Cincinnati Gardens
Encyclopedia
The Cincinnati Gardens is an indoor sports and entertainment arena located in Cincinnati, Ohio
, that opened in 1949. The 25,000 square foot (2,300 m²) brick and limestone building, whose entrance is decorated with six three-dimensional carved athletic figures, was modeled after Maple Leaf Gardens
in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
, by the same architects and engineers who designed and built the more famous arena a quarter century earlier. When it opened, its seating capacity
of 11,000+ made it the seventh largest indoor arena in the United States.
The Cincinnati Gardens' first event was an exhibition hockey
game. It has been the home of six league championship hockey teams, and most recently was the home of the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
of the American Hockey League
, but it also has been host to numerous other sporting events, concerts, stage shows, circuses and political rallies. Recently, in July 2008, Puja Morari Bapu, a renowned Hindu scholar, performed a 9 day lecture known as a katha to several Hindus who gathered in Cincinnati Gardens Arena from all around the world. Currently, the Gardens' primary tenant is the Cincinnati Commandos
of the Ultimate Indoor Football League
.
The Cincinnati Gardens has been known primarily as a venue for hockey, basketball
and boxing
.
and their parent National Hockey League
team, the Montreal Canadiens
. Several of the Texans' players would soon seed the first professional hockey team in Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Mohawks
, who played at the Gardens from 1949 through 1958--three seasons in the AHL and six in the International Hockey League. Three NHL Hall of Famers played for the Mohawks — Harry Howell, Buddy O'Connor and Clint Smith
— and from 1952 through 1957, the team won an IHL record five consecutive Turner Cup championships.
The Cincinnati Swords
played in the AHL as an affiliate of the NHL Buffalo Sabres
from 1971 through 1974 and won the Calder Cup
as AHL champions in 1973.
The Cincinnati Wings played the 1963-64 season at the Gardens, relocating from Indianapolis (where they were known as the Capitols) after their home arena, the Fairgrounds Coliseum, was heavily damaged in an explosion on Halloween Night, 1963.
The Cincinnati Cyclones
played in the East Coast Hockey League for two seasons and the IHL for five seasons at the Cincinnati Gardens. When the Cyclones moved to U.S. Bank Arena
in 1997, the AHL returned to the building for the third time with the creation of the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
, an affiliate of the NHL Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
, who played in the building until 2005. The Cincinnati Gardens turned 60 on February 22, 2009.
Though having no pro-hockey team, the Gardens still acts as the home rink for several area high school teams.
(now the Sacramento Kings
) from 1957 through 1972. Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson
played for the Royals from 1960 through 1970. The arena hosted the NBA All-Star Game
in January 1966, and Royals' guard Adrian Smith was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
College basketball, including 42 "Crosstown Shootout" games between the University of Cincinnati
and Xavier University
, has been played at the Gardens since its first week in 1949. The arena has served as the home court for both schools at various times, lastly for Xavier from 1983 until their move to the on-campus Cintas Center
in 2000.
From 1984 through 1987, the Cincinnati Slammers of the Continental Basketball Association
played their home games at the Gardens.
High school basketball has also used the Gardens over the years, both for regular season games - such as contests matching Middletown & Hamilton highs - as well as post-season tournaments including the state tourney in 1953 & 1955.
Ezzard Charles
of Cincinnati defeated Joey Maxim
in a heavyweight title contender fight on February 28, 1949, in the arena's first week. Cincinnatian Wallace "Bud" Smith defended his World Lightweight crown there on October 19 1955. Numerous Golden Gloves
competitions have drawn as many as 10,000+ fans, and a "Super Brawl Sunday" event was held in 2002.
On August 30, 2008, Relentless Events packed over 6000 fans into the arena for former heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster's comeback fight against Danny Batchelder. Brewster won by fifth-round knockout. Local favorites Rashad Holloway and Aaron Pryor Jr. also won on the undercard.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, that opened in 1949. The 25,000 square foot (2,300 m²) brick and limestone building, whose entrance is decorated with six three-dimensional carved athletic figures, was modeled after Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, by the same architects and engineers who designed and built the more famous arena a quarter century earlier. When it opened, its seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 11,000+ made it the seventh largest indoor arena in the United States.
The Cincinnati Gardens' first event was an exhibition 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...
game. It has been the home of six league championship hockey teams, and most recently was the home of the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, at the Cincinnati Gardens.-History:...
of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
, but it also has been host to numerous other sporting events, concerts, stage shows, circuses and political rallies. Recently, in July 2008, Puja Morari Bapu, a renowned Hindu scholar, performed a 9 day lecture known as a katha to several Hindus who gathered in Cincinnati Gardens Arena from all around the world. Currently, the Gardens' primary tenant is the Cincinnati Commandos
Cincinnati Commandos
The Cincinnati Commandos are team of the Ultimate Indoor Football League. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Commandos play their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. Their team is based around Cincinnati area talent, such as Ben Mauk, Dominick Goodman, Robert Redd and Terrill Byrd...
of the Ultimate Indoor Football League
Ultimate Indoor Football League
The Ultimate Indoor Football League is a regional professional indoor football league that began its inaugural season on February 18, 2011.-History:...
.
Sporting events
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
.
Hockey
The Gardens' first event was an exhibition hockey game on February 22, 1949, between the Dallas Texans of the United States Hockey LeagueUnited States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...
and their parent National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
team, the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
. Several of the Texans' players would soon seed the first professional hockey team in Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Mohawks
Cincinnati Mohawks
The Cincinnati Mohawks were a professional ice hockey team in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were a member of the American Hockey League between 1949 and 1952. They were originally founded as the Washington Lions, then were relocated from Washington, D.C....
, who played at the Gardens from 1949 through 1958--three seasons in the AHL and six in the International Hockey League. Three NHL Hall of Famers played for the Mohawks — Harry Howell, Buddy O'Connor and Clint Smith
Clint Smith
Clinton James "Snuffy" Smith was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and head coach best known for his time spent in the National Hockey League as a player with the New York Rangers and the Chicago Black Hawks...
— and from 1952 through 1957, the team won an IHL record five consecutive Turner Cup championships.
The Cincinnati Swords
Cincinnati Swords
The Cincinnati Swords are a defunct American Hockey League team, founded in 1971, when the newly created NHL expansion team, Buffalo Sabres, exercised their option to create their own AHL farm team to replace the team they forced out of the AHL, the Buffalo Bisons...
played in the AHL as an affiliate of the NHL Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
from 1971 through 1974 and won the Calder Cup
Calder Cup
The Calder Cup is awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League. The trophy is the world's second oldest continuous professional ice hockey championship, having first been awarded in 1937 following the 1936-37 AHL season, and continuously being awarded every year.The cup...
as AHL champions in 1973.
The Cincinnati Wings played the 1963-64 season at the Gardens, relocating from Indianapolis (where they were known as the Capitols) after their home arena, the Fairgrounds Coliseum, was heavily damaged in an explosion on Halloween Night, 1963.
The Cincinnati Cyclones
Cincinnati Cyclones
The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Founded in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at U.S. Bank Arena....
played in the East Coast Hockey League for two seasons and the IHL for five seasons at the Cincinnati Gardens. When the Cyclones moved to U.S. Bank Arena
U.S. Bank Arena
U.S. Bank Arena is an indoor arena, located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, along the banks of the Ohio River, next to the Great American Ball Park. Completed in September 1975, the arena seats 17,556 people...
in 1997, the AHL returned to the building for the third time with the creation of the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, at the Cincinnati Gardens.-History:...
, an affiliate of the NHL Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
, who played in the building until 2005. The Cincinnati Gardens turned 60 on February 22, 2009.
Though having no pro-hockey team, the Gardens still acts as the home rink for several area high school teams.
Basketball
The Gardens was home to the Cincinnati Royals of the National Basketball AssociationNational Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(now the Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
) from 1957 through 1972. Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Palmer Robertson , nicknamed "The Big O", is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks...
played for the Royals from 1960 through 1970. The arena hosted the NBA All-Star Game
National Basketball Association All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association staged its first All-Star Game in the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951. From that year on, the game has matched the best players in the Eastern Conference with the best players in the Western Conference....
in January 1966, and Royals' guard Adrian Smith was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
College basketball, including 42 "Crosstown Shootout" games between the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
and Xavier University
Xavier University (Cincinnati)
Xavier University is a co-educational Jesuit university in the United States located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The University is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation and has an undergraduate enrollment of about 4,000 students and graduate enrollment of 2,600 students. Xavier is primarily...
, has been played at the Gardens since its first week in 1949. The arena has served as the home court for both schools at various times, lastly for Xavier from 1983 until their move to the on-campus Cintas Center
Cintas Center
Cintas Center is a 10,250 seat multi-purpose arena and conference center at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The arena officially opened in 2000 and was constructed through private donations as part of Xavier University's Century Campaign...
in 2000.
From 1984 through 1987, the Cincinnati Slammers of the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
played their home games at the Gardens.
High school basketball has also used the Gardens over the years, both for regular season games - such as contests matching Middletown & Hamilton highs - as well as post-season tournaments including the state tourney in 1953 & 1955.
Boxing
The Gardens has hosted a number of boxing matches, particularly several featuring prominent local & international fighters. Eventual Heavyweight champion and Hall of FamerInternational Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
Ezzard Charles
Ezzard Charles
Ezzard Mack Charles was an African-American professional boxer and former world heavyweight champion. He holds wins over numerous Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. Charles retired with a record of 93 wins, 25 losses and 1 draw.-Career:He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia,...
of Cincinnati defeated Joey Maxim
Joey Maxim
Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli was an American boxer. He was a light heavyweight champion of the world. He took the ring-name Joey Maxim from the Maxim gun, the world's first self-acting machine gun, based on his ability to rapidly throw a large number of left jabs.-Early career:Maxim was born in...
in a heavyweight title contender fight on February 28, 1949, in the arena's first week. Cincinnatian Wallace "Bud" Smith defended his World Lightweight crown there on October 19 1955. Numerous Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
competitions have drawn as many as 10,000+ fans, and a "Super Brawl Sunday" event was held in 2002.
On August 30, 2008, Relentless Events packed over 6000 fans into the arena for former heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster's comeback fight against Danny Batchelder. Brewster won by fifth-round knockout. Local favorites Rashad Holloway and Aaron Pryor Jr. also won on the undercard.
Other sports
Other sports hosted at the Gardens have included:- Indoor soccerIndoor soccerIndoor soccer or arena soccer, or six-a-side football in the United Kingdom, is a game derived from association football adapted for play in an indoor arena such as a turf-covered hockey arena or skating rink. The most important difference in play is that the indoor field is surrounded by a wall...
- Cincinnati SilverbacksCincinnati SilverbacksThe Cincinnati Silverbacks was an indoor soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. They performed under the leadership of All-Star goalkeeper, Carlos Pena. Other star players included Gino DiFlorio , Franklin McIntosh, and Dennis Brose...
(1995-1997), Cincinnati Kings 2010 - Professional wrestlingProfessional wrestlingProfessional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
- WWE RawWWE RAWWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and SmackDown! have originated there; in 1986, StarrcadeStarrcadeStarrcade was an annual professional wrestling event held from 1983 to 2000 by the National Wrestling Alliance and later World Championship Wrestling as their flagship event equal to WWE's WrestleMania , and featured the largest feuds of the promotion...
was shown on closed-circuit TV; TNA Wrestling had a live event at the Gardens on June 22, 2008. Pat O'Connor, Buddy Rogers, Lou Thesz and Ric Flair wrestled in the Gardens while holding the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) heavyweight title. - Roller DerbyRoller derbyRoller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
- Cincinnati RollergirlsCincinnati RollergirlsThe Cincinnati Rollergirls is a roller derby league based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 2005, the league currently consists of two teams, and two mixed teams which compete against teams from other leagues....
; Cincinnati Jolters (1971) - RodeoRodeoRodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
- Monster truckMonster truckA monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
jams - Auto and motorcycle racing
- Indoor football - Cincinnati CommandosCincinnati CommandosThe Cincinnati Commandos are team of the Ultimate Indoor Football League. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Commandos play their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. Their team is based around Cincinnati area talent, such as Ben Mauk, Dominick Goodman, Robert Redd and Terrill Byrd...
- 2010-present