The Bicentennial Center, currently known as Tony's Pizza Events Center, is located in

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1858 ...

, United States. It includes a 7,583-seat multipurpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

, meeting rooms and Heritage Hall, an 18,000 square foot

convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

. It is home of the Salina Liberty of Arena Football One, and is nicknamed ''Mid-America's Meeting Place''. The City of Salina is the primary owner of the center. Spectra manages the center as well as more than 100 other public assembly facilities around the world.

History

The first concert at the center was

The Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (the Osmonds). The group has c ...

, on June 2, 1979. The concert sold out, and there was a crowd of 7,300. A variety of events are held at the events center, including concerts, family shows, sport events, trade shows, and conventions. Annual events include: Salina Invitational Basketball Tournament, Salina Home & Leisure Show,

Kansas State High School Activities Association The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) is the organization which oversees interscholastic competition in the U.S. state of Kansas at the high-school level. It oversees both athletic and non-athletic competition, and spon ...

(KSHSAA) 4A Wrestling, Basketball and Volleyball State Tournaments,

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...

(NJCAA) Women's Division I Basketball National Championship, Mid-America Farm Expo, Shrine Circus, Tri-Rivers Fair, and commencements for Salina Area Technical College,

Brown Mackie College Brown Mackie College was a private for-profit college system in the United States. The colleges offered bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certificates in programs including early childhood education, information technology, health sci ...

, and USD 305. The arena has been home to five professional sports franchises: the Kansas Cagerz of the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

(1999–2007), the Salina Rattlers of the

International Basketball Association The International Basketball Association (IBA) was founded in 1995 by a group of businessmen led by Tom Anderson. The original owners of franchises in the league were George Daniel (Black Hills Posse-Rapid City, SD), John Korsmo, Al Gardner, and ...

(2000–2001), the Salina Bombers of the

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) was a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team fr ...

league (2013–2015), the Salina Liberty, also of the CIF (2016–present), and the Salina Saints of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(2016–2019). On February 22, 2017, the center was renamed from Salina Bicentennial Center to Tony's Pizza Event Center, described as "the largest

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

facility in the world.” Tony's Pizza, a food service subsidiary of

Schwan Food Company Schwan's Company, formerly known as The Schwan Food Company, is a food company with approximately 8,500 employees. It originated in the United States as a family-owned business and in 2019 became a subsidiary of CJ CheilJedang of South Korea. Sc ...

, paid $1.2 million to receive comprehensive naming rights for 15 years.

Name

It has undergone the following name changes since it opened: * Bicentennial Center (original name in 1979 to 2017) * Tony's Pizza Events Center (2017 to current)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tony's Pizza Events Center Indoor arenas in Kansas Sports venues in Salina, Kansas Basketball venues in Kansas American football venues in Kansas 1979 establishments in Kansas Sports venues completed in 1979