The Payne Arena is a multi-purpose complex, in Hidalgo, Texas. It was formerly known as Dodge Arena from 2003 until February 2010, State Farm Arena from 2010 to September 2018, and then State Farm Hidalgo Arena for one year.

Capacity

The

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 ...

seats up to 5,500 persons in its configuration for

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 h ...

, indoor football and indoor soccer, and up to 6,800 persons in its center stage concert configuration, which has also been used for boxing events. The arena also features 25 suites, 500 club seats, 2,200 on-site surface parking spaces, an adjacent lounge with access from outside the arena, as well as a bar and a pro shop.ory

History

The arena was built in 2003, at a cost of $23 million, and is owned by the City of Hidalgo Municipal Facilities Corporation. The former DaimlerChrysler Corporation, at that time the owner of the Dodge brand, 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 ...

to the arena. Country music star

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 ...

gave the first concert at the arena. On February 4, 2010, State Farm Insurance bought the

for the arena. In June 2014, State Farm extended their naming rights deal for another five years. State Farm does not plan on renewing the naming rights deal once it expires. In September 2019, local car dealership Payne Auto Group assumed the arena's naming rights.

Events

Payne Arena was the home to the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

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 ...

. The team was based at the arena from 2007 until 2018 when their new home, Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, was completed. The professional minor league Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees ice hockey team of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

called the arena home from 2003 to 2012. In 2013 a junior ice hockey team of the same name began play as a member of the North American Hockey League and played there until the team relocated to

Aston, Pennsylvania Aston Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 16,592 at the 2010 census. History Aston was first settled in 1682 as a municipality and was incorporated as a township in 1688 (one of the first to ...

, for the 2015–16 season. In 2018, another junior level Killer Bees returned to the Rio Grande Valley in the

USA Central Hockey League The USA Central Hockey League (USACHL) was a junior ice hockey league based in Texas. The league was not sanctioned by any outside hockey governing body, but was structured as a "free-to-play" junior league similar to USA Hockey's Tier I and Tie ...

, but the league folded after six weeks of operation. The

Rio Grande Valley Dorados The Rio Grande Valley Dorados were a professional arena football team. They began playing in 2004 as an expansion member of af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League. They played their home games at Obra Homes Field at Dodge Arena in ...

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

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 were tenants from 2004 until 2009, when the team folded along with the league. The

Rio Grande Valley Magic The Rio Grande Valley Magic were a professional indoor football team based in Hidalgo, Texas. The Magic were charter members of the Lone Star Football League (LSFL) in 2012, after playing as an expansion team in the Southern Indoor Football League ...

of the

Lone Star Football League The Lone Star Football League (LSFL) was a regional professional indoor football minor league that played three seasons from 2012 to 2014. All of the LSFL's charter teams were based in the state of Texas, with five teams coming from the Southern ...

played in the arena from 2011 through 2012. The Rio Grande Valley Flash 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 ...

were founded in 2012, renamed, as

Hidalgo La Fiera Hidalgo La Fiera (also known as "La Fiera FC") was an American professional indoor soccer team based in Hidalgo, Texas. They played in the Southern Division of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The team was founded in 2012 as the Rio Grande ...

in July 2013, and then ceased operations mid-season in December 2014. One notable State Farm Arena concert took place in 2009, when Mexican singer

Gloria Trevi Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz (born February 15, 1968), known as Gloria Trevi (), is a Mexican singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, television hostess, music video director and businesswoman known as "The Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop". ...

performed before a soldout crowd. Trevi has been a resident of the Rio Grande Valley in recent years and presently resides in nearby

McAllen McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

. Another notable concert featured

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

star George Strait in 2014 as the second-to-last show of his farewell "

The Cowboy Rides Away Tour The Cowboy Rides Away Tour was a concert tour by American country music artist George Strait. The tour was divided into two legs: 21 concerts in 2013 and 27 concerts in 2014, for a total of 48 concerts, all in the United States. The tour started ...

". On October 19, 2014, the arena hosted an NBA pre-season game between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. In 2016, UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Johnson was held at the arena.

References

External links

Payne Arena
{{Coord, 26, 7, 26, N, 98, 14, 48, W, type:landmark_scale:5000_region:US, display=title Arena football venues Buildings and structures in Hidalgo County, Texas Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Mixed martial arts venues in Texas Defunct NBA G League venues Rio Grande Valley Vipers Sports venues in the Rio Grande Valley Indoor soccer venues in the United States Indoor arenas in Texas