Enterprise Center

Coordinates: 38°37′36″N 90°12′9″W / 38.62667°N 90.20250°W / 38.62667; -90.20250

Enterprise Center
Former names Kiel Center (1994–2000)
Savvis Center (2000–2006)
Scottrade Center (2006–2018)
Address 1401 Clark Avenue
Location St. Louis, Missouri
Public transit Metrolink: Civic Center
Owner City of St. Louis
Operator SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC
Capacity Ice hockey: 18,724[1]
Basketball and Concerts: 22,000
Indoor soccer: 10,000 (expandable to 18,724)[2]
Construction
Broke ground December 14, 1992 (December 14, 1992)[3]
Opened October 8, 1994 (October 8, 1994)
Construction cost $135 million
($235 million in 2017 dollars[4] )
Architect Ellerbe Becket[5]
Structural engineer The Consulting Engineers Group, Inc.[6]
Services engineer William Tao & Associates, Inc.[7]
General contractor J.S. Alberici Construction[8]
Main contractors DKW Construction, Inc.[9]
Tenants
St. Louis Ambush (NPSL) (1994–2000)
Saint Louis Billikens (NCAA) (1994–2008)
St. Louis Blues (NHL) (1995–present)
St. Louis Stampede (AFL) (1995–96)
St. Louis Vipers (RHI) (1995–97, 1999)
St. Louis Steamers (MISL) (2004–06)
River City Rage (NIFL) (2006)
Website
Venue Website

Enterprise Center is an 18,724-seat[1] arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, but it is also used for other functions, such as NCAA basketball, NCAA hockey, concerts, professional wrestling and more. In a typical year, the facility hosts about 175 events. Industry trade publication Pollstar has previously ranked Enterprise Center among the top ten arenas worldwide in tickets sold to non-team events, but the facility has since fallen into the upper sixties, as of 2017[10].

The arena opened in 1994 and was known as Kiel Center until 2000, Savvis Center from 2000 to 2006, and Scottrade Center from 2006 to 2018. On May 21, 2018, the St. Louis Blues and representatives of Enterprise Holdings, based in St. Louis, announced that the naming rights had been acquired by Enterprise and that the facility's name would change to Enterprise Center, effective July 1, 2018.[11]

Current tenants

It is the home of the St. Louis Blues of the NHL. In addition to the NHL franchise, the facility has hosted the annual Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament since 1995, commonly referred to as "Arch Madness", with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The University of Illinois and University of Missouri play their annual men's basketball rivalry game at Enterprise Center each season, typically on the Saturday before Christmas.

Enterprise Center also hosts a variety of non-sporting events each year, including concerts, ice shows, family events, professional wrestling, and other events. On average, the facility sees about 175 total events per year, drawing nearly two million guests annually to downtown St. Louis.

The facility is frequently chosen by the NCAA to host championship events, including its men's hockey "Frozen Four" in 2007, the women's basketball Final Four in 2001 and 2009, wrestling championships in 2000, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2017, and several men's and women's basketball Midwest Regional tournament games. After the Missouri Tigers joined the SEC in 2012, St. Louis was added to the list of cities that could serve as hosts for the men's SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, doing so for the first time in March 2018, at the completion of the 2017–2018 regular season.

The building is operated by SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC, owner of the St. Louis Blues, under its chairman, Tom Stillman.[12]

Former tenants

Former tenants of Enterprise Center include the Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team from Saint Louis University, St. Louis Vipers roller hockey team, St. Louis Ambush and St. Louis Steamers indoor soccer teams, the St. Louis Stampede arena football team, and the River City Rage indoor football team.

History

As the Scottrade Center

The arena opened in 1994 to replace Kiel Auditorium, where the Saint Louis University college basketball team had played, which was torn down in December 1992. The Blues had played in the St. Louis Arena prior to moving into Kiel Center in 1994; however, they would not play in the arena until January 1995 due to the lockout that delayed the start of the 1994-95 season. The first professional sports match was played by the St. Louis Ambush, an indoor soccer team. The building is currently known as Enterprise Center, after naming rights were sold in May 2018 to Enterprise Holdings. The Kiel name still exists on the adjoining parking structure and the building cornerstone. Signs for the nearby MetroLink stop have been changed to read "Civic Center", since the building has been renamed four times in its history.

The Opera House portion of the building was not razed when the original Auditorium was but remained closed since 1992, as members of Civic Progress, Inc., who promised to pay for the renovation of the Opera House, reneged on that promise, while opposing all outside efforts to achieve that renovation. In June 2009, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted 25-1 to subsidize the renovation and reopening of the Opera House under the direction of its new owners, Sports Capital Partners (who also own the Blues). The subsidies were funded by municipal bonds and state/federal historic tax credits. On July 12, 2010, it was announced that the name of the opera house would be changed to the Peabody Opera House, named after the company Peabody Energy. On October 1, 2011, the Peabody Opera House opened for the first time since the $79 million renovation.

Through its history, the arena has been known as Kiel Center until 2000, Savvis Center from 2000 to 2006, Scottrade Center from 2006 to 2018, and Enterprise Center since July 2018.

The largest crowd to attend an event at the arena was 22,612, which happened twice during the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.[13] The largest non-sporting event crowd was for a Bon Jovi concert in May of 2011 as part of the Bon Jovi Live Tour with 20,648 in attendance.[14]

A three-phase renovation of the arena began in 2017 and will complete in 2019, with all building works being done in the hockey off-season to minimize schedule disruption. The first phase was largely composed of engineering upgrades (new lighting, sound, HVAC, and ice plant) and dressing rooms, as well as a new scoreboard and replacement of some lower-tier seating on the west end (where the Blues shoot twice) with "theater boxes". Phase two will see the replacement of all upper-tier seats, "theater boxes" added to the east end, and a re-built lower-tier concourse with new club areas for premium ticketholders as well as a beer garden opening onto 14th Street. The third and final phase will include the replacement of lower-tier seats and renovations to private boxes.

Naming rights

Blues management decried its former naming-rights deal with tech company SAVVIS, as much of the compensation was in Savvis shares, then riding high. However, when the tech bubble burst, the team was left with nearly worthless shares.[15]

In September 2006, Scottrade founder Rodger O. Riney and chief marketing officer Chris Moloney announced a partnership with the St. Louis Blues hockey club and arena. The new name of the arena, Scottrade Center, was revealed in a joint press conference. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but were described as "long-term and significant," by Moloney. Both Scottrade and the Blues said the agreement was "equitable" to both parties. Most of the signage and other promotions were changed to Scottrade Center prior to the first home game of the Blues on October 12, 2006. The Sports Business Journal in March 2007 described it as "one of the fastest naming rights deals in history."

Scottrade announced on October 24, 2016 that it was being sold to TD Ameritrade for $4 billion. It was originally believed that once the deal closed, Scottrade Center would become the TD Ameritrade Center in a naming rights deal set to run until 2021.[16] However, less than a year later, TD Ameritrade announced that it would give back its naming rights upon the closure of the Scottrade acquisition.[17]

On May 21, 2018, Enterprise Holdings, based in St. Louis, and the St. Louis Blues announced that beginning July 1, the facility would be known as Enterprise Center.[18][19] The 15-year agreement calls for interior and exterior signage featuring the Enterprise logo.[20]

Seating capacity

The facility's seating capacity for hockey has varied since opening.

Years Capacity
1994–2000 19,260[21]
2000–2007 19,022[21]
2007–2017 19,150[22]
2017–present 18,724[1]

Events

Sports

MMA & Boxing

Wrestling

Many historic WWE moments have taken place at the Scottrade Center. Former WWE and World Heavyweight Champion Kane made his WWE debut at this arena in 1997 at the event Badd Blood: In Your House. At that same event, the very first Hell In A Cell match took place. The Rock won his very first WWE Championship in the building at the Survivor Series event in 1998. Chris Jericho won his first World Championship in this arena at the No Mercy event in 2001, and won his latest World Championship in the arena at the Elimination Chamber event in 2010. In 2005 John Cena was revealed here as the first draft pick for Monday Night Raw, where he would remain for most of his career. Dave Batista won his second WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber event in 2010. The 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw was also held there. At the 2014 Survivor Series Sting made his official debut in WWE. Arguably the most emotional wrestling card held at Scottrade was "Raw is Owen", held in the aftermath of Owen Hart's death the previous night at Over the Edge across the state in Kansas City. That night, ten matches were held with all booking put aside, and many wrestlers and fans paid tribute to the popular Hart.

The arena, alongside Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center and the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, is known for having one of the best crowds in WWE. St. Louis native Randy Orton is particularly well-supported, much like how the Allstate Arena crowd was firmly behind Chicago native CM Punk. Often one can see fan signs saying the words "Orton Country", among others, whenever Orton is scheduled to compete.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Timmermann, Tom (November 5, 2017). "Despite Losing 'A,' Stastny Will Try to Be a Leader". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Arena Specifications". Scottrade Center. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  3. ↑ Kee-Montre, Lorraine (December 15, 1992). "Hull's 'Blast' Leads the Way to New Arena". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  4. ↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Scottrade Center". Ellerbe Becket. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Ted O'Shea - Experience". linkedin.com. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  7. ↑ "- Kiel Center". William Tao & Associates, Inc. Archived from the original on July 5, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Scottrade Center". Alberici Construction. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Projects". DKW Construction. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  10. ↑ "MidYear Worldwide Ticket Sales Arena Venues 2017" (PDF). Pollstar.
  11. ↑ "Blues, Enterprise enter 15-year building naming rights agreement". NHL.com. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  12. ↑ Kurtovic, Amir (May 17, 2012). "Stillman's Blues Group Raised $72 Million to Buy Team". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Creighton 75, Missouri St. 58". Yahoo! Sports. March 3, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
  14. ↑ Byrum, John (May 23, 2011). "Bon Jovi Keeps It Real at Scottrade Show". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Lessons Learned: Laurie Down $700,000 on Savvis Naming Rights Deal". St. Louis Business Journal. June 21, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  16. ↑ Schaeffer, Brenden (October 24, 2016). "Scottrade Center to Be Renamed TD Ameritrade Center". KMOV. St. Louis. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  17. ↑ Calhoun, Michael (September 26, 2017). "It's Scottrade Center Now — But What Will It Be Next Year?". KMOX. St. Louis. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Blues, Enterprise enter 15-year building naming rights agreement". NHL.com. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  19. ↑ "St. Louis Blues' arena changing name to Enterprise Center". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 2018-05-21. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  20. ↑ "St. Louis Blues and Enterprise Announce Building Naming-Rights Agreement; Rename Home of the Blues "Enterprise Center"". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  21. 1 2 "Attendance History". St. Louis Blues Hockey Club, L.P. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  22. ↑ Rutherford, Jeremy P. (January 6, 2008). "Blues Remain Powerless, but Shut Out Hurricanes". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. D1. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  23. ↑ Toroian Keaggy, Diane (July 21, 2012). "WWE's 'Raw' celebrates episode 1,000 in St. Louis". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lee Enterprises. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Extreme Rules PPV in St. Louis draws sold out crowd". Wrestleview.com. May 23, 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  25. ↑ "Date And Location For 2017 WWE Money In The Bank PPV Confirmed, The Rock Praises Nia Jax (Video) - Wrestlezone". wrestlezone.com. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
Events and tenants
Preceded by
St. Louis Arena		 Home of the
St. Louis Blues
1994 – present		 Succeeded by
current
Preceded by
St. Louis Arena		 Home of the
St. Louis University Billikens
1994 – 2008		 Succeeded by
Chaifetz Arena
Preceded by
Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania		 Host of the
NCAA Women's Final Four
2001		 Succeeded by
Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas
Preceded by
Bradley Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin		 Host of the
Frozen Four
2007		 Succeeded by
Pepsi Center
Denver, Colorado
Preceded by
St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa, Florida		 Host of the
NCAA Women's Final Four
2009		 Succeeded by
Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas
Preceded by
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tennessee		 Host of the
SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
2018		 Succeeded by
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tennessee
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