WesBanco Arena (originally Wheeling Civic Center) is a multi-purpose

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

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

. It was built in 1977 at a cost of $7 million. It is home to the

Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...

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 h ...

team, the West Virginia Roughriders indoor football team, and the

Ohio Valley Athletic Conference The Ohio Valley Athletic Conference is a high school sports league in parts of southeastern Ohio and northern West Virginia. The OVAC is the largest conference of its kind in the United States. Schools in the upper Ohio Valley supply over 18,000 ...

wrestling tournament.

Background and history

In February 1973, a civic center in Wheeling was proposed, and in May 1973, Mosser Construction Inc. was announced to be the architectural firm for the arena. Plans for construction of the venue, along with plans for a nearby parking garage, were approved by Wheeling City Council on April 16, 1974. The combined cost of both properties was estimated to be $9.6 million. On September 16, 1974, a petition by Wheeling residents James R. Kucera and Robert J. Haberfield, who opposed the construction of the civic center, was turned down by the

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 ...

. The action paved the way for the City Council to sell bonds for the project. The arena's original construction date, April 1, 1975, was announced in February 1975, but by September 6, 1975, construction had begun on the civic center. Around this time, the architectural firm Dalton, Dalton, Little & Newport replaced Mosser Construction Inc. as the architects. The center's opening date was announced as April 19, 1977, and on that day, the arena opened to the public with a

Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

concert, which was attended by 6,922. On October 18, 2003, Wheeling-based bank holding company WesBanco signed a 10-year naming rights deal for $2.3 million. The company renewed the deal for 10 more years for $2.5 million on August 23, 2013.

Amenities

It can also be used for conventions, trade shows, concerts, banquets and other events. It features of space plus of meeting room space. These meeting rooms can accommodate parties from ten to several hundred people. The largest meeting room is named "Health Plan Pavilion." The in-house catering department is capable of catering any size event for any needs. The meeting rooms host area Civitan, Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary and Serra's clubs lunches and meetings weekly. During Nailers hockey games and some other events the "Health Plan Pavilion" is open to all ticketed patrons featuring a full-service restaurant and bar. It features a -high ceiling. The Robert C. Byrd Intermodal Transportation Center can accommodate cars for the arena's maximum capacity. The back parking lot offers parking to guests at some events and parking for trucks, trailers and buses of acts and offers direct stage access load-in through the large elephant door. It offers access for handicap patrons, including direct access from handicap parking, an elevator, direct access to multiple concessions and restroom areas and handicap seating available from different spots throughout the arena.

Events

Hockey

The

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

have played home games at the arena since 1993. The arena hosted games three, four and five of the 2016 Kelly Cup Finals, featuring the hometown Nailers taking on the visiting

Allen Americans The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009 in the Central Hockey League (CHL) where they played f ...

. Wheeling won game three after splitting with Allen in games one and two. The Nailers lost games four and five, giving Allen a 3–2 series lead going back to Allen. Allen went on to win the series 4–2. The 1993

All Star Classic was also held at the arena.

Local sports

The outer hallways are lined with display cases as the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. These cases display memorabilia from all schools past and present in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference, as well as memorabilia from Ohio Valley natives, who have gone on to professional sports careers, including

Bill Mazeroski William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936), nicknamed "Maz" and "The Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A 7-time All-St ...

, Bobby Douglas,

Chuck Howley Charles Louis Howley (born June 28, 1936) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Howley spent his first two seasons with the Chicago Bears, who ...

Phil Niekro Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 318 career victor ...

and

Joe Niekro Joseph Franklin Niekro ( ; November 7, 1944 – October 27, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro, and the father of former Major League first baseman Lance Niekro. Niekr ...

, among others. The arena also hosts the conference's annual Banquet of Champions, the largest high school athletic banquet in the United States. It also played host to the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Mou ...

basketball team for one season in the 1999–2000 season due to construction at the team's normal venue. Other sporting events such as high school basketball,

college hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

, indoor football and others have hosted games at the arena on a regular basis. The Harlem Globetrotters have become a favorite of residents making yearly appearances at the arena.

Other events

Comedians such as

Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally by his persona Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, country music artist, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the ...

and

Jeff Dunham Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonigh ...

have appeared at the arena. Stage shows such as '' Cats'', ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'', '' Lord of the Dance'' and ''

Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...

'', have also packed the arena. This arena has also played host to high action entertainment events such as

Monster Jam Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some additiona ...

WWE 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 vari ...

, Thunder Nationals,

Freestyle Motocross Freestyle motocross (also known as FMX) is a variation on the sport of motocross in which motorcycle riders attempt to impress judges with jumps and stunts. The two main types of freestyle events are: *Big air (also known as "best trick"), in whi ...

PBR PBR may refer to: Science and technology * Passive bistatic radar * Partition boot record * Pebble bed reactor, a type of nuclear reactor * Peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, another name for translocator protein * Phosphorus bromide * Photobio ...

and others every year. On November 12, 1977, a concert by

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

was recorded for a future broadcast by the

King Biscuit Flower Hour The ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' was an American syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock music recording artists. History The program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 197 ...

. Elton John also performed a concert there in 2012.

References

External links

WesBanco ArenaWesBanco Bank
{{Coord, 40, 3, 53, N, 80, 43, 29, W, type:landmark, display=title Indoor arenas in West Virginia Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Sports venues in West Virginia Convention centers in West Virginia Music venues in West Virginia Buildings and structures in Wheeling, West Virginia Tourist attractions in Ohio County, West Virginia Sports venues completed in 1977 1977 establishments in West Virginia