Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, formerly known as State Farm Show Arena, is a large

exhibition 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 ...

and indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is primarily used for concerts, agricultural exhibitions, the

Pennsylvania Farm Show The Pennsylvania Farm Show is an annual agricultural exposition celebrating Pennsylvania's agriculture industry, held every January at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is the largest ind ...

, and indoor football. The complex also hosts more than 200 other exhibits and trade shows every year. The Farm Show Complex is , houses under roof, spread throughout 11 buildings including three arenas.2010 Farm Show facts and figures
ennsylvania Department of Agriculture, accessed April 25, 2010. The complex consists of the following components: *Main Hall, , built in 1931 *Exposition Hall, built in 2001 *New Holland Arena, at floor, 7318 seats, completed in 1939 (originally named Large Arena until 2016) *Equine Arena, at floor, 1660 seats *Sale Arena, at floor, 918 seats The North, Northeast, Northwest and West Halls add another of space. A large equine barn serves the Equine Arena.

History

In 1921, the State Fair Commission was created to find a site for a new venue to house the increasingly popular Pennsylvania Farm Show, but was replaced in 1927 with the State Farm Products Show Commission. This commission would approve the 40-acre tract north of Harrisburg and later the design by Lawrie & Green for the initial building, with ground being broken by October 31, 1930. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the building was used as a training center for the New Cumberland Air Command, with mechanics bays under the North Hall. The Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center hosted the Harrisburg Heat of the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1991–2003, and the Harrisburg Hammerheads of the Continental Basketball Association from 1994-1995. In 2009, the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center began hosting the

Harrisburg Stampede The Harrisburg Stampede were a professional indoor football team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Stampede participated in several different leagues over their history: the American Indoor Football Association in 2009 and 2010, the Southern ...

of the

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

, continuing to do so until 2013 after which the team joined the

Professional Indoor Football League The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was a professional indoor football league that played four seasons from 2012 to 2015. Like the Lone Star Football League, the PIFL was mainly composed of teams formerly part of Southern Indoor Foo ...

and moved to the

Giant Center Giant Center is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place in the Harrisburg metropolitan area. It is home to the Hershey Bears ice hockey team, the longest-existing member of the American Hockey League ...

in nearby Hershey. The Central Penn Capitals played at the Expo Center as a member of

American Indoor Football American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

in 2016. In 2012, the Harrisburg Heat of the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

returned to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center to play their home games in the Equine Arena. The team returned to the New Holland Arena beginning with its 2014–15 season. Boxing matches and monster truck rallies have also been held at the venue. In 2020 and 2021, the Farm Show Complex housed Pennsylvania's stockpile of personal protective equipment related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The state leased private warehouse space for the medical supplies in July 2021, freeing up the complex for events. During the 2020-2021 hiatus, $21 million were spent to renovate the complex with improvements in public safety, sustainability, and energy-efficiency.

Annual events held at the Farm Show Complex

(January), largest indoor agricultural event held in the United States *

Pennsylvania Auto Show The Pennsylvania Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center. Show info The show is operated by ''Motor Trend'' and is sponsored annually by the Harrisburg Automotive Trad ...

(January) *

Great American Outdoor Show The Great American Outdoor Show (GAOS) is the world's largest outdoor recreation show and expo which is held annually in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The show, which was first held in 2014, was previously called the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show ...

, formerly

Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show was an outdoor hunting and fishing exposition held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania which ran annually from 1956 to 2013. It primarily showcased hunting and fishi ...

(February), largest outdoor

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

event in North America * Pennsylvania National Horse Show (October) * All American Dairy Show (September) * Keystone International Livestock Exposition (October) * PRCA First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo (January) * Motorama Races and Events (February)

References

External links

SAH Archipedia Building Entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center Buildings and structures in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Sports venues in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Sports in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Sports venues in Pennsylvania Government of Pennsylvania 1931 establishments in Pennsylvania Indoor soccer venues in the United States Arena football venues Basketball venues in Pennsylvania Boxing venues in Pennsylvania Convention centers in Pennsylvania Continental Basketball Association venues Indoor arenas in Pennsylvania Fairgrounds in the United States