EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, a suburb southwest of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Opened in 1985, it is the home of

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

men's &

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

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 ...

, and is a venue for concerts and family shows, with of space. EagleBank Arena has attracted 9.6 million people to over 2,958 events to GMU, which has over 30,000 students. In 2010, the Patriot Center was ranked No. 7 nationwide and No. 12 worldwide according to ticket sales for venues with capacities between 10,001 and 15,000 by trade publication ''Venues Today''. Also in 2010, the Patriot Center was ranked No. 8 nationwide and No. 18 worldwide according to top grossing venues with a capacity between 10,001 and 15,000 by '' Billboard'' magazine. On May 7, 2015, the university announced that the name would be changed on July 1 to "EagleBank Arena at George Mason University", following a partnership deal with

EagleBank EagleBank is a community bank headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, with assets of more than $10 billion, with operations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. EagleBank conducts full service commercial banking through small footprint of 20 ...

. The Patriot Center is the first university venue to be managed by a private company,

Monumental Sports & Entertainment Theodore John Leonsis (born January 8, 1957) is an American businessman, investor, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and former politician. He is a former senior executive with America Online (AOL), and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Monume ...

, who also owns and manages

Capital One Arena Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. It has been largely considered to be a commercial success ...

in Washington, D.C.

History

Financing for the construction of the Patriot Center was part of GMU's revenue bond package approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 1982. It replaced a 3,000-seat gymnasium. The first use of the Patriot Center was GMU's graduation ceremonies in May 1985. The official opening of the arena was on October 4, 1985, when the New York Knicks played the

Washington Bullets 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 ...

in a pre-season game, debuting the first game of future Basketball Hall of Fame inductee

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the N ...

. In 1990, the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Men's Volleyball Championships were held at the Patriot Center. In 1986, the Patriot Center hosted the first men's CAA ( Colonial Athletic Association) Tournament and hosted its first women's CAA Tournament in 2005. The Patriots have amassed an overall record of 220–92 at the Patriot Center. The Patriots are also 85–10 in the Patriot Center against Colonial Athletic Association opponents. During the 2010–2011 men's NCAA basketball season, the Patriots amassed a perfect 13–0 home record, which was the second time that occurred in three seasons. The arena underwent a $10 million renovation, completed in 2009, that added new concession stands, hospitality area, locker rooms and bathrooms, and an improved main concourse.

Management history

From its opening, the Patriot Center was managed by

Abe Pollin Abraham J. Pollin (December 3, 1923 – November 24, 2009) was the owner of a number of professional sports teams including the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Washington Mystics in the Women's National Basketbal ...

's Washington Sports, later renamed to Washington Sports & Entertainment. In May 1999, Pollin sold 40% of Washington Sports to a partnership led by

Ted Leonsis Theodore John Leonsis (born January 8, 1957) is an American businessman, investor, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and former politician. He is a former senior executive with America Online (AOL), and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Monument ...

as part of a $200 million deal that also saw Leonsis purchase the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

hockey team. Leonsis' group increased their ownership of Washington Sports to 44% when they bought out minority owner Arnold Heft in January 2000. Following Pollin's death in 2009, Leonsis purchased the rest of WSE from Pollin's heirs in 2010, and consolidated Washington Sports & Entertainment with his own Lincoln Holdings company to form Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Management of the Patriot Center passed to this successor company.

Renovations and recent events

On February 4, 2012, GMU men's basketball debuted a new center court scoreboard and set an attendance record against

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

on homecoming, which then was reached again against

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

; both games were won by double digits. The Patriot Center also graduates many students of nearby

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

high schools. The Patriot Center hosted the sold-out UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz on January 11, 2010. That was the first time that the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

had staged an event in the state of Virginia. The arena also hosted a couple of games for the

2018 JBA season The 2018 JBA season was the only season of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), an American men's professional basketball league. The JBA was designed as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), allowing high sch ...

, despite not having a team representing the state of Virginia. Due to renovations at Capital One Arena the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference ...

played Game 3 of the 2018 WNBA Finals at EagleBank Arena. The Seattle Storm won and it was the final game of the 2018 WNBA season.

Records

* Men's Basketball Game Attendance – 9,900 on February 4, 2012 vs

* Concert Attendance – Phish – 10,356 * Grossing Concert – Bruce Springsteen in 2005, $573,885 * Grossing Family Show – The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 2009, $1.86 million * Most Points Scored in Arena (Basketball) – 53 by Bobby Aguirre of

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

in 1995

References

External links