Hersheypark Arena
Encyclopedia
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...
, located in Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey is a census-designated place in Derry Township, Dauphin County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The community is located 14 miles east of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hershey has no legal status as an incorporated municipality...
. The arena has a 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...
, for hockey, of 7,286 people and in excess of 8,000, including standing room. Built in 1936, it was originally known as the Hershey Sports Arena.
It was home to the Hershey Bears
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of...
, of the AHL
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...
, who moved to the Giant Center
GIANT Center
The Giant Center is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place in the Harrisburg metropolitan area. It is home to the Hershey Bears ice hockey team, the longest-existing member of the American Hockey League since 1938...
in 2002, but still use it as their practice facility. It also played host to some NHL
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...
exhibition games and hosted 18 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...
finals and three AHL All-Star games. Today, it is the home rink for the Lebanon Valley College
Lebanon Valley College
Lebanon Valley College is a small, liberal arts higher education institution situated in the heart of Annville in Lebanon County, east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.-History:...
and the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, commonly known as Ship, or SU, is a public university located in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, 40 miles west-southwest of Harrisburg...
ice hockey teams, as well as the Hershey JR Bears, a youth team sponsored by the Bears organization. On most weekends during the fall and winter months, the rink is open to the public for ice skating.
The second sport at the arena was basketball. On March 2, 1962, Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...
recorded a record-setting 100 points
Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game
Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, named by the National Basketball Association as one of its greatest games, was a regular-season game between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks held on March 2, 1962, at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.The Warriors won the game 169-147,...
in a NBA
National 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...
game against the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
.
It hosted the PIAA
Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. is one of the governing bodies of high school and junior high school sports for the state of Pennsylvania, United States....
basketball and wrestling championships, and it also served as the home of the Hershey Impact
Hershey Impact
The Hershey Impact was an indoor soccer club based in Hershey, Pennsylvania that competed in the National Professional Soccer League.The team played its home games at the Hersheypark Arena for all of its 3 seasons.-Staff & Ownership:...
, a National Professional Soccer League team from 1988–1991.
Annually, it hosts part of the Music in the Parks
Music in the Parks
Music in the Parks is a day-long or two-day festival for student choral, orchestral, and band ensembles, held annually across the United States. Music groups perform before adjudicators who rate the ensemble in the morning, and then spend the day at an amusement park. The day culminates with an...
competition. It has also hosted the Ice Capades
Ice Capades
The Ice Capades was a traveling entertainment show featuring theatrical performances involving ice skating. Shows often featured former Olympicand National Champion figure skaters who had retired from amateur competition....
, Disney on Ice
Disney on Ice
Disney On Ice is a touring ice show produced by Feld Entertainment under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure skaters dressed as Disney cartoon characters in performances that each derive their music and plot from elements collected from...
, professional boxing, tennis competitions, and the fifth WWF
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...
In Your House
In Your House 5
In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on December 17, 1995 at the Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania...
pay-per-view in 1995.
On October 13, 1953, the arena also hosted an extravagant birthday celebration for President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
whose farm and "weekend White House" was located in nearby Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
.
Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
performed and recorded their show, on December 1, 1995, which was later released as a live album, entitled Live Phish 12.01.95
Live Phish 12.01.95
Live Phish 12-1-95 is an archival release by the band Phish. It is the only two disc set in the livephish downloads CD series to date. The show was originally released in MP3, FLAC and CD formats on March 20, 2007...
.