Anaheim Convention Center
Encyclopedia
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area known as Downtown Disney.The area now...
on Katella Avenue. Much of the Anaheim Convention Center has been renovated in recent years with state-of-the-art facilities. The basketball arena, fronting Katella Avenue, was opened in July 1967, while the convention hall behind it opened to business shortly afterward. Since then, the convention hall has undergone three major expansions, and currently encloses over 800000 square feet (74,322.4 m²) of floor space.
According to frequent news reports, the largest exposition held at the Convention Center in recent years has been the Winter NAMM Show
NAMM Show
The NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world, founded in 1901. It is held every January in Anaheim, California, USA, at the Anaheim Convention Center...
. This music-equipment convention (trade only, not open to the general public) had 1,560 exhibitors and a record-breaking 88,100 attendees during the 2008 show. The NAMM Show has been running at the Anaheim Center since 1977, except for a 3-year break in 1998-2000 while the Convention Center underwent major renovations. Recent news reports indicate that NAMM's long-term lease with the Anaheim Convention Center authority ends in 2010, and NAMM is applying pressure to the City of Anaheim to further expand and improve the convention center.
The popular Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
was held here in 1996 and from 2003 through 2006 and was one of the convention center's biggest public events of the year.
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
holds BlizzCon
BlizzCon
"BlizzCon" is an annual convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to celebrate their major franchises: Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo...
there. In 2005, they used the northern two conference halls, (and the arena for a concert one evening). In 2007 and 2008, it used three conference halls. In 2009, it used four conference halls. While tickets to the 2007 event sold out in 3 days, tickets to the October 2008 event sold out "within minutes," and tickets to the August 2009 event sold out in "56 seconds". Tickets to the 2010 Blizzcon reportedly have sold out within 30 seconds. Another large convention held at the Center is the Medical Design and Manufacturing Show, held shortly after Winter NAMM.
The arena of the Convention Center has a capacity of up to 9,100 people, depending on the configuration and sport being played. The newest sport team to call the Convention Center Arena home are the Anaheim Bolts of the Professional Arena Soccer League
Professional Arena Soccer League
The Professional Arena Soccer League is an North American indoor soccer league recognized by FIFRA ....
(PASL-Pro), the seating limit in this setting is 7,500, due to the fact that much of the lower level is not available for seating. It was home to the Anaheim Amigos
Anaheim Amigos
The Anaheim Amigos/Los Angeles Stars were an American Basketball Association team based in Southern California. They were the Amigos during their first season in Anaheim and later moved to Los Angeles to become the Stars...
American Basketball Association team
Team
A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team...
. It also served as the venue for wrestling
Wrestling at the 1984 Summer Olympics
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, 20 wrestling events were contested, for all men only. There were 10 weight classes in each of the freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling disciplines.-Freestyle:-Greco-Roman:-Medal table:...
for the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
. It hosted the Big West Conference
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference is an NCAA-affiliated Division I mid-major college athletic conference. When the conference began in 1969, its name was the Pacific Coast Athletic Association . After nineteen years, in 1988, its name was changed to the Big West Conference. The conference stopped...
's men's and women's basketball tournaments from 2001 to 2010. It also hosts the 76 Classic tournament. It was home to the Anaheim Arsenal
Anaheim Arsenal
The Anaheim Arsenal was a professional basketball team which played in NBA Development League from 2006-2009. They played their home games at the Anaheim Convention Center, in Anaheim, California....
of the NBA Development League
NBA Development League
The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...
. The Arsenal will no longer play in the convention center after announcing the team will be relocating to Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
for the 2009-10 season. During the 1992 Los Angeles Riots
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...
, the Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
were forced to move Game 4 of their NBA playoff
1992 NBA Playoffs
NBA Champions: Chicago BullsThe 1992 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament following the National Basketball Association's 1991-1992 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their second consecutive NBA championship by defeating the Western...
series versus the Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
to the Convention Center. Microsoft have announced that their Professional Developers Conference will be renamed to BUILD and will be held at Convention Center explaining developer story of its upcoming Operating System Windows 8.
The third annual VidCon
VidCon
VidCon is the world's first and largest Online Video Conference/Convention. Organized by Hank and John Green of the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel, VidCon is the largest gathering of the online video community that draws millions of subscribers and billions of views.-VidCon 2010:The first VidCon was...
conference will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in 2012 according to principal organizer Hank Green
Hank Green
William Henry "Hank" Green II is a professional vlogger and entrepreneur. He is the founder of VidCon and EcoGeek.org and the co-founder of DFTBA Records. He is also a singer/songwriter and has released three studio albums...
. The new venue will be able to offer a much larger capacity than the previously used Hyatt Regency Century Plaza
Century Plaza Hotel
The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel forming a sweeping crescent design fronting the spectacular fountains on Avenue of the Stars adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the CAA building.- History :...
hotel in Los Angeles, with attendance projected at 5,000.