Tony's Pizza Events Center, formerly the Bicentennial Center, is located in

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in, and the county seat of, Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1 ...

. It includes a 7,583-seat multipurpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

, meeting rooms and Heritage Hall, an 18,000 square foot

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 ...

. It is home of the

Salina Liberty The Salina Liberty are a professional indoor football team based in Salina, Kansas. They began play in 2016 as members of the Champions Indoor Football (CIF). The team plays their home games at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center. History Indoor f ...

of the

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team from ...

league, and is nicknamed ''Mid-America's Meeting Place''. On February 22, 2017, it was announced that the name of the Bicentennial Center would be changed to the Tony's Pizza Events Center, effective immediately. The City of Salina is the primary owner of the center. Spectra manages the center as well as more than 100 other public assembly facilities around the world. A variety of events are held at the events center, including concerts, family shows, sport events, trade shows, and conventions. Annual events include: Salina Invitational Basketball Tournament, Salina Home & Leisure Show,

Kansas State High School Activities Association The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) is the organization which oversees interscholastic competition in the U.S. state of Kansas at the high school, high-school level. It oversees both athletic and non-athletic competition, ...

(KSHSAA) 4A Wrestling, Basketball and Volleyball State Tournaments,

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJCAA) Women's Division I Basketball National Championship, Mid-America Farm Expo, Shrine Circus, Tri-Rivers Fair, and commencements for Salina Area Technical College,

Brown Mackie College Brown Mackie College was a private for-profit college system in the United States. The colleges offered bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certificates in programs including early childhood education, information technology, health sc ...

, and USD 305. The arena has been home to five professional sports franchises: the

Kansas Cagerz The Kansas Cagerz was a United States Basketball League team in Salina, Kansas. They were founded in 1998 as the Columbus Cagerz in Columbus, Ohio before moving after their inaugural season. The last head coach was Francis Flax. The Kansas Cagerz ...

of the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

(1999–2007), the Salina Rattlers of the

International Basketball Association The International Basketball Association (IBA) was founded in 1995 by a group of businessmen led by Tom Anderson. The original owners of franchises in the league were George Daniel (Black Hills Posse-Rapid City, SD), John Korsmo, Al Gardner, and A ...

(2000–2001), the

Salina Bombers The Salina Bombers were a professional indoor football team based in Salina, Kansas. The team was founded by Chris Vercher, Jake Leighty and Jake Sharp in 2012 as charter member of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL). The Bo ...

of the

league (2013–2015), the

, also of the CIF (2016–present), and the Salina Saints 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, ...

(2016–2019).

History

The first concert at the center was the Osmonds, on June 2, 1979. The concert sold out, and there was a crowd of 7,300. On February 22, 2017, the center was renamed from Salina Bicentennial Center to Tony's Pizza Event Center, described as "the largest

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

facility in the world.” A food service subsidiary of

Schwan Food Company Schwan's Company, formerly known as The Schwan Food Company, is a food company with approximately 7,500 employees. Having originated in the United States as a family-owned business, since 2019 the company has been a subsidiary of CJ CheilJedang o ...

paid $1.2 million to receive comprehensive naming rights for 15 years.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tony's Pizza Events Center Indoor arenas in Kansas Sports venues in Salina, Kansas Basketball venues in Kansas American football venues in Kansas 1979 establishments in Kansas Sports venues completed in 1979