Ford Center (Evansville)


 * ''This article refers to the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. For the former Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, see Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Ford Center is a multi-use indoor arena in downtown Evansville, Indiana. Designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport), it opened in 2011 and has a maximum seating capacity of 11,000.

It was built to replace Roberts Municipal Stadium, and is mainly used for basketball, ice hockey, and music concerts. It serves as the home arena for the University of Evansville Purple Aces basketball teams and the Evansville IceMen of the Central Hockey League.

The Ford Center is bounded by Main Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Sixth Street, and Walnut Street. As planned, it will eventually connect to a new convention hotel and the existing convention center.

The $127.5 million arena was approved by the Evansville City Council on December 22, 2008. Demolition work on the site began on December 5, 2009.

On August 17, 2011, it was announced that the Tri-State Ford Dealers had signed a 10-year, $4.2 million naming rights deal for the arena, giving it the Ford Center name.

The Evansville IceMen played their first game at the Ford Center on November 5, 2011, defeating the Fort Wayne Komets 3-1. The Evansville Purple Aces played their first game on November 12, 2011, beating the Butler Bulldogs 80-77 in overtime. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band performed the arena's first concert on November 9, 2011. The Icemen announced a sellout at the February 25, 2012 game with an announced attendance of 9,487, surpassing the previous record of 9,403 in attendance at the January 14, 2012 game.