The Marshall Health Network Arena, originally known as the Huntington Civic Center, later as the Huntington Civic Arena and later, for sponsorship reasons as the Big Sandy Superstore Arena and Mountain Health Arena, is a municipal complex located in the downtown area of Huntington, West Virginia, one block west of Pullman Square. The arena consists of a 7,500-seat multi-purpose arena and an attach
- Venue
- Marshall Health Network Arena
- Town
- Huntington, US
- Capacity
- 7,500
The Marshall Health Network Arena, originally known as the Huntington Civic Center, later as the Huntington Civic Arena and later, for sponsorship reasons as the Big Sandy Superstore Arena and Mountain Health Arena, is a municipal complex located in the downtown area of Huntington, West Virginia, one block west of Pullman Square. The arena consists of a 7,500-seat multi-purpose arena and an attached conference center. It is home to numerous concerts and events and was the home of the Huntington Hammer of the Ultimate Indoor Football League for 2011. The $10.5 million Huntington Civic Center was completed in 1977 and was the largest in the state of West Virginia when it opened. The new arena's first two shows were originally scheduled to feature Elvis Presley, but he died prior to the tour. As a result, the arena's actual opening show ended up being Heart. At the time, the city felt it would not be able to accommodate Marshall University basketball, and the arena was thus built in a location that Marshall objected to, and used a design that was not sports-friendly. Marshall thus remained at the older Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse and then constructed its on-campus arena, the Cam Henderson Center, in 1981. At first, the building was very successful; however, the completion of a larger arena in nearby Charleston, and the 25-year delay in construction of what became Pullman Square caused the building to become a money-losing effort for the city. The city then decided to turn the building over to private management. In the fall of 1997, $3.5 million was allocated in bonds to renovate the aging Civic Center; however, work did not begin until 2000. The 20-year-old facility had not been renovated or maintained since its initial construction. The interior and exterior were repainted in gray and maroon and the leaky roof was repaired. The conference area was expanded and the kitchen facility was upgraded. From 1993 to 2000, the facility, by then called the Huntington Civic Are