Inside the Venue: KeyArena
Brian Knapp Mar 23, 2011
A quick look inside the KeyArena …
Location: Seattle
Built: 1962
Cost: $96.5 million
Seating Capacity: 17,459
Architect: NBBJ
The KeyArena will play host to its first UFC show on Saturday, when UFC Fight Night 24 “Nogueira vs. Davis” lands in Seattle. The event, which will air live on Spike TV, will feature a light heavyweight duel pitting Pride Fighting Championships veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira against unbeaten prospect Phil Davis. Eleven additional matchups, including the co-headliner between former welterweight title contender Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson, round out the UFC Fight Night 24 lineup.
The KeyArena opened in 1962 as the Washington State Pavilion for the Century 21 Exposition and Seattle World’s fair. After the exposition closed, the pavilion was remodeled as the Washington State Coliseum and later became the Seattle Center Coliseum. It was rebuilt from the ground up in 1994-95 at a cost of roughly $96.5 million. On April 11, 1995, the city sold the naming rights to the KeyCorp, which renamed the facility as KeyArena, for $15.1 million.
Once the base of the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics, the KeyArena is now home to the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, the Seattle University men’s basketball team and the Rat City Rollergirls of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. The Professional Bull Riders tour (April 29-30), World Wrestling Entertainment “Over the Limit” (May 22), Katy Perry (July 20) and Sade (Aug. 14) will follow the UFC into the KeyArena.
Location: Seattle
Built: 1962
Cost: $96.5 million
Seating Capacity: 17,459
Architect: NBBJ
The KeyArena will play host to its first UFC show on Saturday, when UFC Fight Night 24 “Nogueira vs. Davis” lands in Seattle. The event, which will air live on Spike TV, will feature a light heavyweight duel pitting Pride Fighting Championships veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira against unbeaten prospect Phil Davis. Eleven additional matchups, including the co-headliner between former welterweight title contender Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson, round out the UFC Fight Night 24 lineup.
The KeyArena opened in 1962 as the Washington State Pavilion for the Century 21 Exposition and Seattle World’s fair. After the exposition closed, the pavilion was remodeled as the Washington State Coliseum and later became the Seattle Center Coliseum. It was rebuilt from the ground up in 1994-95 at a cost of roughly $96.5 million. On April 11, 1995, the city sold the naming rights to the KeyCorp, which renamed the facility as KeyArena, for $15.1 million.
Once the base of the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics, the KeyArena is now home to the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, the Seattle University men’s basketball team and the Rat City Rollergirls of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. The Professional Bull Riders tour (April 29-30), World Wrestling Entertainment “Over the Limit” (May 22), Katy Perry (July 20) and Sade (Aug. 14) will follow the UFC into the KeyArena.
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