First National Bank Arena
First National Bank Arena (originally called the Convocation Center until 2017) is a 10,475-seat multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Arkansas State University, and is home to their college basketball team, the Red Wolves.[3]
Location | 217 Olympic Drive Jonesboro, Arkansas 72401 |
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Owner | Arkansas State University |
Operator | Arkansas State University |
Capacity | 10,475 basketball 10,743-11,704 concerts and events |
Surface | Multi-surface |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1984 |
Opened | July 11, 1987 |
Construction cost | $19 million ($42.8 million in 2019 dollars[1]) |
Architect | Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson |
Structural engineer | Geiger Engineers[2] |
Tenants | |
Arkansas State University Red Wolves (NCAA) (1987–present) | |
Website | |
www |
First National Bank Arena has three separate public venues including a 217-seat Auditorium, a banquet/meeting room that can be divided into 3 smaller meeting rooms, and the main arena, which has permanent seating for 10,475. First National Bank Arena hosts hundreds of events each year in these three venues, and well over 100,000 people walk through its doors each year.
The first event was a concert by country music legend George Strait. Throughout the years, First National Bank Arena has been host to many superstars including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Alabama, Reba McEntire, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean and Eric Church in the last five years.
WWE has used First National Bank Arena for a Live Raw event. The Sun Belt Conference uses the versatile building to host the Indoor Track & Field Championships every other year. The building is home to Arkansas State University Men's & Women's Basketball as well as Women's Volleyball. Each team has an updated (2010) home locker room, an updated (2009) weight room, and an updated (2010) media room. There are four visitor locker rooms, as well as smaller, official locker rooms throughout the building.
In 2012, the original scoreboard and sound system (from 1987) were replaced with four 25' × 12' HD video boards and a 28-speaker sound system. Also in 2012, an entirely new roof was installed, as well as upgrades to the Administrative Offices and Box Office.
References
- Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- "David M. Campbell". Geiger Engineers. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
- Building Info Archived 2009-12-31 at the Wayback Machine at astate.edu, URL accessed December 9, 2009. Archived 12/9/09