Mohegan Sun Arena

This article is about the arena inside Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. For the arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, see Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Mohegan Sun Arena

Mohegan Sun Arena after the CT class LL state championship basketball game
Location 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd Uncasville, Connecticut 06382-1355
Coordinates 41°29′28″N 72°5′23″W / 41.49111°N 72.08972°W / 41.49111; -72.08972Coordinates: 41°29′28″N 72°5′23″W / 41.49111°N 72.08972°W / 41.49111; -72.08972
Owner Mohegan Sun
Operator Mohegan Sun
Capacity Basketball: 9,518
Concerts: 10,000
Lacrosse: 7,700
Opened October 2001
Tenants
Connecticut Sun (WNBA) (2003–present)
Mohegan Wolves (AF2) (2002–2003)
New England Black Wolves (NLL) (2015–present)

The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut located inside Mohegan Sun. The arena facility features 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of configurable exhibition space and a 400-foot (120 m) clear span. It was built by the Perini Building Company, and opened in October 2001.

History

The arena originally served as home of the Mohegan Wolves arena football team until it was sold and moved to Manchester, New Hampshire in 2004.

On January 28, 2003 the arena was announced publicly to be the official home court for the Connecticut Sun. Prior to the fall of 2002, the NBA operating model prevented any WNBA team to exist without an NBA "brother" counterpart. By the time the Connecticut Sun moved in, Val Ackerman was the WNBA president, M. Jodi Rell was the state's Lieutenant Governor and Mark L. Brown was the chairman of the Mohegan Tribe. While the arena is attached to the Mohegan Sun casino, the facility does not accept any form of sports wagering or sports booking; in fact, sports betting is illegal in Connecticut.

The multi-purpose facility has hosted a wide variety of events; including the American Kennel Club, concerts from major Classical, Country, Jazz, Metal, Rap, Rock, and Pop acts, as well as sporting events such as WWE shows, PBR events, Bellator, NCAA games, PBA tournaments, early UFC bouts, World's Strongest Man Super Series Competition.

Major network and cable television broadcasting companies, including CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, ESPN and CNN have all produced events through this arena.

On September 8, 2005, as a companion to the arena, the Mohegan Sun casino opened its first Connecticut Sun merchandise store called "Winter Essentials". It mainly sold Connecticut Sun WNBA team goods. It was the first store in the United States that sold professional basketball goods on casino ground. However, the store was closed when the casino underwent renovations in 2008. Connecticut Sun merchandise can now be purchased in the Arena during games.

Seating

As of 2006, the seating can be configured into 5 common sports configurations. Basketball, boxing, bowling, rodeo, ping pong, lacrosse. It also can be reconfigured to fit many types of concerts: regular, fullhouse, centerstage, and halfhouse. The arena has won awards for being one of America's most modern concert venues. The arena was awarded the 2008 and 2010 Country Music Award for "Casino of the Year". It was also ranked the 4th best venue by Billboard Magazine.

Notable events

Mohegan Sun Arena

Strength Athletics Grand Prix

Since 2005, the arena has hosted one of the premier international strongman Grand Prix events.

Year Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place Event Name
2005 Poland Mariusz Pudzianowski Canada Jessen Paulin United States Don Pope Mohegan Sun Grand Prix
Final of WSM Super Series 2005[3]
2006 Poland Mariusz Pudzianowski United States Jesse Marunde United States Josh Thigpen Mohegan Sun Grand Prix
Final of WSM Super Series 2006[4]
2007 Poland Mariusz Pudzianowski United States Kevin Nee United Kingdom Mark Felix Mohegan Sun Grand Prix
Start of WSM Super Series 2007[5]
2008 United States Derek Poundstone Poland Mariusz Pudzianowski United Kingdom Terry Hollands Mohegan Sun Grand Prix
Start of WSM Super Series 2008[6]
2009 United States Derek Poundstone United States Travis Ortmayer United States Brian Shaw Mohegan Sun Grand Prix 2009[7]
17 May 2009
Start of Giants Live 2009
2010 United States Derek Poundstone United States Brian Shaw Bulgaria Stojan Todorchev Mohegan Sun Grand Prix 2010[8]
25 April 2010
Start of WSM Super Series 2010

Notes

References

External links

Events and tenants
Preceded by
first arena
Home of the
Mohegan Wolves

2002–2003
Succeeded by
Verizon Wireless Arena
Preceded by
TD Waterhouse Centre
Home of the
Connecticut Sun

2003 – present
Succeeded by
current
Preceded by
Radio City Music Hall
Host of the
WNBA All-Star Game

2005
Succeeded by
Madison Square Garden
Preceded by
Verizon Center
Host of the
WNBA All-Star Game

2009
Succeeded by
unknown
Preceded by
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Ultimate Fighting Championship venue
UFC 35
Succeeded by
MGM Grand Garden Arena
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