Santander Arena facts for kids
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| Former names | Sovereign Center (2001–2013) |
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| Location | 700 Penn Street Reading, PA 19602 |
| Coordinates | 40°20′05″N 75°55′23″W / 40.334771°N 75.923013°W |
| Public transit |  BARTA bus: All routes at BARTA Transportation Center |
| Owner | Berks County Convention Center Authority |
| Operator | SMG |
| Capacity | 6,000-9,000 (concerts) 8,000 (basketball) 6,500 (ice hockey) |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | June 1999 |
| Opened | September 6, 2001 |
| Construction cost | $42.5 million ($70.2 million in 2022 dollars ) |
| Architect | STV Architects Inc. PBK Architects Inc. |
| Project manager | Turner Construction |
| General contractor | Schlegel Builders Inc. |
| Tenants | |
| Reading Royals (ECHL) (2001–present) Reading Express (AIFL/AIFA/IFL) (2006–2012) Reading Railers (PBL) (2008) Reading Rockets (PLL) (2012) Pennsylvania Roar (MISL) (2013–2014) ASI Panthers (AIF) (2015) |
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The Santander Arena (formerly known as the Sovereign Center) is a 7,160-seat multi-purpose arena, in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was built in 2001. The arena sits on the former site of the Astor Theatre; one of several grand movie and theater palaces built in Reading in the early 20th century. Closed in 1975, the theater sat vacant for over two decades. In 1998, the Astor was demolished to make room for the Santander Arena. Early in construction, steps were taken to retain mementos of the Astor, including its ornate Art Deco chandelier and gates. These are on display and in use inside the arena corridors, allowing insight into the ambience of the former movie house.
The Santander Arena is owned by the Berks County Convention Center Authority and managed by SMG. In 2000, the Rajah Shrine Theater was purchased, and after a thorough restoration and updating of the facilities was renamed the Sovereign Performing Arts Center. The Reading Eagle Theater is part of the complex.
On October 13, 2013, the building's name was changed from Sovereign Center to Santander Arena.
The arena is home to the Reading Royals ice hockey team in the ECHL as well as the Alvernia University Crusaders ice hockey team of the ACHA. It was formerly home to the Reading Railers basketball team, the Reading Rockets box lacrosse team, and the Reading Express indoor football team.
The arena has hosted Jehovah's Witnesses District Conventions from 2005-2013 and will host the renamed Regional Conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses beginning in 2015.
Features
The arena contains 701 club seats and 20 luxury suites.
The arena offers 25,200 square feet (2,340 m2) of banquet space on the arena floor. With seating for up to 1,200 guests, the Santander Arena can accommodate large functions as well as smaller ones using the Reading Eagle Theater at the Santander Arena setup. The arena also offers a multipurpose room which measures 4,575 square feet (425.0 m2) and accommodate functions for up to 200 guests.
With the exception of the suites, all seats are standard chairbacks and there is a center-hung videoboard which also functions as a scoreboard for hockey and other sporting events. The seating bowl is surrounded by a concourse which features generic concessions as well as local vendors such as Pennsylvania-based Chickie's & Pete's.
Notable events
- Barenaked Ladies performed for the first time in Reading at the arena on November 21, 2001.
- The PBR hosted a Built Ford Tough Series event at this venue in 2006.
- Skate America was held at the arena in 2003 and 2007.
- Slipknot, Korn, and King 810 performed in 2014.
- Day one of the East Coast Tsunami Fest 2015, featuring Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Bodycount w Ice-T, Wisdom In Chains, Turnstile and more, will be held here on Friday, September 25.
- Rascal Flatts & Chase Bryant performed as part of Rascal Flatts "Rhythm & Roots Tour" on October 8, 2016.
- Eric Church performed as part of his Holdin' My Own Tour on May 18, 2017.
- Avenged Sevenfold performed as part of their "The Stage World Tour" on January 16, 2018.
