The Portland Exposition Building, also known as The Expo, is a sports and exhibition venue (

convention 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 ...

) building complex in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. The complex includes five inter-connected buildings with 24,000 square feet of exhibition space and 10 meeting rooms. It is adjacent to the

Hadlock Field Hadlock Field is a minor league baseball stadium in Portland, Maine. It is primarily home to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League but also the Portland High School Bulldogs and Deering High School Rams baseball teams. The stadium is name ...

and the Portland Ice Arena.

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

Ani Difranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influe ...

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, The Monkees, and Rusted Root have played at the venue. It has also hosted trade shows and celebrations. It has been used for the Maine Red Claws basketball team, Portland High School Bulldogs basketball games, and indoor track events. In 2007, the Expo became the home of Maine Roller Derby. Locker rooms for

Fitzpatrick Stadium James J. Fitzpatrick Stadium is a 6,000 seat multi-purpose outdoor stadium in Portland, Maine, United States. It is located between Interstate 295, Hadlock Field baseball stadium, King Middle School, and the Portland Exposition Building. It i ...

, the visiting clubhouse for

as well as the Portland High School locker rooms are located downstairs. Home to over 270 events per year, the Portland Exposition Building hosts trade shows, concerts, sporting events, conferences, civic meetings, brew fests, High school indoor track meets, ski shows and other special events. Nearly 600,000 patrons pass through the Expo's turnstile each year.

History

The Portland Exposition Building was designed by Frederick A. Tompson and was built in 1914 at a cost of $80,944. It is the second oldest arena in continuous operation 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 ...

(behind

Matthews Arena Matthews Arena (formerly Boston Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the world's oldest multi-purpose athletic building still in use, as well as the oldest arena in use for ice hockey. The arena opened in 1910 on what ...

in Boston, Massachusetts). The building was considered a sophisticated facility sure to "put Portland on the map". Its grand opening—a major agricultural show on June 7, 1915 in which the local daily newspaper dedicated the entire front page to covering the event. In addition to the cavernous first floor arena, the basement level featured the Cafe Dumont. "The Cafe D" was a full service nightspot that offered "Top international entertainment in a classy nightclub atmosphere." In September 2007,

Maine Roller Derby Maine Roller Derby (MRD) is Maine’s first women’s flat track roller derby league, which is a member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), joining in December 2007. As a member of WFTDA, the league adheres to the organ ...

began hosting flat-track roller derby bouts, with opponents traveling from Montreal, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The season runs from late April through November, with most bouts occurring April–June. In 2008, a group of local business people signed a deal to bring an

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

team to the Portland Exposition Building as well as to renovate the arena's facilities. It was confirmed, and the Expo Building is home to the Maine Red Claws, beginning play for the 2009–10 season.

Notable events and visitors

Over the years, many notable figures have appeared at the Expo, including

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

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, Rocky Marciano, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world r ...

. It has hosted significant performances including the first East Coast concert of the Beach Boys (1963),

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

(1974), the 60th Anniversary Ball of the

Portland Symphony Orchestra The Portland Symphony Orchestra was established in 1923 in Portland, Maine as the Amateur Strand Symphony Orchestra. Started by a small group of musicians who had sent out invitations to join their organization to people in the area, they had their ...

, world championship kickboxing, and gala banquets for the Senior's Pro Golf Tournaments featuring Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

References

External links

Portland Exposition Building
*https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-video/photos/president-obama-portland-maine {{Music venues of Maine Basketball venues in Maine Maine Red Claws Music venues in Portland, Maine NBA G League venues Sports venues in Portland, Maine Sports venues completed in 1914

History

Notable events and visitors

See also

References

External links