Ocean Center

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Ocean Center

Interactive map of Ocean Center
Address	101 N Atlantic Avenue
Location	Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Operator	Volusia County Government
Construction
Renovated	2009
Cost	$82 million (2009 renovations)
Tenants
Daytona Beach Sun Devils/Breakers (SuHL/SHL) (1992–96) Daytona Beach Hawgs/Thunder/ThunderBirds (NIFL/AIFL/WIFL/af2) (2005–08)
Website
oceancenter.com

Ocean Center is a convention center located in Daytona Beach, Florida. It opened in 1985 and is the fifth–largest convention center in Florida.

Building and design

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The Ocean Center features 205,000 square feet (19,000 m²) of prime meeting space; 42,000 square feet (3,900 m²) of exhibit space at the main arena, 14,000 square feet (1,300 m²) of space in the Ballroom and 32,000 square feet (3,000 m²) of meeting rooms. The new addition of the Exhibit Hall features 94,695 square feet (8,797.5 m²), ceiling heights: 22 to 45 feet (14 m), a drive-in door: 20' x 16', and 6 loading docks with self-adjusting levelers. 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) of parking lot/outdoor exhibit space was also added near the Exhibit Hall.

Thanks to a $3 million grant from the ECHO program, the county's Ocean Center has a grand entrance. The grant from the ECHO grants-in-aid program was used to create a Cultural Information Center (CIC). The funds were used for site preparation and construction of the CIC, an enhancement of 51,635 square feet (4,797.0 m²) of lobby space with gathering areas, restrooms and concession facilities. It displays works from the "Arts in Public Places" program and has dedicated areas for permanent and visiting art works and cultural displays from all areas of Volusia County. The grand entrance also includes a new façade and entrance along N. Atlantic Avenue. Other features of the new entrance lobby and CIC is a marquee mural on the west wall above the ballrooms doors, seen from inside and outside the facility. The mural will change with the center's exhibits. The center and its displays are in the highest pedestrian traffic area for the venue.

The main arena seats 6,176 for ice hockey and arena football, 8,362 for basketball, 7,184 for the circus, 7,380 for ice shows, 8,582 for wrestling and 9,440 for concerts^{[citation needed]}. The Ocean Center is also used for banquets, trade shows, high school graduations, conventions and other events.

History

In 1985, the Ocean Center opened with 60,000 square feet (5,600 m²) of exhibit space and 18 breakout rooms. Christian pop singer Amy Grant performed the first concert at the Ocean Center on October 3, 1985, singing to 2,938 people. John Denver was the grand opening act two days later, performing to a crowd of 7,368.

Notable events

The Ocean Center has presented The Harlem Globetrotters, the Royal Lipizzaner Stallions and Larry the Cable Guy, among other noted performance artists. Other entertainment events have included the former Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, monster truck shows, Miss Teen USA Pageant and WWE Live. The fun, furry characters of Sesame Street have been frequent performers at the Ocean Center. Family productions had multiple shows in 1985-86, and returned in the 1990s and 2000s. In October 1997, the Ocean Center hosted the Nice n' Easy U.S. Figure Skating Classic. Skaters included Tara Lipinski, Michelle Kwan, Dorothy Hamill, Nicole Bobek, Rosalynn Summers, Kyoko Ina, Jason Dungjen, Todd Eldredge, Rudy Galindo, Michael Weiss, Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow. The event was broadcast later on ABC. The Ocean Center also hosts The Passion Conferences starring Worship singer Chris Tomlin. As the Halifax area has become a separate market from Orlando in recent years, Ocean Center has hosted concerts by acts with ties to Florida, including Gloria Estefan, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and, most recently, Pitbull (touring with Enrique Iglesias), Florida Georgia Line, Maroon 5 and Ariana Grande. It has also hosted acts such as Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, and Faster Pussycat.

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) held their third annual Bash At The Beach pay-per-view at the Ocean Center in 1996 in which Hulk Hogan, notable as one of the largest fan favorites of all time, turned heel during the final moments of the show. This in turn created the New World Order (nWo) and was a catalyst for the Monday Night War.

Hulk Hogan turned heel once again in this arena, in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)'s sixth annual Bound for Glory. He interfered in the main event and forming alliances with Eric Bischoff to help Jeff Hardy to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson, in turn forming Immortal, with Jeff Jarrett and Abyss.

From 2018 to 2024, the Community Effort Orlando eSports tournament was held at the arena.

On June 29, 2018, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) held their CEO×NJPW: When Worlds Collide event as part of Community Effort Orlando. The event was livestreamed on Twitch.

On June 29, 2019, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) held their Fyter Fest event. This was the promotion’s second pay-per-view event.

See also

• List of convention centers in the United States

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ocean Center.

• Information about center from tvsdesign

29°13′43″N 81°00′38″W / 29.228700°N 81.010600°W / 29.228700; -81.010600