Erie Insurance Arena (originally known as Erie Civic Center and later, Louis J. Tullio Arena) is a multi-purpose 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 ...

in the downtown area of

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

. It is home to the

Erie Otters The Erie Otters are a Major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the circuit. The team name refers to the North Am ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

and was the former home of the Erie BayHawks of the

NBA G 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 De ...

. It was built in 1983 as part of the Erie Civic Center Complex Plaza, which also includes the Warner Theatre and UPMC Park – all of which are administered by the Erie County Convention Center Authority. The arena is named for the

Erie Insurance Group Erie Insurance, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, is a property and casualty insurance company offering auto, home, business and life insurance through a network of independent insurance agents. , Erie Insurance Group is ranked 347th on the 2021 Fortu ...

, which purchased the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

in May 2012.

History

Erie Insurance Arena was built for $9.3 million in 1983. It opened in June 1983 with a

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

concert. Since then, it has hosted entertainers including Elton John, Rod Stewart, Cher,

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, Barry Manilow,

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...

,Def Leppard and

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

. Erie Insurance Arena has also featured

Blippi ''Blippi'' is an American educational YouTube channel/video live-action program for toddlers and children up to the age of about five years old. History The show was created and the character originally played by Stevin John, who posted the firs ...

, Disney on Ice,

WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

TNA Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promo ...

, the Harlem Globetrotters, and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In May 2012, the Erie County Convention Center Authority and the

announced a 10-year, $3 million naming agreement that would rename the former Louis J. Tullio Arena, "Erie Insurance Arena." This renaming coincided with the completion of the current $42 million renovation project that was completed in September 2013. The renovation, designed by Friday/Sink Combs Dethlefs Joint Venture Architects, modernized the arena and added some new sections and a landscaped park entrance. Construction on the project was carried out by the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

-based

Turner Construction Company Turner Construction is an American construction company with presence in 20 countries. It is a subsidiary of the German company Hochtief. It is the largest domestic contractor in the United States as of 2020, with a revenue of $14.41 billion i ...

. Improvements included additional seating and concourses. To accommodate this, its footprint expanded from the original to . This increased the venue's capacity to 6,833 for hockey, 6,754 for basketball and about 9,000 for concerts. Erie Insurance Arena now has enlarged lobbies, more box office windows, luxury suites, administrative offices, mechanical rooms, training areas, new locker rooms, and a club level sponsored by the '' Erie Times-News''. Funding for the renovations derived from $32 million pledged by former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, combined with $10 million paid by Erie County. The arena has hosted numerous high school and college basketball games. Two of the most notable basketball games were between Cathedral Preparatory School and McDowell and local colleges, Gannon University and Mercyhurst University. Both games featured rival schools. Both games generated the most attended high school and college basketball games in city history, both selling out at 5,500. In September 2014, the Erie County Convention Center Authority completed a $1.4 million upgrade to the arena which had been dropped from the previous renovation due to a tightened budget. This upgrade included a closed-circuit video system, high-definition video panels on the east and west ends of the arena, and a high-definition "center ice" video scoreboard. The new scoreboard replaced the scoreboard added in 2006. The video boards replaced scoreboards from the original construction of the arena in 1983. The new scoreboard and video boards were manufactured by

Daktronics Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. Founded in 1968 by ...

Television

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

taped their

WWF Superstars is a wrestling video game manufactured by Technōs Japan and released for arcades in 1989. It is the first WWF arcade game to be released. A series of unrelated games with the same title were released by LJN for the original Game Boy. Techn� ...

and

WWF Wrestling Challenge ''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF Cha ...

television programs from 1991–1995. *

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

taped their

WCW Thunder ''WCW Thunder'', or simply ''Thunder'', is an American professional wrestling show that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) which aired on TBS from January 8, 1998 to March 21, 2001. The popularity of WCW in 1996 and 1997 allo ...

WCW Worldwide ''WCW WorldWide'' was an American syndicated television show that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that aired from October 8, 1975, to March 31, 2001. At the time of its cancellation, ''WorldWide'' was the longest-running, uni ...

and

WCW Saturday Night ''WCW Saturday Night'' is an American weekly Saturday night television show on TBS that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Launched in 1971 initially by Georgia Championship Wrestling, the program existed through various incarn ...

television programs from the Erie Civic Center from 1997–2000.

2011 NCAA Women's Frozen Four

Louis J. Tullio Arena, in conjunction with

Mercyhurst College (Seize the day) , former_names = Mercyhurst College (1926–2012) , established = , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy) , endowment = $31.8 million , faculty = 136 full-time , administra ...

, hosted the 2011 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament, in which the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

defeated the

Boston University Terriers The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the ...

in the championship final by a score of 4-1.

2014 NCAA Women's Division II National Elite Eight

Erie Insurance Arena, in conjunction with

Gannon University Gannon University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has approximately 4,500 students and 46,000 alumni. Its intercollegiate athletics include 18 athletic programs for men and women competing at the NCAA D ...

, hosted the

NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament The NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament (officially styled as "Championship" instead of "Tournament") is an annual tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II women's college basketball nati ...

, in which the Bentley Falcons defeated the West Texas A&M Buffaloes 73–65.

Arena attractions

Erie Insurance Arena offers conventional food and beverage offerings such as pizza and

corn dog A corn dog (also spelled corndog) is a sausage (usually a hot dog) on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried. It originated in the United States and is commonly found in American cuisine. History Newly ...

s, as well as some more local items such as Greek

hot dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a f ...

s, Greek nachos, and

pepperoni Pepperoni is an American variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper. Prior to cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red. Thinly sliced pepperoni is one ...

balls. The venue offers a separate menu for the floor seats, which includes the shrimp cocktail, spinach artichoke dip, steak burger on a pretzel bun, chicken bacon sandwich,

cheesesteak A cheesesteak (also known as a Philadelphia cheesesteak, Philly cheesesteak, cheesesteak sandwich, cheese steak, or steak and cheese) is a sandwich made from thinly sliced pieces of beefsteak and melted cheese in a long hoagie roll. A popular ...

, and a vegetable platter. It also features wine, beer, and mixed cocktail drinks.

Gallery

File:Tullio Arena interior.jpg, Louis J. Tullio Arena, 2008 File:Erie Insurance Arena - Exterior.JPG, Erie Insurance Arena, 2015

References

External links

*
OHL Arena Guide - Erie Insurance Arena
{{Authority control Erie, Pennsylvania Indoor arenas in Pennsylvania Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Sports venues in Pennsylvania Ontario Hockey League arenas NBA G League venues Erie BayHawks (2008–2017) Erie BayHawks (2017–2019) Erie BayHawks (2019–2021) Sports in Erie, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Erie, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Erie, Pennsylvania Sports venues completed in 1983 1983 establishments in Pennsylvania Wrestling venues in Pennsylvania