The John A. Carlson Community Activity Center is a 6,443-seat multi-purpose arena

Arena

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

 in Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...

. It is home to the University of Alaska Fairbanks

University of Alaska Fairbanks

The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....

 Nanooks ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team of the CCHA

Central Collegiate Hockey Association

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey college athletic conference that operates mostly in Michigan and Ohio, although it also has members in Alaska and Indiana. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. It holds its championship...

, the Fairbanks Grizzlies

Fairbanks Grizzlies

The Fairbanks Grizzlies are a professional indoor football team in the Indoor Football League. The team plays their home games at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks, Alaska...

 of the Indoor Football League

Indoor Football League

The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...

, and is also the site used for the university's commencement exercises as well as graduation ceremonies for Lathrop

Lathrop High School

Lathrop High School is a public high school in Fairbanks in the U.S. State of Alaska, part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. It is named for early Alaska businessman Austin E. "Cap" Lathrop. Lathrop is the largest high school in Fairbanks....

, West Valley

West Valley High School (Alaska)

West Valley High School is a public high school in Fairbanks, Alaska , and part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. It serves about 1,250 students from the western part of the Fairbanks area...

, and North Pole High Schools. The building also served as the site for the Top Of The World preseason college basketball

College basketball

College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

 tournament until its demise in 2007. Opening in 1990, the venue is named after John A. Carlson (1920-1988), who served as Fairbanks North Star Borough mayor from 1968 to 1982.

The Carlson Center first opened its doors on June 13, 1990. It serves as Interior Alaska's largest event facility and only facility in the Interior with tradeshow decorating capabilities. It is host to many events ranging from concerts and tradeshows to small meetings, conventions, and receptions. The Carlson Center also has its own catering department.

The facility is located on the banks of the Chena River

Chena River

The Chena River is a 100-mile-long river in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows generally west from the White Mountains to the Tanana River near the city of Fairbanks, which is built on both sides of the river...

, near Growden Memorial Park

Growden Memorial Park

Growden Memorial Park is an outdoor baseball park in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. It is used for summer collegiate and high school baseball, and has been the home field for the Alaska Baseball League's Alaska Goldpanners since 1960. It's also home to the Athletes in Action Fire. It was also...

. It is owned by the Fairbanks North Star Borough and managed by SMG of Alaska, Inc. which also manages the Sullivan Arena

Sullivan Arena

The George M. Sullivan Arena is an arena in Anchorage, Alaska. The arena opened in 1983 and has a seating capacity of 8,700 for basketball, 6,251 for hockey...

, Egan Civic Center and ice arenas in Anchorage, Alaska.

Past events held at the Carlson Center have included the Harlem Globetrotters

Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...

, WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 wrestling, David Copperfield

David Copperfield (illusionist)

David Copperfield is an Emmy Award-winning American illusionist, and was described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. Copperfield's network specials have been nominated for 38 Emmy Awards and won a total of 21 Emmys...

, Lord of the Dance

Lord of the Dance (musical)

Lord of the Dance is an Irish musical and dance production that was created, choreographed, and produced by Irish-American dancer Michael Flatley, who also took a starring role...

, the Alaska Federation of Natives

Alaska Federation of Natives

The Alaska Federation of Natives is the largest statewide Native organization in Alaska. Its membership includes 178 villages , thirteen regional native corporations, and twelve regional nonprofit and tribal consortiums that contract and run federal and state programs...

 convention in 2005 and 2007, and the inauguration ceremony of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin

Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

 in 2006, as well as concerts ranging from Toby Keith

Toby Keith

Toby Keith Covel , best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin, plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of...

, Trace Adkins

Trace Adkins

Tracy Darrell "Trace" Adkins is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1996 with the album Dreamin' Out Loud, released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since then, Adkins has released seven more studio albums and two Greatest Hits compilations...

, Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

, Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw

Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...

, Godsmack

Godsmack

Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...

, Little Big Town

Little Big Town

Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its inception: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, and Phillip Sweet. The quartet's musical style relies heavily on four-part vocal harmonies, with all...

, Sugarland, Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...

, and Megadeth

Megadeth

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

 among others.

It is one of two CCHA arenas (Berry Events Center

Berry Events Center

Berry Events Center is a 4,300-seat multi-purpose arena in Marquette, Michigan, in the United States that opened in 1999. It is home to the Northern Michigan University Wildcats ice hockey and basketball teams. The arena also houses the US Speedskating Team. It was built in 1999, and is named for...

is the other) that has Olympic-sized ice (200 feet long by 100 feet (30.5 m) wide).

• The Carlson Center website