Ford Center (Evansville)

Ford Center
	Ford Center Location within Indiana Ford Center Location within the United States
Address	1 Southeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Location	Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Coordinates	37°58′19.88″N 087°34′4.24″W / 37.9721889°N 87.5678444°W
Public transit	METS
Owner	City of Evansville
Operator	Venuworks
Capacity	Concert: 11,000; Basketball: 10,000; Hockey: 9,000
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground	October 20, 2009
Opened	November 5, 2011
Construction cost	$127.5 million
Architect	Populous; Hafer Associates
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
Services engineer	M-E Engineers, Inc.
General contractor	Hunt/Harmon JV
Tenants
	Evansville Purple Aces (NCAA) (2011–present); Evansville IceMen (ECHL) (2011–2016); Evansville Thunderbolts (SPHL) (2016–present)
Website
	fordcenter.com

The Ford Center is a multi-use indoor arena in downtown Evansville, Indiana, with a maximum seating capacity of 11,000.^[4] It officially opened in November 2011 and is mainly used for basketball, ice hockey, and music concerts. It is home to the Evansville Thunderbolts minor league hockey team in the SPHL and the Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team, representing the University of Evansville. The UE women's basketball team also played at Ford Center from the venue's opening, but moved its home games back to its campus starting with the 2017–18 season.

Events

The first public event held at the Ford Center was an Evansville IceMen hockey game on November 5, 2011, when the IceMen defeated the Fort Wayne Komets 3–1. The first concert was held four days later on November 9, 2011, by Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band. The Evansville Purple Aces played their first basketball game on November 12, 2011, beating the Butler Bulldogs 80–77 in overtime.

In its first year, the new arena also hosted concerts for Elton John, Lady Antebellum, Reba, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Steel Panther with Judas Priest, and Cirque du Soleil's performance of Quidam.

The Ford Center played host to a game in the 2012 College Basketball Invitational, in which the Aces lost to the Princeton Tigers 95–86. The Ford Center also played host to the 2013 GLVC basketball championships and the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. In September 2014, the Ford Center hosted Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) Division 1 International playoffs,^[5] hosted by local roller derby league, Demolition City Roller Derby, featuring teams from America, England and Canada.^[6] In honor of the event, Evansville mayor Lloyd Winnecke declared the week of the event to be "Roller Derby Week" in the city.^[7]

History and construction

The Ford Center was designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport) as a replacement for Roberts Municipal Stadium. The $127.5 million arena was approved by the Evansville City Council on December 22, 2008.^[2] Demolition work on the site began on December 5, 2009.

The Ford Center is bounded by Main Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, 6th Street, and Walnut Street. As planned, it will eventually connect to a new convention hotel and the existing convention center.

On August 17, 2011, the facility's name, Ford Center, was announced. The naming rights were the result of a 10-year, $4.2 million agreement with the Tri-State Ford Dealers.^[8]^[9]^[10]

On January 18, 2012, Aces junior Colt Ryan set an arena record with 39 points in a win against the Bradley Braves.^[11]

In 2016, the ECHL's Evansville IceMen and the City of Evansville failed to come to an agreement on a new lease and the IceMen's owner, Ron Geary, announced his intentions to relocate the team to Owensboro, Kentucky. In response, the City of Evansville brought in a new minor league hockey team called the Evansville Thunderbolts as part of the Southern Professional Hockey League for the 2016–17 season.^[12]

Gallery

The Ford Center set up for an Evansville IceMen hockey game

References

^ "Evansville Arena Project - Timeline". Archived from the original on 2011-11-20. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
^ ^a ^b "City Council OKs Arena Plans". Evansville Courier & Press. December 22, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2008.
^ New Evansville Arena Archived 2011-10-08 at the Wayback Machine architect: Populous
^ "Evansville Arena Facts" (PDF). City of Evansville. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
^ Morris, Mitzi (September 19, 2014). "Women's Roller Derby Playoffs in Evansville This Weekend". WFIE. Evansville. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
^ "2014 WFTDA Roller Derby International Playoffs". The Ford Center. Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
^ "Derby Girls Roll In to Evansville". WEHT. Evansville. September 15, 2014. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
^ "Ford Motor Co. Pays $4.2 Million to Name Downtown Arena Ford Center". Evansville Courier & Press. August 17, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
^ "New Evansville Arena To Be Named Ford Center". Ford Center. Retrieved August 17, 2011.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Evansville Unveils Arena Name". Inside Indiana Business. August 17, 2011. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
^ "UE, Colt Ryan trample Bradley". Retrieved 2018-02-11.
^ "Evansville will be home to Southern Professional Hockey League franchise". Evansville Courier & Press. February 8, 2016.

External links

[1] "Evansville Arena Project - Timeline". Archived from the original on 2011-11-20. Retrieved 2011-11-17.

[plans-2] "City Council OKs Arena Plans". Evansville Courier & Press. December 22, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2008.

[3] New Evansville Arena Archived 2011-10-08 at the Wayback Machine architect: Populous

[4] "Evansville Arena Facts" (PDF). City of Evansville. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2009.

[WFTDA_14-5] Morris, Mitzi (September 19, 2014). "Women's Roller Derby Playoffs in Evansville This Weekend". WFIE. Evansville. Retrieved September 20, 2014.

[Ford_Center-6] "2014 WFTDA Roller Derby International Playoffs". The Ford Center. Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.

[Roller_Derby_Week-7] "Derby Girls Roll In to Evansville". WEHT. Evansville. September 15, 2014. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2014.

[8] "Ford Motor Co. Pays $4.2 Million to Name Downtown Arena Ford Center". Evansville Courier & Press. August 17, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011.

[9] "New Evansville Arena To Be Named Ford Center". Ford Center. Retrieved August 17, 2011.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[10] "Evansville Unveils Arena Name". Inside Indiana Business. August 17, 2011. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2011.

[11] "UE, Colt Ryan trample Bradley". Retrieved 2018-02-11.

[12] "Evansville will be home to Southern Professional Hockey League franchise". Evansville Courier & Press. February 8, 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

v t e University of Evansville
Located in: Evansville, Indiana
Athletics	Evansville Purple Aces Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's soccer German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium Ford Center
Awards	Richard Wilbur Award
Related	Men's basketball team plane crash Harlaxton Manor
Founded: 1854

v t e Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
Venues	Roberts Municipal Stadium (1956–2011) Ford Center (2011–present)
Culture & lore	1977 team plane crash
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold

v t e Evansville Purple Aces women's basketball
Venues	Roberts Municipal Stadium (1969–2011) Ford Center (2011–2017) Meeks Family Fieldhouse (2017–present)
Culture & lore	History
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e NCAA Division I college basketball venues in Indiana
ACC	Joyce Center (Notre Dame)
Big East	Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler)
Big Ten	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (Indiana) Mackey Arena (Purdue)
Horizon	Indiana Farmers Coliseum (IUPUI men) The Jungle (IUPUI women) Hilliard Gates Sports Center (Purdue Fort Wayne) Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (Purdue Fort Wayne men, alternate)
MAC	Worthen Arena (Ball State)
MVC	Ford Center (Evansville men) Meeks Family Fieldhouse (Evansville women) Hulman Center (Indiana State) Athletics–Recreation Center (Valparaiso)
OVC	Screaming Eagles Arena (Southern Indiana)

v t e SPHL
Teams	Birmingham Bulls Evansville Thunderbolts Fayetteville Marksmen Huntsville Havoc Knoxville Ice Bears Macon Mayhem Pensacola Ice Flyers Peoria Rivermen Quad City Storm Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
Arenas	Berglund Center (Rail Yard Dawgs) Carver Arena (Rivermen) Crown Coliseum (Marksmen) Ford Center (Thunderbolts) Macon Coliseum (Mayhem) James White Civic Coliseum (Ice Bears) Pelham Civic Center (Bulls) Pensacola Bay Center (Ice Flyers) Vibrant Arena at The MARK (Storm) Von Braun Center (Havoc)
Seasons	2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
President's Cup William B. Coffey Trophy Other professional hockey leagues

Construction



Ford Center Location within Indiana Show map of Indiana Ford Center Location within the United States Show map of the United States
Address	1 Southeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Location	Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Coordinates	37°58′19.88″N 087°34′4.24″W / 37.9721889°N 87.5678444°W / 37.9721889; -87.5678444
Public transit	METS
Owner	City of Evansville
Operator	Venuworks
Capacity	Concert: 11,000 Basketball: 10,000 Hockey: 9,000
Surface	Multi-surface
Broke ground	October 20, 2009^[1]
Opened	November 5, 2011
Construction cost	$127.5 million^[2]
Architect	Populous^[3] Hafer Associates
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
Services engineer	M-E Engineers, Inc.
General contractor	Hunt/Harmon JV
Tenants
Evansville Purple Aces (NCAA) (2011–present) Evansville IceMen (ECHL) (2011–2016) Evansville Thunderbolts (SPHL) (2016–present)
Website
fordcenter.com

v t e Music venues of Indiana
Outdoor	Ruoff Music Center Mesker Amphitheatre Slayter Center of Performing Arts
Theaters and clubs	The Emerson Theater Melody Inn Morris Performing Arts Center Old National Centre Victory Theatre
Arenas	Ford Center Gainbridge Fieldhouse Lucas Oil Stadium Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Festivals	Abbey Road on the River