Former names | Greater Wenatchee Regional Event Center (2007–2008) Town Toyota Arena (2008) |
---|---|
Location | 1300 Walla Walla Avenue Wenatchee, Washington 98802 |
Owner | Wenatchee PFD |
Operator | Wenatchee PFD |
Capacity | Basketball: 5,000 Ice hockey/Arena football: 4,300 Concert: 5,800 |
Construction | |
Broke ground | September 12, 2006[1] |
Opened | October 5, 2008[2] |
Construction cost | $52.8 million ($74.7 million in 2023 dollars[3]) |
Architect | Sink Combs Dethlefs[4] |
Project manager | International Coliseums Company[5] |
Structural engineer | Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers[6] |
Services engineer | M-E Engineers. Inc.[6] |
General contractor | Hunt Construction Group[7] |
Tenants | |
Wenatchee Wild (BCHL) / Wenatchee Wild (WHL) (2008–present) Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks (AWFC) (2019–present) Wenatchee Bighorns (The Basketball League) (2023–present) Wenatchee Fire FC (PASL-Pro) (2008) Wenatchee Valley Venom (AIFA/IFL) (2010–2011) Wenatchee Wolves (NPHL) (2014–2016) |
Town Toyota Center is a 4,300-seat multi-purpose arena in Wenatchee, Washington. The arena was built and is owned and managed by the Wenatchee Public Facilities District (PFD). It is the home venue of the Wenatchee Wild, an ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. It was formerly home to the Wenatchee Wolves, Wenatchee Fire FC, the Wenatchee Valley Venom, the Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks, an arena football team, and the Wenatchee Bighorns, a semi-professional basketball team.
During planning and early construction, the arena was known as the Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center, but in August 2008, a local auto dealer bought the naming rights of the arena for an undisclosed amount, giving the arena its current name.
In 2006, nine local cities and counties formed a municipal corporation then called the Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center Public Facilities District to fund the Town Toyota Center.[8] The arena went into default on December 1, 2011, when the PFD missed a payment on short term bond anticipation notes. The district was later fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors. It was the first time that the SEC assessed a financial penalty against a municipal issuer. The district settled with the SEC for $20,000.[9][10] In 2012, legislation was passed and signed by Governor Gregoire to authorized a local sales tax increase to refinance the debt.[11] The default was the largest public default in Washington State since the WPPSS disaster of 1982 that defaulted on $2.25 billion in bonds.[12] In the fine the SEC also named the developer Global Entertainment and its then-president and CEO Richard Kozuback, the bankers, and a staff finance manager.