HUNTINGTON CIVIC ARENA AMONG 2001 TOP VENUES
from a press release

Behind the strength of the building’s first sell-out concert in over three years, and more than 15 national touring acts, the Huntington Civic Arena broke into the top 20 of Amusement Business’ Top Venues of 2001.

Huntington ended the year placing 14th among venues with a capacity between 5,001-10,000. The arena topped similar sized facilities in much larger markets such as Denver, San Francisco, and Atlantic City. Final rankings were based on shows appearing in the respective buildings from December 1, 2000 through November 30, 2001.

Rock artist Kid Rock provided the arena with their first sold out show since Aerosmith’s 1998 appearance in late January, 2001, which served as the facilities’ largest single date of the year. A March appearance by the rock band Godsmack brought a crowd in excess of 90% of capacity as did a return of the pop stars 98 Degrees. Two nearly sold out performances of Bill Cosby’s appearance as part of the Marshall Artist Series schedule closed out the venue’s strong 2001 performance in November.

“This is really quite an honor for us,” Civic Arena General Manager Pete Wenzel said. “Obviously, Huntington is a smaller market but we’ve really worked hard to attract quality events that Tri-State area residents can enjoy. We’re thrilled to be recognized nationally among some of the top venues in the nation.”

The Huntington Civic Arena is managed for the City of Huntington by the SMG Corporation, the nation’s largest private management company for public facilities. SMG manages more than 140 stadiums, arenas, and theatres throughout the world. Huntington was one of five SMG managed facilities to be nationally ranked in this category.