The Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville, previously known as the U.S. Cellular Center and originally as the Asheville Civic Center Complex, is a multipurpose entertainment center, located in Asheville, North Carolina. Opened in 1974, the complex is home to an arena, auditorium, banquet hall and meeting rooms.

Venues

*ExploreAsheville.com Arena (formerly the "Asheville Civic Center Arena" from 1974–2011) is the main arena/venue of the civic center. It holds 7,674 guests. *Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (originally the "Asheville City Auditorium" from 1940 to 1975) is a horseshoe-shaped theatre located to the north of the arena. The auditorium was originally built in 1939 as a part of the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

. Opening in January 1940, it was renovated in 1974 and reopened December 1975. It currently holds 2,431 guests. *Banquet Hall is a ballroom that holds nearly 500 guests.

History

In July 1968, the Asheville City Council approved a civic center plan which would add an exhibition center, meeting space and an arena to Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. As downtown was declining due to suburban development and

mall Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India ...

s, the complex would be a way to help downtown make a comeback. The arena was the first venue of its type in the city. It was home to the Asheville Altitude

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team in the

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, before the franchise moved to

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in 2005 and the

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's Asheville Smoke and also the SPHL's Asheville Aces. The venue also hosted

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SuperBrawl III SuperBrawl III was the third SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on February 21, 1993 from the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina in the United S ...

, ''

WCW Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...

'' where the famed nWo wreaked havoc over the Ric Flair-led Four Horsemen and Fall Brawl (1995) as well as the 1999 and 2000 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament and 1984–1995

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...

men's basketball tournament. The age and the condition of the facility helped lead to the Southern Conference's departure. Commencement exercises for the

University of North Carolina at Asheville The University of North Carolina Asheville (UNC Asheville, UNCA, or simply Asheville) is a public liberal arts university in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. UNC Asheville is the designated liberal arts institution in the University of N ...

were last held in the venue in 1999. With the Civic Center losing money, improvements took place starting in 2010.

Proposed renovations

The City of Asheville and State of North Carolina have been pressured by many in the community to replace or renovate the aging Civic Center with more modern facilities. This debate has been going on for years, with no apparent end. City Council passed a measure funding basic maintenance and has earmarked $1.5 million for the implementation of a "living roof" to replace the aging conventional roof. The ultimate path for the Civic Center was unclear. A complete renovation was still an option. The most popular proposals from the community were to tear down and rebuild in the same location, or to rebuild in an area south of city hall, at the Biltmore Square Mall site, or near the Western North Carolina Agriculture Center.

Naming history

On November 22, 2011, Asheville City Council voted to name the facility for U.S. Cellular, provided no other companies made a higher bid by December 31. The name change was effective January 1, 2012. U.S. Cellular will pay $810,000 or more over five years and up to $1.35 million over eight years. The money will help with $5.5 million in renovations. On May 29, 2019, Asheville City Council approved a bid from

Harrah's Cherokee Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort is a casino and hotel on the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, North Carolina. It is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It is located on the site of the former F ...

. The five-year $3.25 million deal took effect in 2020.

Events

The arena played host to the politically motivated Vote for Change on October 6, 2004, featuring performances by

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and Pearl Jam. Performing acts in 2013 and beyond includes

, Curious George, Ringling Bros., ''

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'',

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, Elton John,

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, Marty Stewart, Harlem Globetrotters,

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, The National,

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TNA Impact Wrestling ''Impact!'' (stylized as ''IMPACT!''), also known as ''IMPACT! on AXS TV'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)) tha ...

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

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, Celtic Woman,

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, Sugarland,

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, Jerry Seinfeld,

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, The family Stone, Brit Floyd,

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, Lee "Shot" Williams,

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, Ohio Players,

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LIVE,

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, Slayer, and

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. The

brought the 2012, 2013, and 2014 basketball tournaments to the arena. In anticipation of the tournament, the city pledged a $3.2 million renovation of the facility. In February 2018 the arena hosted a

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tennis tie between the United States and the Netherlands, featuring

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

and

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. On August 13, 2014, a major motion picture named '' Masterminds'' was filmed outside and inside at the arena standing in as a Mexico airport with palm trees everywhere.

References

{{Authority control Arena football venues Asheville Altitude Basketball venues in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Asheville, North Carolina College basketball venues in the United States Defunct NBA G League venues Indoor arenas in North Carolina Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Sports in Asheville, North Carolina Tourist attractions in Asheville, North Carolina 1974 establishments in North Carolina Sports venues completed in 1974