Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (originally Northeastern Pennsylvania Civic Arena and Convention Center, formerly First Union Arena and Wachovia Arena) is an 8,050-seat multi-purpose arena located in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania just northeast of Wilkes-Barre.

History

Built in 1998 on land given by the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber, the arena was originally named the Northeastern Pennsylvania Civic Arena and Convention Center. In 2000, the naming rights were sold to

First Union Bank First Union Corporation was a bank holding company that provided commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the eastern U.S. First Union also provided various other financial services, including mortgage banking, credit card, in ...

, becoming First Union Arena, until the summer of 2003, when First Union Bank merged into Wachovia, at which point it became Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza. On January 20, 2010, the arena became Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza as part of a 10-year naming rights contract with the

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Mohegan Pennsylvania (formerly Mohegan Sun Pocono, Pocono Downs and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs) is a racino located in Plains Township on the outskirts of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The casino features over 2,300 slots, live tables for blackj ...

racetrack and casino. It has been home to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL since 1999, and the former home of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers of the

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 ...

League. In 2012, there were plans for it to be the home indoor arena for the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks The Pennsylvania Shamrocks were an American professional indoor lacrosse team based in Pennsylvania. They were a charter member of the Professional Lacrosse League (PLL). They were previously known as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks and planned ...

of the

North American Lacrosse League The North American Lacrosse League (NALL) was a professional indoor lacrosse league based in the United States. It was founded in 2011 as North America's fourth professional lacrosse league, after American Lacrosse League (field lacrosse, 1987) Ma ...

, but the league subsequently folded.

Recognition and events

The Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza has been recognized by many entertainment magazines as one of the best in the country for arenas under 10,000 in capacity, especially for its attendance and ease of show setup and teardown. The Penguins hold the American Hockey League record for most sellouts in a season, selling out all 40 home games in 2002–2003 and 2003–2004, and ran a streak of 90 consecutive sellouts between March 2002 and October 2004, and 54 from December 2000 to February 2002. Pamaramic of Arena

Other than Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey games, other events that occur at the arena include circus performances, an annual Christmas-time Trans-Siberian Orchestra performance, professional

ice-skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be perfo ...

shows,

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

, and the annual graduation ceremonies for nearby Crestwood High School, Penn Foster High School,

King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...

, University of Scranton, Luzerne County Community College, and

Marywood University Marywood University is a private Catholic university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Established in 1915 by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Marywood currently enrolls more than 2,800 students in a variety of undergraduate, gradu ...

. The arena has regularly hosted professional wrestling since 2000. The first event was WCW Monday Nitro on January 31, 2000. The first WWE live event was on July 16, 2000 and headlined by The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle. The arena also hosted the 2007 WWE Draft on June 11, 2007 which was the final WWE Monday Night Raw appearance for the late Chris Benoit. This was also the site of the Mr. McMahon limo explosion angle. On November 15, 2016, the arena hosted the 900th episode of WWE Smackdown which saw the return of The Undertaker. Some notable concerts include

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

, Bob Dylan,

The Dead The Dead may refer to: * The dead, those who have experienced death Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''The Dead'' (Higson novel), 2010 novel by Charlie Higson * ''The Dead'' (Kracht novel), 2016 novel by Christian Kracht * "The Dead ...

, Red Hot Chili Peppers,

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, and The Eagles. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed its last elephant show in its "Red" tour on May 1, 2016, a year before the circus itself closed. On October 9, 2003, the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

and New Jersey Nets played a preseason game at the arena.

Political events

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

held a rally for re-election to the

office of the president Office of the President can refer to: * Office of the President of Brazil * Office of the President of the People's Republic of China (entity in the Office of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party) * Office of the President (Republi ...

at the arena in 2004. The arena has hosted multiple Donald Trump events, with the first being a rally on April 25, 2016, during his run in the 2016 election. He held another rally on October 10, 2016. Trump later returned as president on August 2, 2018, to assist in Lou Barletta's campaign for Senate. On September 3, 2022, the former President held a rally for the 2022 midterms.

Photo gallery

Image:Side angle view.jpg, Side Angle View Image:Center Ice View.jpg, Center Ice View Image:WBArena.jpg, The Arena during a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey game.

External links

Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

References

{{Authority control Indoor arenas in Pennsylvania Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Arena football venues Indoor lacrosse venues in the United States Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Buildings and structures in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 1999 establishments in Pennsylvania Sports venues completed in 1999