The Neal S. Blaisdell Center
in downtown Honolulu near Waikiki is the premier community center for the City & County of Honolulu. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Ward Estate and originally called the Hawaiʻi International Center
, the center was renamed after Mayor of Honolulu Neal S. Blaisdell. The multi-purpose complex is composed of an internationally renowned arena, concert hall, conference rooms, galleria and exhibition hall. It was remodeled and expanded in 1994. It is also the home of the Hawaii Basketball League Honolulu Bandits.
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NEAL S. BLAISDELL CENTER TICKETS
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Facilities and events
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.
Currently, the arena is home to the
Hawaii Hurricanes of the
American Basketball Association's current incarnation. It was previously home to two indoor football teams (the
Honolulu Hurricanes and the
Hawaii Hammerheads), and most recently the
af2's
Hawaiian Islanders. The arena also hosts the start of the exhibition season for the
Los Angeles Lakers of the
National Basketball Association.
Elvis Presley sold out concerts at the arena in the 1960s and 1970s, the world famous "
Aloha from Hawaii" concert was held here in January of 1973. Recent concerts featured
Elton John,
Van Halen,
Bon Jovi,
Mötley Crüe,
No Doubt,
Fleetwood Mac,
Céline Dion,
Ricky Martin,
*NSYNC,
LeAnn Rimes,
Jimmy Buffett,
Chris Brown,
50 Cent,
Nine Inch Nails, and most recently two sold out
Gwen Stefani concerts. Other events at the arena include
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE),
Disney on Ice,
Sesame Street Live, college
basketball and
volleyball, and international
gymnastics.
It served as the home court for
University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa basketball until UH built the
Stan Sheriff Center on campus in 1994. The Arena also hosts several men's and women's basketball and volleyball games for
Hawaii Pacific University the states largest private university. Many graduation and commencement ceremonies are held by schools in the arena in late May and June.
Concert Hall
With a capacity of 2,158 seats, the
Neil S. Blaisdell Concert Hall
is 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
,
The Lion King
and other national touring shows have performed at the concert hall. In the fall and early winter of 2007, the concert hall was host to the Broadway musical The Lion King.
Exhibition Hall
Located between the Concert Hall and the Arena, the Exhibition Hall provides 65,000 square feet of exhibition space on the main floor that is expandable to 85,000 square feet 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.
Miscellaneous
Many religious ceremonies have been performed in the Neil S. Blaisdell Center. The largest of which were the enthronement of
Joseph Anthony Ferrario as the third
Bishop of Honolulu and the ordination and installation of
Clarence Richard Silva as the fifth Bishop of Honolulu, overseeing the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
Kamehameha Schools has held their annual
Song Contest at the Blaisdell since 1964.
On December 23rd, 1982, what is considered by many as the greatest upset in sports history happened at the Blaisdell Arena as the then number one ranked
University of Virginia Cavaliers, led by
Ralph Sampson was beaten 77-72 by
Chaminade University, a small
NAIA school with a student body of 800.
See also
- List of concert halls
- Tyke the elephant