Liacouras Center

The Peter J. Liacouras Center
	"The Apollo", "The Pete"
Former names	The Apollo of Temple (1997–2000)
Location	1776 North Broad Street; Philadelphia, PA 19121
Public transit	Cecil B. Moore: Broad Street Line
Owner	Temple University
Operator	Global Spectrum
Capacity	10,206
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground	January 25, 1996
Opened	November 11, 1997
Construction cost	$73 million; ($111 million in 2017 dollars[1])
Architect	Vitetta Group; Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates
General contractor	LF Driscoll[2]
Tenants
	Temple Owls (NCAA) (1997–present); Philadelphia KiXX (MISL) (2009–2010); Philly Roller Derby (WFTDA) (2005–present)

The Liacouras Center^[3] is a 10,200-seat multi-purpose venue which opened in 1997 and was originally named "The Apollo of Temple". The arena was renamed in 2000 for Temple University President, Peter J. Liacouras. It is part of a $107 million, four-building complex along North Broad Street on the Temple University campus in North Philadelphia. The Liacouras Center is the largest indoor, public assembly venue in Philadelphia, north of City Hall.

History

During the 1980s, Temple basketball coach John Chaney sought to raise the profile of the men's basketball program through aggressively scheduling top-tier, out of conference opponents. Some programs, however, scoffed at the idea of playing at Temple's 3,900-seat on-campus arena, McGonigle Hall. Temple's President at the time, Peter J. Liacouras, supported the idea of a larger basketball facility in hopes of building Temple's national presence. Temple considered several locations and a site was purchased in 1988 for $7.3 million.^[4] The state of Pennsylvania awarded Temple $31.1 million in October 1992, despite disagreements between Chaney and then-City Council president John Street.

The project was approved in 1995, with a January 25, 1996 groundbreaking.^[5] Two nationally recognized architectural firms designed the building: Vitetta Group^[6] of Philadelphia, and Thompson Ventulett Stainback & Associates of Atlanta. The 340,000 sq ft (32,000 m²) venue opened in the 1997-98 season.^[7] The first game played was a 76-61 Temple win over #18 Fresno State.

The venue was originally named The Apollo of Temple. The name changed to the Liacouras Center just prior to Liacouras' retirement on February 13, 2000.^[8] The Liacouras Center is Philadelphia's largest indoor venue north of City Hall and hosts home games for all of Temple men's basketball, along with some women's games. As of the end of the 2016-17 season, the Owls have amassed a 206-69 record in the building.The Esther Boyer Theater at the Liacouras Center is a small theater setup of 1,000 to 5,000 seats for more intimate presentations. The complex also houses the Independence Blue Cross Recreation Center (IBC), which includes a gym, basketball court, racquetball courts, and more. The IBC opened in the spring semester of 1998.^[9] The fourth building in the complex is a 1,200-space parking garage.

Besides hosting Temple basketball games, the Liacouras Center is a full entertainment arena featuring concerts, family shows, Philadelphia KiXX games, Philly Roller Derby bouts, a full range of concerts, dramatic presentations, and family shows. Additionally, several high school graduations, as well as university graduations and convocation ceremonies, are held there. The Liacouras Center is managed by Global Spectrum, a subsidiary of Comcast-Spectacor.

Past events

December, 2012

February, 2010

Music

Rap - Hip-hop

50 Cent
Fat Joe
Fetty Wap
Bow Wow and Omarion
Kid Cudi
Method Man & Redman
Kanye West
Wale
Wiz Khalifa
Big Sean
Super Jam 2010, featuring Trey Songz and Ludacris
T.I.
Nelly
Ludacris (October 2014)

Rock - Pop

R&B

Other

My Chemical Romance
LeAnn Rimes
Bastille (October 2014)
Carrie Underwood with Little Big Town
Bassnectar (April 20, 2012)

Entertainment

Jamie Foxx
Fat Albert (film; world premiere)
Wheel of Fortune
Steve Harvey
Katt Williams
Theresa Caputo (October 2014)

Politics/Government

Barack Obama (November 2, 2014)
Bernie Sanders (April 6, 2016)

Sports

Bernard Hopkins vs. Enrique Ornelas (December 2009)
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament (2004; Opening Round)
TNA Wrestling: Lockdown (2009)
TNA Wrestling: Bound for Glory (2011)
The Harlem Globetrotters
U.S. Gymnastics Championships (2001)
USA Gymnastics American Cup^[10]
Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing
David Reid Boxing
Philadelphia 76ers Exhibition Game
2017 International WFTDA Championships (roller derby)^[11]

References

↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
↑ "Northstar Fire Protection - Stadiums and Arenas". Nsfire.com. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
↑ "Sports and Cultural Events in Downtown Philadelphia". The Liacouras Center. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
↑ "Arena turns 10 years old - The Temple News". The Temple News. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
↑ "The arena which brought students - The Temple News". The Temple News. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
↑ "Architecture Engineering Planning Interior Design". Vitetta. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
↑ "Sparse Temple crowds nothing to cheer about". Philly.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
↑ "Arena Info | The Liacouras Center | The Liacouras Center". www.liacourascenter.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
↑ "Independence Blue Cross Student Rec Center (IBC) | Campus Recreation". campusrecreation.temple.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
↑ "Welcome to tysonamericancup.com!". Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
↑ Larrison, Brad (6 November 2017). "Philly hosts women's roller derby championships". WHYY-FM. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

External links

Official site

Events and tenants
Preceded by Ocean Center	Host of Bound for Glory 2011	Succeeded by Grand Canyon University Arena
Preceded by Tsongas Arena	Host of Lockdown 2009	Succeeded by Family Arena

Coordinates: 39°58′47″N 75°9′31″W / 39.97972°N 75.15861°W / 39.97972; -75.15861

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[inflation-US-1] Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2018.

[2] "Northstar Fire Protection - Stadiums and Arenas". Nsfire.com. Retrieved 2012-07-09.

[3] "Sports and Cultural Events in Downtown Philadelphia". The Liacouras Center. Retrieved 2012-07-09.

[4] "Arena turns 10 years old - The Temple News". The Temple News. Retrieved 2017-03-13.

[5] "The arena which brought students - The Temple News". The Temple News. Retrieved 2017-03-13.

[6] "Architecture Engineering Planning Interior Design". Vitetta. Retrieved 2012-07-09.

[7] "Sparse Temple crowds nothing to cheer about". Philly.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.

[8] "Arena Info | The Liacouras Center | The Liacouras Center". www.liacourascenter.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.

[9] "Independence Blue Cross Student Rec Center (IBC) | Campus Recreation". campusrecreation.temple.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-13.

[tysonamericancup-10] "Welcome to tysonamericancup.com!". Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2014-02-16.

[11] Larrison, Brad (6 November 2017). "Philly hosts women's roller derby championships". WHYY-FM. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

Temple University
Located in: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Campuses	Main Campus (location) Ambler Campus Japan Campus
Schools	Beasley School of Law Boyer College of Music and Dance Fox School of Business and Management Tyler School of Art Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry School of Medicine School of Podiatric Medicine School of Pharmacy College of Science and Technology
Athletics	Temple Owls Football Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's soccer Liacouras Center McGonigle Hall St. Joe's – Temple rivalry Temple Stadium Veterans Stadium Lincoln Financial Field Skip Wilson Field
People	Alumni and faculty Graduate Students Association
Miscellaneous	Temple University station Cecil B. Moore station The Temple News Temple University Press TECH Center WRTI ROTC
Founded: 1884 Students: 39,515 Endowment: 494.2 million

Temple Owls men's basketball
Venues	Convention Hall (1938–1955) ? (1955–1969) McGonigle Hall (1969–1997) Liacouras Center (1997–present)
Rivalries	Saint Joseph's
Culture & lore	City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 Robert V. Geasey Trophy Hooter T. Owl "T For Temple U"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Temple Owls women's basketball
Venues	Convention Hall (1938–1955) ? (1955–1969) McGonigle Hall (1969–present) Liacouras Center (1997–present)
Rivalries	Saint Joseph's
Culture & lore	City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 Robert V. Geasey Trophy Hooter T. Owl "T For Temple U"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19

Philadelphia Big 5
Schools	La Salle University University of Pennsylvania Saint Joseph's University Temple University Villanova University
Teams	La Salle Explorers Penn Quakers St. Joe's Hawks Temple Owls Villanova Wildcats
Arenas	Hagan Arena Liacouras Center Palestra Finneran Pavilion Tom Gola Arena
Related	City 6 Holy War Robert V. Geasey Trophy St. Joe's–Temple Rivalry Battle of 33rd Street

Construction
"The Apollo", "The Pete"

Former names	The Apollo of Temple (1997–2000)
Location	1776 North Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19121
Public transit	Cecil B. Moore: Broad Street Line
Owner	Temple University
Operator	Global Spectrum
Capacity	10,206
Surface	Multi-surface
Broke ground	January 25, 1996
Opened	November 11, 1997
Construction cost	$73 million ($111 million in 2017 dollars^[1])
Architect	Vitetta Group Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates
General contractor	LF Driscoll^[2]
Tenants
Temple Owls (NCAA) (1997–present) Philadelphia KiXX (MISL) (2009–2010) Philly Roller Derby (WFTDA) (2005–present)