The Huntington Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose

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 ...

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Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. It was completed in 2009 and cost $105 million to build. It replaced the

Toledo Sports Arena Toledo Sports Arena was a 5,230-seat multi-purpose arena at 1 Main Street, Toledo, Ohio. It was built in 1947 and demolished in 2007. As a concert venue, it seated 6,500, for theater concerts and stage shows, 4,400 and for boxing and wrestling, ...

, which has since been demolished. It serves as the home of the

Toledo Walleye The Toledo Walleye are a professional ice hockey team based in Toledo, Ohio. The Walleye are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL. The Walleye were founded in 1991 as the Toledo Storm and play their home games at ...

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team, and was the home of the

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of the

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for the 2014 season.

History

After a successful partnership on the Mud Hens Stadium ( Fifth Third Field), the Lucas County Commissioners teamed with HNTB Architecture Inc., a national sports architecture firm located in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

; The Collaborative Inc., of Toledo; and Poggemeyer Design Group, of Toledo, for a new arena. The arena was designed as the first new

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

sports arena in the United States. The arena's signature green design element is a "green wall" outside of the building, to feature the use of plant life on the exterior of the building to help cool the arena by shading the glass-enclosed main entrance of the arena. The arena's location near mass transit systems, use of a light-colored roof membrane to reflect heat and sunlight, and underground cisterns collecting rain water to re-use for landscaping purposes around the arena, are also emphasized to earn LEED points for the project. The Huntington Center opened in 2009.

Notable events

The arena is part of a complex that includes

SeaGate Convention Centre The Glass City Center is a performing arts and convention center located in downtown Toledo, Ohio. Opened on March 27, 1987, as the SeaGate Convention Centre, the center's exhibit hall measures 74,520 square feet (207 feet by 360 feet) of space ...

and Fifth Third Field. The first person to perform at this venue was

Jeff Dunham Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonigh ...

. Other performances that have happened at the Huntington Center include:

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, Daughtry,

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, Lil' Wayne,

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, Brad Paisley,

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

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, Hunter Hayes,

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

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 to ...

, and

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. It is also the Toledo-area stop for

World Wrestling Entertainment 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 vario ...

. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated bought the naming rights to Lucas County Arena in April 2010 and renamed it as the Huntington Center. The six-year, $2.1 million naming rights and sponsorship agreement includes three renewal options of six years each, and could mean total Huntington payments of $11 million. The proceeds are to be applied to paying down the arena's $90 million debt. The Huntington Center hosted the 2019 CCM/ECHL All Star Classic on January 21, 2019.

References

External links

Huntington Center official site

Lucas County Arena Renderings
{{Authority control Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Sports venues in Toledo, Ohio Toledo Walleye Tourist attractions in Toledo, Ohio Sports venues completed in 2009 2009 establishments in Ohio Basketball venues in Ohio Indoor arenas in Ohio