The Hershey Entertainment Complex is a multi acre facility in Derry Township, Pennsylvania. It houses Hersheypark, Hersheypark Stadium, Star Pavilion, Hersheypark Arena, Giant Center, and the former Parkview Golf Course. The owner of the complex and all of the facilities (excluding the Giant Center - see below) is the Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company (HE&R), based at 300 Park Boulevard in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Hersheypark

The premier attraction at the complex is Hersheypark. Hersheypark is a multi acre

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

featuring over eleven roller coasters and many

water rides Water rides are amusement rides that are set over water. For instance, a log flume travels through a channel of water to move along its course. Notable types *AquaLoop *Bumper boats * Fishpipe * FlowRider *Lazy river *Log flume *Old Mill *River ...

(see ''The Boardwalk at Hersheypark'' - below.) Many kiddie and family rides are also included with the parks flat admission rate. Hersheypark is known as the country's ''Cleanest and Greenest Park''.

Hersheypark Stadium

The Hersheypark Stadium is a multi-seat dual-side concrete structure located in the middle of the complex. It seats 15,000 for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

events, and over 30,000 for concerts. It is home to the ''Summer Concert Series'', the Big 33 Football Classic, PIAA Football and Soccer Championships and other local uses by the local area and by HE&R. On August 12, 2009 Blink-182, Panic! At the Disco, and Fall Out Boy performed here for a stop on Blink-182's summer reunion tour.

The Star Pavilion

The Star Pavilion at Hersheypark Stadium is located at the north end of Hersheypark Stadium (see above). It only hosts small concerts (up to 7,500) on both reserved seating and General Admission (on the Grass/Hill).

Hersheypark Arena

Hersheypark Arena is one of the oldest standing ice rinks left standing in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

today. Built in 1939 for the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

hockey team, it has aged over the years and forced the company to build the Giant Center at the other end (west end) of the complex. The arena used to host

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 ...

games, the

Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

WWE Wrestling 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 var ...

and small concerts (seating capacity is about 7,000.) Today it is used for local hockey team practice, as a small concert venue, for youth hockey games, public skating, and as a meeting place for companies. This was where Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA game.

Giant Center

The Giant Center, located at 950 W. Hersheypark Drive, is the premier enclosed arena in central Pennsylvania. Built in 2002 as a replacement for the historic Hersheypark Arena, which was aging rapidly and did not have a large enough capacity for events, the GIANT Center is the largest arena in South Central Pennsylvania. The GIANT Center is owned by The Township of Derry.

Emergency Preparedness

In March 2008 the Hershey Entertainment Complex was certified as

StormReady StormReady is a community preparedness program in the United States that encourages government entities and commercial gathering sites to prepare for severe storms. The program, sponsored by the United States National Weather Service, issues recogn ...

by the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

. This is awarded to communities and organizations/compaines that are prepared for Severe Weather. The Hershey Entertainment Complex was certified based on their emergency action procedures, emergency evacuation plans and evacuation shelter(s) capability. The complex contains an extensive system of CCTV Security Cameras, trained security personal and extensive weather spotting and detecting systems.

References

{{coord, 40.283602, -76.668402, display=t, type:landmark Sports venues in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania