Bon Secours Wellness Arena (formerly the BI-LO Center; The Well) is a
multi-purpose arena
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
in
Greenville, South Carolina. The arena serves as the home of the
Greenville Swamp Rabbits
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a professional ice hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and play their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Gr ...
of the
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The ...
.
History
The Bon Secours Wellness Arena was built in 1998 at a cost of
US $
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 officia ...
63 million, under its former name of BI-LO Center, to replace Greenville's outdated and under-repaired
Greenville Memorial Auditorium
Greenville Memorial Auditorium was a 7,500-seat multi-purpose arena built in 1958 that was located in Greenville, South Carolina. It hosted local sporting events, concerts and the Ringling Brothers Circus until the Bi-Lo Center opened in 1998.
It ...
, which was imploded on September 20, 1997, on a site located across the street from the new arena. The arena naming rights were purchased by Dutch grocer
Ahold
Koninklijke Ahold N.V. was a Dutch multinational retail company based in Zaandam, Netherlands. It merged with Belgium-based Delhaize Group in 2016 to form Ahold Delhaize.
History
Growth in the Netherlands
The company started in 1887, when A ...
, then-owner of
BI-LO, which had been founded in nearby
Mauldin and was still based there at the time. When it was built, it passed
Columbia's
Carolina Coliseum
Carolina Coliseum is a 12,401-seat multi-purpose arena in Columbia, South Carolina, built in 1968 by the University of South Carolina. The Coliseum was the largest arena in South Carolina at the time of its completion. It was the home of the U ...
as the largest arena in the state of South Carolina, a distinction it held until 2002, when the
Carolina Center was built in
Columbia.
On September 18, 2013, the BI-LO Center was officially renamed the Bon Secours Wellness Arena after the
Bon Secours Health System The Bon Secours Health System is the largest private hospital network in Ireland. It was formed in 1993 to co-ordinate the health care facilities in Ireland managed by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Bon Secours.
Background
The Congregation of th ...
purchased the naming rights.
Seating capacity
As a concert venue, the Bon Secours Wellness Arena can seat approximately 19,000 spectators, depending on the positioning of the stage. In addition, the arena features 30 luxury suites and 840 club seats.
Notable events
The arena has hosted a variety of events such as
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
,
monster truck
A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...
rallies,
ice dancing
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...
shows and competitions, and concerts spanning many different musical genres.
Concerts
During an average year, The Well hosts 20–25 concerts spanning across all music genres and related artists. Notable concerts include
The Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...
,
Garth Brooks,
Luke Bryan,
Pearl Jam,
Eric Church
Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billboar ...
,
Bon Jovi, and many more.
The BI-LO Center opened with Janet Jackson in 1998 (24 years ago) and followed in the same year with
Pearl Jam, and later,
Rob Zombie with
Korn;
Jay-Z in 1999;
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida.
The ...
,
Britney Spears,
Creed,
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...
with
Foo Fighters,
Ricky Martin
Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...
,
NSYNC,
Limp Bizkit with
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its form ...
,
Eminem with
DMX (who once lived in Greenville) in 2000;
Fuel with
Buckcherry
Buckcherry is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1995. The band released two albums, '' Buckcherry'' (1999) and '' Time Bomb'' (2001), before dissolving in 2002. Buckcherry's first album ''Buckcherry'' was DreamWorks first ...
,
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...
in 2001; and
Puddle of Mudd
Puddle of Mudd is an American rock band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992. To date, the band has sold over seven million albums and has had a string of No. 1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut '' C ...
, and
Tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
in 2002.
Jars of Clay performed there in 2007 for their Christmas Offerings Tour.
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who ...
played here on October 11, 2019, for
The Bandito Tour.
Family events
The arena also hosts a number of family events such as
Disney on Ice,
Monster Jam
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some additiona ...
,
WWE Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...
, and
Harlem Globetrotters.
Sporting events
The arena has served as the home of multiple professional and semi-professional teams. From 2001 to 2003, the arena served as the home for the
Greenville Groove
The Greenville Groove were a National Basketball Development League (NBDL) team based in Greenville, South Carolina. Playing their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, the Groove was a charter franchise of the league, which had four tea ...
, one of the original members of the
National Basketball Development League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...
.
It hosted the
Carolina Rhinos football team, one of the inaugural members of
AF2
The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
, from 2000 to 2002.
Beginning in 1998, the arena hosted the
Greenville Grrrowl
The Greenville Grrrowl were an ECHL hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They played their home games at the BI-LO Center. In the 2001–02 season, they won the Kelly Cup.
The Grrrowl's initial season was 1998–99, with former Ch ...
, an ECHL team. The team won the
Kelly Cup in 2002 during that time.
On February 14, 2010, the ECHL team
Johnstown Chiefs
The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now "ECHL") when th ...
announced that it would be moving from
Johnstown, PA to Greenville, SC following the 2010 season. The Johnstown Chiefs became began in Greenville as the Greenville Road Warriors. In 2015, the team was renamed to the
Greenville Swamp Rabbits
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a professional ice hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and play their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Gr ...
.
The
Impact Wrestling pay-per-view,
Against All Odds 2008 was also held at the Arena on February 10, 2008.
On June 22, 2019,
UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. The Korean Zombie was held at the venue, this was its first event in South Carolina.
Basketball
The arena hosted the
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...
Men's Basketball Tournament in 2000 and 2001, as well as first and second-round games during the
2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 2002, and ended with the champions ...
. In September 2016, the NCAA announced that it would move all tournament games scheduled to take place in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
during the 2016–2017 academic year, due to North Carolina's controversial
House Bill 2
The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, commonly known as House Bill 2 or HB2, was a North Carolina statute passed in March 2016 and signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory. The bill amended state law to preempt any anti-discrimination o ...
. Therefore, on March 17 and 19, 2017, the Bon Secours Wellness Arena hosted the first and second-round games for the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament, originally intended to take place at the
Greensboro Coliseum Complex
The Greensboro Coliseum Complex, commonly referred to as Greensboro Coliseum (the first and biggest building on the site), is an entertainment and sports complex located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, the complex holds eight venu ...
in
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...
. This was the first NCAA postseason basketball event to have been held at the arena since 2002.
The arena also hosted first and second-round NCAA men's tournament games in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
.
In 2005, the
SEC Women's Basketball Tournament was played at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena following a scheduling conflict with the intended host site,
Philips Arena
State Farm Arena (formerly Philips Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Atlanta Hawks. It also served as home to the National Hockey Leag ...
. Logistically,
Philips Arena
State Farm Arena (formerly Philips Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Atlanta Hawks. It also served as home to the National Hockey Leag ...
could not hold the 2005 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament just six weeks after the 54th
NHL All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...
. Even with the 2004–2005
NHL Lockout, the SEC chose to keep the tournament in
Greenville. The SEC Women's Tournament returned to Greenville in March 2017. In October 2017, it was announced that Bon Secours would host the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament for three consecutive years, starting with the
2019 tournament. In 2023, the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament returns annually to the arena for three consecutive years.
On October 10, 2014, the Bon Secours Wellness Arena hosted an
NBA preseason game between the
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...
and
Charlotte Hornets.
Due to the significant renovation planned for
Clemson University
Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...
's
Littlejohn Coliseum
The Littlejohn Coliseum is a 9,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Clemson, South Carolina, United States. It is home to the Clemson University Tigers men's and women's basketball teams. It is also the site of Clemson graduations and the Clemson C ...
, the
Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) s ...
Men's and
Women's Basketball Teams played their home games for the 2015–2016 season at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Sports venues completed in 1998
Arena football venues
Buildings and structures in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville Groove
Ice hockey venues in South Carolina
Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States
Defunct NBA G League venues
Sports venues in Greenville, South Carolina
Indoor arenas in South Carolina