '' Diablo'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Heroes of the Storm,'' and ''Overwatch''.
The first BlizzCon was hel ...
at the venue. In 2005, BlizzCon used the northern two conference halls, (and the arena for a concert one evening). In 2007 and 2008, it used three conference halls. In 2009, it used four conference halls. While tickets to the 2007 event sold out in 3 days, tickets to the October 2008 event sold out "within minutes,"
and tickets to the August 2009 event sold out in "56 seconds". Tickets to the 2010 Blizzcon reportedly sold out within 30 seconds.
Another large convention held at the center is the Medical Design and Manufacturing Show, held shortly after Winter NAMM.
The venue served as the site for
wrestling at the 1984 Summer Olympics
At the 1984 Summer Olympics, 20 wrestling events were contested. There were 10 weight classes in each of the freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling disciplines. Competition took place at the arena at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anahe ...
.
The venue hosted the
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
's men's and women's college basketball tournaments from 2001 to 2010 and the
76 Classic
The DirecTV Classic was an eight-team college basketball tournament held during Thanksgiving week at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The tournament began in 2007, and was owned and operated by ESPN Plus, ESPN Regional Televis ...
college basketball tournament from 2007 to 2012. The
Wooden Legacy college basketball tournament has been hosted at the convention center since 2021 (the 2020 edition of the tournament was scheduled to be hosted at the venue prior to being cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
).
It was briefly home to the
Anaheim Arsenal
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
basketball team in the
NBA Development League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
from 2006 to 2009 before it relocated to
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
, for the 2009–10 season.
During the
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
, the
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...
were forced to move Game 4 of their
NBA playoff series versus the
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
to the Convention Center.
VidCon
VidCon is an annual convention for fans, creators, executives, and online brands. The event primarily features prominent video stars from across the internet. In October 2020, VidCon Now relaunched as an ongoing, free digital offering. Vetera ...
has been held at the Anaheim Convention Center since its third annual event in 2012. The new venue offered a much larger capacity than the previously used
Hyatt Regency Century Plaza
The Fairmont Century Plaza is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel in Los Angeles. Located in Century City, the hotel forms a sweeping crescent design fronting the Avenue of the Stars, adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the 2000 Avenue of ...
hotel in Los Angeles.
WonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and film convention held in the San Francisco Bay Area (1987–2011), then—under the name WonderCon Anaheim—in Anaheim, California (2012–2015, 2017–present), and WonderCon Los Angel ...
is hosted annually at the convention center since 2012, with the exception of 2016 when it was held at the
Los Angeles Convention Center
The Los Angeles Convention Center is a convention center in the southwest section of downtown Los Angeles. It hosts multiple annual conventions and has often been used as a filming location in TV shows and movies.
History
The convention center, ...
.
The 2012 VEX Robotics World Championship was also held in the convention center. Almost 600 teams were present at the competition which utilized two of the convention center's exhibit halls, as well as the convention centers Arena. In 2013 the VEX Robotics World Championship returned to the Anaheim Convention Center, occupying 3 exhibit halls as well as the arena. There were over 700 teams present, representing 24 nations. Each competed to be crowned the World Championship within their respective divisions.
Disney's
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
inaugural
D23 Expo
D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name ''D23'' refers to ''D'' for ''Disney'' and ''23' ...
, a biennial convention for Disney fans, was held at the Anaheim Convention Center in 2009. The convention center has hosted all subsequent D23 Expos.
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
's
''Star Wars'' Celebration fan gathering was held at the convention center in 2015.
Minecon was held at the venue in September 2016.
It hosted the
2017 World Weightlifting Championships
The 2017 World Weightlifting Championships were held in Anaheim, California, United States from 28 November to 5 December 2017.
Doping bans
Nine countries were banned from competing at the World Championships due to their history of doping at pre ...
.
The Collegiate Challenge gymnastics meet was held in the arena in 2019.
The convention center hosted the 2017
FBLA-PBL
The Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA, is an American career and technical student organization headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Established in 1940, FBLA is a non-profit organization of high school ("FBLA"), Middle Level ("FBLA ...
National Leadership Conference.
The convention center hosted the 2019
Business Professionals of America
Business Professionals of America (BPA) is a career and technical student organization that is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
Officers
Every Business Professionals of America chapter has presiding officers for the national organization, state ...
National Leadership Conference.
The convention center and arena is currently hosting the California State
Future Farmers of America
National FFA Organization is an American 501(c)(3) youth organization, specifically a career and technical student organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. It was founded in 1925 at Vi ...
leadership conference, which started in 2018, the largest youth convention in the State of California. As of 2019, 9,000 students from across the state of California have attended the event, with more expecting to show up in the future.
![Anaheim convention center covid site](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Anaheim_convention_center_covid_site.jpg)
The convention center was a filming location for ''
Star Trek: Picard'' and will make an appearance in the show as a part of
Starfleet
Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...
Headquarters.
The convention center served as a mass
COVID-19 vaccination site for Orange County workers and residents from February to June 2021.
See also
*
*
List of convention centers in the United States
This is a list of convention centers in the United States by state or insular area.
By state Alabama
*Bald Rock Lodge ( Cheaha State Park)
*Bessemer Civic Center
*Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex
*Bryant Convention Center (Tuscaloos ...
*
*
References
External links
*
Anaheim.net: City of Anaheim history, including the Convention Center1966 photo of the Convention Center under construction
{{Authority control
Convention centers in California
American Basketball Association venues
Anaheim Arsenal
Basketball venues in California
Buildings and structures in Anaheim, California
Buildings and structures completed in 1967
California Surf sports facilities
Defunct college basketball venues in the United States
Defunct NBA G League venues
Event venues established in 1967
Googie architecture in California
Gymnastics venues in California
Indoor soccer venues in California
Los Angeles Clippers venues
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor venues
Olympic wrestling venues
Sports venues in Anaheim, California
Sports venues completed in 1967
Tennis venues in California
Tourist attractions in Anaheim, California
Volleyball venues in California
Wrestling venues in California
Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics
1967 establishments in California
Indoor arenas in California
Del E. Webb buildings
Esports venues in California