Albany Civic Center facts for kids
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Albany Civic Center as seen from Front Street.
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| Full name | Albany James H. Gray Sr. Civic Center |
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| Location | 100 West Oglethorpe Boulevard Albany, Georgia 31701-6808 |
| Owner | City of Albany, Georgia |
| Operator | Spectra Venue Management |
| Capacity | 10,712 (concerts) 9,082 (Sesame Street Live) 8,436 (basketball) 7,782 (rodeo) 6,570 (Disney on Ice) 7,200 (arena football) |
| Opened | February 1983 |
| Tenants | |
| Albany Sharp Shooters (GBA) (1991–1992) South Georgia Blues (GBA) (1992) Albany State Golden Rams (SIAC) (1994–1995) South Georgia Wildcats (af2) (2005–2009) Albany Panthers (SIFL/PIFL) (2010–2013) Albany Shockwave (ABA) (2012–2013) Georgia Firebirds (AIF/NAL) (2016–2017) |
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The Albany James H. Gray, Sr. Civic Center, often called the Albany Civic Center, is a large building in Albany, Georgia, United States. It's a multi-purpose arena, which means it can be used for many different events. It has seats for over 10,000 people for concerts and other shows.
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History of the Civic Center
In 1976, a new shopping mall opened in Albany. This caused many older stores in downtown Albany to close. To help bring life back to the downtown area, Mayor James H. Gray, Sr. had an idea. He wanted to build a big civic center.
The Albany Civic Center was designed to be both an arena for events and a place for big meetings or shows (a convention center). It has a huge open area for exhibits, about 46,000 square feet! It also has smaller rooms for meetings. After Mayor Gray passed away in 1986, the arena was named in his honor.
The center can change its seating for different events:
- For basketball games, it holds about 8,436 people.
- For exciting rodeo shows, it can seat 7,782.
- For concerts, it can hold over 10,000 fans.
The Albany Civic Center is part of a bigger area called the Flint River Entertainment Complex. This complex includes other fun places like the Albany Municipal Auditorium and the Veterans Park Amphitheater.
Cool Events at the Civic Center
The Albany Civic Center has hosted many exciting events over the years.
Sports Events
The center has been home to several sports teams, especially indoor American football teams.
- The Georgia Firebirds played their indoor football games here until 2017.
- The Albany Panthers also played indoor football here from 2010 to 2013.
- Other teams like the South Georgia Wildcats and the Albany Shockwave (basketball) have also called this arena home.
- From 1987 to 1992, the Albany Civic Center hosted the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament, which is a big college basketball event.
Music and Entertainment
The Albany Civic Center isn't just for sports!
- In 1988, the famous music group Run-DMC filmed their music video for the song "Mary, Mary" right here at the Civic Center.
- It has also been a popular spot for professional wrestling shows. Big events like National Wrestling Alliance's Clash of the Champions III and World Championship Wrestling's Great American Bash (1992) and SuperBrawl IV took place here. Even episodes of WCW Monday Nitro were filmed at the center.
