Neal S. Blaisdell Center

Coordinates: 21°18′00″N 157°51′02″W / 21.29991°N 157.85062°W / 21.29991; -157.85062
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Neal S. Blaisdell Center
Map
Address777 Ward Ave
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814-2166
LocationDowntown Honolulu, Oahu
Coordinates21°18′00″N 157°51′02″W / 21.29991°N 157.85062°W / 21.29991; -157.85062
OwnerCity and County of Honolulu
OpenedSeptember 12, 1964 (1964-09-12)[1][2]
Renovated1994
Construction cost
$14 million[1]
Former names
Honolulu International Center (1964–76)
Classroom-style seating
  • 72 (Oahu Room)
  • 64 (Maui Room)
  • 48 (Kauai Room)
Banquet/ballroom
  • 1,000 (Hawaii Suite)
  • 700 (Pikake Room)
  • 350 (Carla Coray Galleria)
Theatre seating
  • 8,800 (Blaisdell Arena)
  • 2,157 (Blaisdell Concert Hall)
Enclosed space
 • Exhibit hall floor65,000 square feet (6,000 m2)
 • Breakout/meeting3,200 square feet (300 m2)
 • Ballroom23,700 square feet (2,200 m2)
Website
blaisdellcenter.com Edit this at Wikidata

The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii.[3] The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others.

Constructed in 1964 on the historic Ward Estate and originally called the Honolulu International Center, the center was renamed after

Neal S. Blaisdell, who oversaw its construction.[2] It was remodeled and expanded in 1994. The complex is overseen by the city's Department of Enterprise Services, which also oversees the Waikiki Shell. As of 2019, the city is seeking to redevelop the site with extensive stakeholder and public involvement to assess the community's goals.[4]

Facilities and events

Arena

Blaisdell Arena

The Neal S. Blaisdell Arena is a circular performance facility used for concerts and major sporting events. The arena can accommodate 7,700 seats for sports events, and up to 8,800 seats for stage events with seats set up on the arena floor.

On December 3, 1966, The Monkees gave their first live concert here.[5] They played a 40-minute set. Loggins and Messina performed their final two concerts here on September 24 and 25, 1976.

Elvis Presley's Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite concert was held here on January 14, 1973. In recognition of the concert, a bronze statue of Presley was installed in 2007 outside the front of the arena. The statue was sponsored by the cable channel TV Land.[6]

Other events at the arena include

Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne & Bonnie Raitt, and a 1965 Billy Graham
crusade.

Other music artists that have performed at the arena include

No Doubt, America, Bread (band), Culture Club, Avenged Sevenfold and Janet Jackson
.

During a circus performance in 1994, Tyke, an African Elephant, killed her trainer and charged out of the arena in a rage. The animal rampaged outside the arena for 30 minutes before police fired 87 rounds at the elephant, who eventually collapsed and died as a result of the shooting.

The Philippine TV show

ASAP
performed at the arena on June 30, 2018, through an international concert titled ASAP Live in Honolulu.

Many graduation and commencement ceremonies are held by schools in the arena and concert hall in late May and June.

Sports

The Arena also hosts the start of the exhibition season for the

World Team Tennis and three indoor football teams: the Honolulu Hurricanes, the Hawaii Hammerheads, and the AF2's Hawaiian Islanders, and the Arena Football League All-Star game of 2013. The Leis and Islanders each persisted for three full seasons, the longest of all the pro teams based at the arena. In 1982, the arena served as home court for Chaminade University in a Christmas Eve upset of a Ralph Sampson-led number one ranked University of Virginia
, 77–72.

In November 2006, the Professional Bull Riders hosted the Cheeseburger Island Style PBR Hawaii All-Star Challenge, a special event that took place between the 2006 PBR World Finals and the start of the 2007 PBR season.

In 2020, the arena hosted a Davis Cup qualifying round matchup between the United States and Uzbekistan.[7]

Concert Hall

Blaisdell Concert Hall

With a capacity of 2,158 seats, the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall was the home of the

Honolulu Symphony and the Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre. Broadway productions such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Rent, Miss Saigon, Chicago, Cats, and other national touring shows have performed at the concert hall.[8] In the fall and early winter of 2007 the concert hall was host to the Broadway musical The Lion King, a booking which displaced the Honolulu Symphony from its usual home and led to a major cash flow crisis for the orchestra.[9]
Elvis Presley also performed at the then Honolulu International Centre.

Exhibition Hall

Inside the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall

Located between the Concert Hall and the Arena, the Exhibition Hall provides 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2) of exhibition space on the main floor that is expandable to 85,000 square feet (7,900 m2) when combined with adjoining spaces. Five meeting rooms are also available in the hall. The Exhibition Hall accommodates numerous local trade and consumer shows and fundraising events throughout the year, and is one of the main exhibition venues in Honolulu in addition to the Hawaii Convention Center.

The Exhibition Hall hosts events throughout the year such as craft fairs, gun shows, family expos, job fairs, food & product shows, as well as private trade shows.

Miscellaneous

Many religious ceremonies have been performed in the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. The largest of which were the enthronement of

song contest
at the Blaisdell since 1964.

On December 23, 1982, what is considered by many as the greatest upset in sports history happened at the Blaisdell Arena as the then number 1-ranked University of Virginia Cavaliers, led by future Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson, were beaten 77–72 by Chaminade University, a small NAIA school (today NCAA Division II) with a student body of 800.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Budnick, Rich (July 30, 2007). "Elvis statue at Blaisdell just the beginning". The Honolulu Advertiser. Black Press. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Gordon, Mike (January 12, 2014). "Golden memories: For a half-century, Blaisdell Center has played a big role in our lives through concerts, graduations and sports". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  3. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original
    on February 18, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2009.
  4. ^ "Blaisdell Center Master Plan". City and County of Honolulu. September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  5. ^ Uri, John (December 20, 2021). Mars, Kelli (ed.). "55 Years Ago: Two Months Until Apollo 1". NASA History. NASA. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  6. ^ Harade, Wayne (July 26, 2007). "Elvis is outside the building — the Blaisdell, that is". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "Davis Cup - Draws & Results". www.daviscup.com. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  8. ^ "Neal S. Blaisdell - Venues - Concert Hall". BlaisdellCenter.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  9. ^ Westphal, Matthew (December 20, 2007). "Honolulu Symphony Runs Out of Money to Pay Musicians". Playbill Arts. Retrieved February 10, 2010.

External links

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