The Soldotna Regional Sports Complex (also referred to as the Soldotna Sports Center) is a 2,000-seat multipurpose

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 ...

located in

Soldotna, Alaska Soldotna is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,342, up from 4,163 in 2010. It is the seat of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Soldotna is located in the Southcentral portion ...

. The arena opened in 1983. In the winter months, the facility is home to several central

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

teams, fighting competitions and the soldotna figure skating team while in the summer the facility hosts numerous local home builders, sports recreation and trading,

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

, and snowmachine shows, among other events. The facility contains an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

-sized ice sheet, a 350-seat conference room, a

first aid room A first aid room or medical room, also known as an infirmary, is a room in an establishment (e.g., a school, factory, sports venue, or airport) to which someone who is injured or taken ill on the premises can be taken for first aid and to await t ...

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velo ...

courts,

locker room A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as locker rooms, workplaces, elementary schools, middle and high schools, trans ...

facilities, ice-resurfacing capabilities, an

ADA Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tur ...

-accessible seating platform, and a snack bar. The Sports Center also houses offices for the City of

Soldotna Soldotna is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,342, up from 4,163 in 2010. It is the seat of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Soldotna is located in the Southcentral portion ...

's Parks and Recreation Department. Since 2007, it has been the home of the

Kenai River Brown Bears The Kenai River Brown Bears are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League based in Soldotna, Alaska. The team joined the North American Hockey League (NAHL) as an expansion team for the 2007–08 season, and since then ...

of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

History

The building's inaugural event in the fall of 1983 featured an exhibition hockey contest showcasing the United States and Russian national hockey teams. Since 1983, the Sports Center has played host to several other sporting events, including

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

Anchorage Aces The Alaska Aces, known as the Anchorage Aces until 2003, was a professional ice hockey team in Anchorage, Alaska. Home games were played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The Aces won three Kelly Cup championships, with their last championship f ...

games. Usually billed as "The Showdown in So-Town," The

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna College, and Prin ...

Seawolves Division I men's hockey team have played a pair of recent exhibition contests in front of SRO crowds at the Regional Sports Complex – once in 2004 against

Grant MacEwan College , mottoeng = , type = Public University , established = , closed = , founder = , parent = , academic_affiliations = AUCC, ACCC, AACTI ...

(where UAA won 5-1), and again in 2006 against the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

(where UWO won 3-1). The facility was a focal point for the

2006 Arctic Winter Games Approximately 2,000 athletes, coaches, team staff and officials participated in the 2006 Arctic Winter Games on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska in the United States. The 2006 games took place from March 5 through March 11. Events were held mostly in t ...

, hosting both opening and closing ceremonies, hockey games at all levels,

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

, and

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...

. For the Arctic Winter Games, the Regional Sports Complex installed a new

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

, a new four-sided center-hung

scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...

, and a new scrolling marquee outside of the facility. The facility has also been a focal point for

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

state high school hockey. High school teams from

and Kenai share the ice, and the facility also hosts the Peninsula Ice Classic tournament (also referred to for a short time as the Peninsula Ice Challenge) – showcasing all 4A (large school) teams from the Central Peninsula area, as well as one team from the

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

(

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its sou ...

Conference) and

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

(Mid-Alaska Conference) areas. The facility was also home to the ASAA State High School Hockey Championships from 2000 up until 2004, when the tournament moved to Big Dipper Ice Arena in

for 2005 and 2006, then on to the

Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center The Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, originally Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex, is a 102,000 square foot multi-purpose arena in Wasilla, Alaska, designed to accommodate up to 5,000 people. The facility consists of an NHL-size ice arena ...

in 2007.

References

External links

The City of Soldotna Regional Sports Complex web site

An article on the Kenai River Brown Bears
{{coord, 60, 28, 34.46, N, 151, 6, 6.41, W, display=title 1983 establishments in Alaska Basketball venues in Alaska Indoor arenas in Alaska Indoor ice hockey venues in Alaska Buildings and structures in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska North American Hockey League Tourist attractions in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Sports venues completed in 1983