Honda Center

The idea for a large indoor arena in Anaheim emerged from entertainment attorney Neil Papiano, who in 1987 randomly selected two of the city's councilmen from the telephone directory to sell them his idea. They approved of the concept, and one year later following location surveys, the placement was chosen at a seven-acre parcel at Douglass Road and Katella Avenue, that at the time was owned by the German social group Phoenix Club. Papiano also managed to get financial backing from two New York-based firms, Ogden Corporation and Nederlander Organization. Even if there was a dispute to build an arena in Orange County with a Santa Ana project led by Spectacor, and there were discussions of feasibility of the arena given the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League were at the time unwilling to expand to the area, the city of Anaheim pushed forward to build the Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc.-designed arena, which broke ground in November 1990. Once the deal was broken, the arena's final cost ended at $121 million, as $18 million were added to finance hockey franchise fees and facility improvement. Since then, the arena has been host to a number of events, such as the 2003 and 2007 Stanley Cup Finals. On June 6, 2007, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators, 6–2, in game five of the Final at Honda Center to clinch the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship. Honda Center has hosted several UFC events, starting with UFC 59 in 2006. It hosted the 2005 IBF World Championships for badminton in 2005. From 1994 to 1999, it served as a second home for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. It was the home arena for the Anaheim Bullfrogs of Roller Hockey International from 1994 to 1999 and for the Anaheim Piranhas of the Arena Football League from 1996 to 1997. This arena has also hosted a PBR Bud Light Cup (later Built Ford Tough Series) event annually since 1998. Since 1994, the arena has hosted the annual Wooden Legacy basketball tournament. In April 2000, it played host to the WWE's 16th annual WrestleMania supercard event. In 2011, the arena began hosting the Big West Conference Men's and Women's Basketball tournaments. The arena has also hosted the NCAA men's basketball tournament seven times, as the West Regional site – 1998, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2019. It even hosted the Frozen Four, the semifinals and final of the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship, in 1999, underscoring the popularity of hockey in the region. Broadcom chairman Henry Samueli owns the company that operates the arena, Anaheim Arena Management, LLC, and the arena's primary tenant, the Ducks, giving him great flexibility in scheduling events and recruiting new tenants. AAM was founded in 2003 to take over operations of the arena from the bankrupt Ogden Corp., which had already sold the arena's concession deal to Aramark in 2000 - who remained providing foods and drinks until 2013, when concessions became an in-house operation. During the 2014–2015 NHL Season, it was announced that Honda Center would get a new scoreboard that will replace the one that was in place since its opening in 1993. The new scoreboard made its debut in a Ducks pre-season game against the Los Angeles Kings. In March 2020, the arena would lose all its scheduled events because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the rest of the year, Honda Center would instead host charity events, such as blood drives, food bank distributions, and a collective wedding, along with serving as a drive-through voting location for the 2020 United States presidential election. The Ducks would only play again in the arena once the following NHL season started in January 2021, with a reduced audience of 2,000 being allowed to attend the final five games of the season, starting with an April 17 matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights. In April 2025, it was announced that Honda Center would undergo a major $1 billion renovation that would be complete by 2027, one year before the 2028 Summer Olympics. The renovations will create a brand new entrance on the southern part of the arena, add escalators and club suites, and increase parking as part of the larger mixed use OC Vibe project taking place near the arena. ==Notable events ==