Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center

Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center
Address	300 East Ocean Blvd.
Location	Long Beach, California
Coordinates	33°45′50″N 118°11′18″W / 33.76389°N 118.18833°W / 33.76389; -118.18833Coordinates: 33°45′50″N 118°11′18″W / 33.76389°N 118.18833°W / 33.76389; -118.18833
Owner	Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau
Operator	SMG
Built	1962
Expanded	1994
Construction cost	$111 Million (1994 Expansion)
Enclosed space
Total space	312,770 sq ft (29,057 m2) (Total Meeting Space)
Exhibit hall floor	Hall A 91,000 sq ft (8,500 m2) Hall B 57,000 sq ft (5,300 m2) Hall C 76,000 sq ft (7,100 m2) Arena 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2)
Breakout/meeting	34 Rooms
Ballroom	Grand Ballroom 20,456 sq ft (1,900.4 m2) Promanade 104ABC 13,200 sq ft (1,230 m2)
Website	longbeachcc.com

The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. It was built on the site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium beginning in 1962. The primary venues of the complex include:

Long Beach Arena

The Long Beach Arena was the first building to be completed in the complex. Capacities are as follows: 11,200 for hockey, 13,609 for basketball, and either 4,550, 9,200 or 13,500 for concerts depending on the seating chart.

The Arena has hosted various entertainment and professional and college sporting events, most notably the volleyball events of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.^[1]

For trade shows, the arena features 46,000 square feet (4300 m²) of space, with an additional 19,000 square feet (1800 m²) of space in the lobby and 29,000 square feet (2700 m²) in the concourse. Hanging from the arena's 77 foot (23 m) high ceiling is a center-hung scoreboard with four White Way "Mega Color" Animation Screens. There is an 11 by 15 foot SACO Smartvision LED Wall located on the south end of the arena.

Long Beach Arena was the site of the first National Hockey League game involving an expansion team, as the Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers, both expansion teams, played on October 14, 1967. The Kings won, 4–2. The Kings played in Long Beach for the first half of their expansion season while the Forum was being completed.

The arena was also one of the sites of the 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Rounds of 64 and 32. The teams which played at Long Beach Arena included Maryland, Pepperdine & UNLV. Maryland's Len Bias played his final collegiate game at the Long Beach Arena on March 14, 1986 in a loss to UNLV in the Round of 32. The Arena was also the site of the Big West Conference men's basketball tournament from 1989 to 1993. Volleyball matches were held at the arena during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games.

In the 1970s the arena hosted several games of the Los Angeles Sharks of the World Hockey Association and regular appearances of the Los Angeles Thunderbirds Roller Derby team.

The Arena was home to the former Long Beach Ice Dogs team, which played professional ice hockey in the ECHL. The Ice Dogs ceased operations of the team in 2007.

Wyland murals

Along the exterior wall of the drum-shaped Arena is "Planet Ocean", one of environmental artist Wyland's Whaling Walls, which was dedicated on July 9, 1992. At 116,000 square feet (11,000 m²), it is the world's largest mural (according to the Guinness Book of Records). The mural depicts migratory gray whales and other aquatic life that can be found in the waters off Long Beach.

In celebration of Earth Day in 2009, Wyland touched up the existing Whaling Wall and added a large mural of the earth on the roof of the arena.^[2]

Meeting rooms

There are two ballrooms: the 20,456 square foot (1900 m²) Grand Ballroom (seating up to 2,100) and the 13,200 square foot (1300 m²) Promenade Ballroom (seating up to 1,400) plus 34 meeting rooms totalling 82,823 square feet (7695 m²).

The convention center and theatre part served as host of the fencing competitions during the 1984 Summer Olympics.^[1]

Live concert albums and videos

The Long Beach Arena has been used to record part or all of several live concert albums and videos, including:

• Berth: The Used live CD/DVD combination, February 6, 2007
• Louder Now:Partone and Louder Now:Parttwo: Taking Back Sunday live CD/DVD
• How the West Was Won album, Led Zeppelin, June 27, 1972
• Leon Live album, Leon Russell, August 28, 1972
• The Night the Light Went On (In Long Beach) album, Electric Light Orchestra, May, 1974
• Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies album, Eric Clapton, July 19, 1974 & July 20, 1974
• Turn Around, Live Long Beach, Deep Purple, July 1971
• King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Deep Purple in Concert album, Deep Purple, February 1976
• Live After Death album & Live After Death (video), Iron Maiden, October 14, 1985

Singer Bruce Dickinson orders the crowd, "Scream for me Long Beach"

• Live...In the Raw album by W.A.S.P., March 10, 1987
• Psychedelic Sexfunk Live from Heaven video, Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1990
• I Heard a Voice – Live from Long Beach Arena DVD by AFI (release date 2006–12–12)
• Rock Steady Live DVD by No Doubt 2002
• St. Valentine's Day Rock & Roll Massacre: Hustler DVD re-issue, West Coast Sound February 14, 1980
• Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough DVD by Avenged Sevenfold 16 September 2008
• Street Songs (album) Deluxe Edition, Live CD by Rick James July 30, 1981
• Medusa: Dare to be Truthful TV special by Julie Brown mid-September 1991 (was also filmed at the Center Theater and Exhibition Hall ^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 123-8.
2. ^ Canalis, John (April 21, 2009). "Artist Wyland gives Long Beach the world". Long Beach Press-Telegram. http://www.presstelegram.com/search/ci_12195448?IADID=Search-www.presstelegram.com-www.presstelegram.com. 
3. ^ Rhodes, Joe "Who's that Girl? Julie Brown, MTV's redhead, gets to really express herself in Madonna parody" Los Angeles Times, December 1, 1991

External links

• Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center

Preceded by first arena

Home of the Los Angeles Kings 1967

Succeeded by The Forum