Mohegan Sun Arena

Mohegan Sun Arena
Mohegan Sun Arena after the CT class LL state championship basketball game
Address 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd
Location Uncasville, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°29′28″N 72°5′23″W / 41.49111°N 72.08972°W / 41.49111; -72.08972Coordinates: 41°29′28″N 72°5′23″W / 41.49111°N 72.08972°W / 41.49111; -72.08972
Owner Mohegan Sun
Operator Mohegan Sun
Capacity Basketball: 9,323
Concerts: 10,000
Lacrosse: 7,700
Opened October 2001
Tenants
Mohegan Wolves (AF2) (2002–2003)
Connecticut Sun (WNBA) (2003–present)
New England Black Wolves (NLL) (2015–present)
Website
http://mohegansun.com

The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut located inside Mohegan Sun. The arena facility features 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of configurable exhibition space and a 400-foot (120 m) clear span. It was built by the Perini Building Company, and opened in October 2001.[1]

History

The multi-purpose facility has hosted a wide variety of events; including the American Kennel Club, WWE,[2] concerts from major classical, country, jazz, metal, rap, rock, and pop acts, as well as sporting events such as PBR events, Bellator, NCAA games, PBA tournaments, early UFC bouts, and the World's Strongest Man Super Series Competition. The largest event on record to have been held at the arena was the inaugural Barrett-Jackson collector car auction in the Northeast in 2016, for which 90,000 tickets were sold to the multi-day event.[3]

Major network and cable television broadcasting companies, including CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, ESPN and CNN have all produced events through this arena.

Arena Football

The arena originally served as home of the Mohegan Wolves arena football team until it was sold and moved to Manchester, New Hampshire in 2004.
On July 19, 2001, Uncasville, Connecticut was awarded an AF2 expansion team.[4] On December 12, 2001, Mohegan Sun and Dr. Eric Margenau, President/Chief Executive Officer of United Sports Ventures, announced that the new expansion AF2 franchise would be named the Mohegan Wolves. Margenau introduced Gary Porter, as the head coach for the team that would first take the field April 5, 2002 at the Mohegan Sun Arena against the Albany Conquest. Gary Porter, previously led the expansion Peoria Pirates to a 7-9 record in 2001.

The team name was selected through a "Name the Team" contest sponsored by WCTY, Mohegan Sun and X-Tra Mart. A Jewett City, Connecticut resident, came up with the winning name. The winner won four season tickets for the 2002 Mohegan Wolves season, dinner for four on the night of the team's first home game, and a team merchandise package.

Basketball

On January 28, 2003 the arena was announced as the official home court for the Connecticut Sun. Prior to the fall of 2002, the NBA operating model precluded any WNBA team without an NBA "brother" counterpart. By the time the Connecticut Sun moved in, Val Ackerman was the WNBA president and Mark L. Brown was the chairman of the Mohegan Tribe. While the arena is attached to the Mohegan Sun casino, the facility does not accept any form of sports wagering or sports booking because sports betting is illegal in Connecticut.

On September 8, 2005, as a companion to the arena, the Mohegan Sun casino opened a Connecticut Sun merchandise store called "Winter Essentials." It was the first store in the United States that sold professional basketball goods on casino ground. However, the store was closed when the casino underwent renovations in 2008. Connecticut Sun merchandise can now be purchased in the Arena during games.

Seating

As of 2006, the seating can be configured into 5 common sports configurations. Basketball, boxing, bowling, rodeo, table tennis, lacrosse. It also can be reconfigured to fit many types of concerts: regular, fullhouse, centerstage, and halfhouse. The arena has won awards for being one of America's most modern concert venues. The arena was awarded the 2008 and 2010 Country Music Award for "Casino of the Year". It was also ranked the 4th best venue by Billboard Magazine.

Notable events

Mohegan Sun Arena

NBA Games

Date Home Score Away Game Type Attendance
October 11, 2014Boston Celtics80-92New York KnicksPS9,252
October 8, 2016Boston Celtics104-86Charlotte HornetsPS8,052

Strength Athletics Grand Prix

Since 2005, the arena has hosted one of the premier international strongman Grand Prix events.

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place Event Name
2005Poland Mariusz PudzianowskiCanada Jessen PaulinUnited States Don PopeMohegan Sun Grand Prix
Final of WSM Super Series 2005[7]
2006Poland Mariusz PudzianowskiUnited States Jesse MarundeUnited States Josh ThigpenMohegan Sun Grand Prix
Final of WSM Super Series 2006[8]
2007Poland Mariusz PudzianowskiUnited States Kevin NeeUnited Kingdom Mark FelixMohegan Sun Grand Prix
Start of WSM Super Series 2007[9]
2008United States Derek PoundstonePoland Mariusz PudzianowskiUnited Kingdom Terry HollandsMohegan Sun Grand Prix
Start of WSM Super Series 2008[10]
2009United States Derek PoundstoneUnited States Travis OrtmayerUnited States Brian ShawMohegan Sun Grand Prix 2009[11]
May 17, 2009
Start of Giants Live 2009
2010United States Derek PoundstoneUnited States Brian ShawBulgaria Stojan TodorchevMohegan Sun Grand Prix 2010[12]
April 25, 2010
Start of WSM Super Series 2010

References

  1. ↑ "Perini Building Company". Archived from the original on 2 February 2005. Retrieved 20 January 2005.
  2. ↑ "WWE". Retrieved 9 September 2006.
  3. ↑ Kristafer, Ryan (21 June 2017). "Cruisin' Connecticut – Barrett-Jackson Auction at Mohegan Sun". wtnh.com. wtnh.com. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "af2 enters SE Connecticut". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. July 19, 2001. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  5. ↑ Evans, Jayda (January 26, 2010). "Mohegan Sun Arena to host another WNBA All-Star game". The Seattle Times.
  6. ↑ http://articles.courant.com/2010-01-27/sports/hc-usabasketball0127.artjan27_1_wnba-all-star-usa-basketball-chris-sienko
  7. ↑ Wednesday, August 10, 2005, Mariusz Wins Mohegan Sun Grand Prix . . . Paulen, Pope and Thigpen Qualify for WSM, by Randall J. Strossen of IronMind
  8. ↑ Thursday, June 1, 2006, Mariusz Pudzianowski: Big Win at the Mohegan Sun, by Randall J. Strossen of IronMind
  9. ↑ Tuesday, April 24, 2007, From the Mohegan Sun to WSM '07, by Randall J. Strossen of IronMind
  10. ↑ Friday, February 29, 2008, Eleiko WSM Super Series Mohegan Sun Grand Prix by Randall J. Strossen of IronMind
  11. ↑ Official Results Archived 2009-07-24 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ Official Results Archived 2009-07-24 at the Wayback Machine.
Events and tenants
Preceded by
first arena		 Home of the
Mohegan Wolves
2002–2003		 Succeeded by
Verizon Wireless Arena
Preceded by
TD Waterhouse Centre		 Home of the
Connecticut Sun
2003 – present		 Succeeded by
current
Preceded by
Radio City Music Hall		 Host of the
WNBA All-Star Game
2005		 Succeeded by
Madison Square Garden
Preceded by
Verizon Center		 Host of the
WNBA All-Star Game
2009		 Succeeded by
unknown
Preceded by
MGM Grand Garden Arena		 Ultimate Fighting Championship venue
UFC 35		 Succeeded by
MGM Grand Garden Arena
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