The Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns (English: ''Juan Pachín Vicens Auditorium''), formerly, Coliseo Juan Pachín Vicéns (English: Juan Pachin Vicens Coliseum), a.k.a., Coliseo de Ponce, is a sports venue in the city of

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. The auditorium opened on 12 May 1972, under the mayoral administration of Juan H. Cintrón García and is named after

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player

Juan "Pachín" Vicéns Juan "Pachín" Vicéns Sastre (September 7, 1934 – February 18, 2007) was a Puerto Rican basketball player. Vicéns was famous for his performance with the Leones de Ponce and with the Puerto Rican national basketball team. During the 1959 F ...

(1934–2007). Initially known as "Coliseo de Ponce" from its inauguration in 1972 until the 1990s, it was baptized under the name ''Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns'', to honor the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

basketball player.

History

The structure was completed in 1972 and cost $2,000,000 ($ in dollars)

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

to build. The auditorium has been remodeled several times. Its original

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

was 7,786 seats. It was remodeled in the mid-90s to add 3,000 additional seats, and in 2001 the auditorium was again renovated to include an air conditioning system, new scoreboards, new sound system, an acoustics improvement project, and an increase to its seating capacity to near 11,000 spectators. It has three seating levels. The auditorium served as one of the sport venues for the

1993 Central American and Caribbean Games The 17th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. The Games were held 19–30 November 1993, and included 3,570 athletes from 31 nations. History of the 1993 Games Organization and planning The ...

. It has the largest hyperbolic-paraboloid roof in the world.

Uses

The auditorium is the official venue of the local basketball team, the Leones de Ponce, and also hosts musical concerts, circuses, conventions, and organization meetings. In addition to serving as an important sports venue, several non-sports historical events have taken place there. The tumultuous General Assembly of the then-ruling New Progressive Party held there in 1983 led to the creation of a splinter party, the Puerto Rico Renewal Party, by then San Juan mayor

Hernán Padilla Hernán Padilla Ramírez (born May 5, 1938) is a retired physician and former two-term Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Biography After training as a nephrologist, he entered private practice and joined the military with the Puerto Rico Nationa ...

and the defeat of Governor

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He al ...

in the 1984 gubernatorial elections. The auditorium was the site of the wake ceremony for

who died on 18 February 2007. The wake ceremony for Ponce mayor

Rafael Cordero Santiago Rafael Cordero Santiago (24 October 1942 – 17 January 2004), better known as "Churumba", was the Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1989 to 2004. Many considered him as a synonym of Ponce, being baptized as "El León Mayor ...

who died on 17 January 2004 was also held there as well.

Controversy

In April 2011, the 2012 PPD Ponce mayoral candidate Ramón Torres Morales, criticized the incumbent opposition PNP party mayor

María Meléndez María Eloisa Meléndez Altieri (born December 26, 1951) also known as Mayita, is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the mayor of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 2009 to 2021. Meléndez Altieri was elected during the Puerto Rican gen ...

for placing a

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pla ...

on the bust of Juan Pachín Vicéns that former PPD mayor

Churumba Rafael Cordero Santiago (24 October 1942 – 17 January 2004), better known as "Churumba", was the Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1989 to 2004. Many considered him as a synonym of Ponce, being baptized as "El León Mayor ...

had erected at the entrance to the Juan Pachins Vicens auditorium to commemorate the basketball legend. The plaque bore the name of PNP mayor, María Meléndez, instead of the PPD mayor who had erected the commemorative bust, mayor

, a.k.a. Churumba.

Effects of the 2020 Puerto Rico earthquake

The building sustained damage due to the 2020 Puerto Rico earthquake. It reopened in July 2021 after repairs of $240,000. ''Reabre 'El ' tras huracán, sismos, y pandemia.''
EsNoticia. Issue 149. 30 July to 12 August 2021. p.14
Archived.
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Gallery

File:Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns, Bo. Canas Urbano, Ponce, Puerto Rico, mirando al oeste.jpg, View of the

Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

. File:Anuncio sobre la entrada principal del Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns, Bo. Canas Urbano, Ponce, Puerto Rico, mirando al oeste.jpg, Main entrance to the auditorium. File:Pachin94.jpg, Interior view of the auditorium.

References