The Donald Bren Events Center, commonly known as the Bren Events Center or simply the Bren, is a 5,608-seat indoor

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 ...

on the campus of the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

, in

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

, California, United States.

Construction and history

It was conceived and planned in 1981, with the passage of a student referendum authorizing an assessment of $23 per student per quarter as of winter 1987. It opened January 8, 1987, with UCI men's basketball vs. Utah State. Parkin Architects Limited served as the architects for the building, which was renamed "Donald Bren Events Center" in 1988. The

renamed the structure in honor of real estate mogul and chairman of the

Irvine Company The Irvine Company LLC is an American private company focused on real estate development. It is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a large portion of its operations centered in and around Irvine, California, a planned city of more ...

Donald Bren Donald Leroy Bren (born May 11, 1932) is an American businessman. He is chairman and owner of the Irvine Company, a US real estate development corporation. With a net worth of $16.2 billion, he ranks number 112 on the 2022 Forbes Billionaires L ...

, upon receipt of a $1.5 million donation.

Amenities

It is a 65,000 assignable (90,000 gross) square-foot multi-purpose facility servicing the university and all of southern California. It features a arena which hosts UCI Anteater Basketball, volleyball and serves as a general assembly space for special events. Additional conference and meeting spaces are available to support arena events and to host small meetings. In addition, it provides: *An arena of approximately 21,300 ASF that accommodates intercollegiate regulation basketball. *An arena that can be converted into three courts for recreational use for basketball and volleyball. *An arena with seating of 4,984 for spectator sporting events and 5,710 for concerts, lectures and conventions . *The Koll Room, a multi-purpose room of 1,820 ASF on the arena level to accommodate meetings, receptions, and instruction. *The Stewart Room, a room of 1,600 ASF suitable for receptions for 150 and banquet seating for 60. *The Berry Family Terrace, an outdoor terrace of 4,480 ASF suitable for intermission and pre- or post event receptions.

Tenants

Athletics

It serves as the home to

UC Irvine Anteaters The UC Irvine Anteaters (referred to Anteaters) are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine). Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mount ...

athletic programs. Men's basketball, women's basketball, and men's volleyball all play their home games at Bren. The facility was home to the 1990, 1991 and 1992 U.S. Open

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

Championships.

Other events

It is also used for

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...

conventions Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

shows and

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

ceremonies. Recent examples of usage include hosting Tenzin Gyatso, the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

, when he spoke in 2004, while

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

spoke and answered questions about his book '' Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid'' on 3 May 2007.

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

spoke at a

campaign rally A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referend ...

for local Democratic candidates in 2012. The university's Filipino cultural organization, Kababayan, hosts their annual ''Pilipinx American Cultural Night'', abbreviated to PACN, at the Bren. It is the largest Filipino cultural performance in the state. TNA Wrestling also held its 2009 Bound For Glory Event here.

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...

headlined a sold-out show at the Bren in 1999.

References

External links

Bren Events Center
{{Authority control Badminton venues Basketball venues in California Volleyball venues in California College basketball venues in the United States College volleyball venues in the United States Convention centers in California Indoor arenas in California Music venues in California Sports venues in Irvine, California Sports venues completed in 1987 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball University of California, Irvine main campus buildings and structures Event venues established in 1987 1987 establishments in California