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

File:Mohegan Sun Logo.jpg
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
Owner	Mohegan Sun
Operator	Mohegan Sun
Capacity	Basketball: 9,518 Concerts: 10,000
Opened	October 2001
Tenants
Connecticut Sun (WNBA) (2003–present) Mohegan Wolves (AF2) (2002–2003)

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. 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. In 2013, it became first in the world.

Notable events

Mohegan Sun Arena

• WNBA All-Star Game – (2005), (2010)
• WWE SmackDown and NXT – (2011)(2012)
• Bellator MMA - Bellator 2, Bellator 11, Bellator 15, Bellator 39, Bellator 48, Bellator 63, Bellator 98, and upcoming Bellator 110.
• National Lacrosse League 2002 All-Star Game.

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	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Jessen Paulin	Don Pope	Mohegan Sun Grand Prix Final of WSM Super Series 2005
2006	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Jesse Marunde	Josh Thigpen	Mohegan Sun Grand Prix Final of WSM Super Series 2006
2007	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Kevin Nee	Mark Felix	Mohegan Sun Grand Prix Start of WSM Super Series 2007
2008	Derek Poundstone	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Terry Hollands	Mohegan Sun Grand Prix Start of WSM Super Series 2008
2009	Derek Poundstone	Travis Ortmayer	Brian Shaw	Mohegan Sun Grand Prix 2009 17 May 2009 Start of Giants Live 2009
2010	Derek Poundstone	Brian Shaw	Stojan Todorchev	Mohegan Sun Grand Prix 2010 25 April 2010 Start of WSM Super Series 2010

References

• "Perini Building Company". Retrieved January 20, 2005.
• "WWE". Retrieved September 9, 2006.

External links

• http://www.mohegansun.com/entertainment/arena-360view-popup.html
• http://www.wnba.com/sun/news/winteressentials.html Mohegan Sun Winter Essentials Store
• http://www.mohegansunarena.net/mohegan-sun-arena-seating-chart/ Mohegan Sun Arena Seating Chart

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